The Lusatian Highlands is a hill

Hill

A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...

y and low mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

ous region in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

. A western extension of the Sudetes range, it is located on the border of the German state of Saxony

Saxony

The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....

 with the Czech Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

n region. It is one of the eight natural landscapes of Upper Lusatia

Upper Lusatia

Upper Lusatia is a region a biggest part of which belongs to Saxony, a small eastern part belongs to Poland, the northern part to Brandenburg. In Saxony, Upper Lusatia comprises roughly the districts of Bautzen and Görlitz , in Brandenburg the southern part of district Oberspreewald-Lausitz...

.

The Lusatian Highlands is named after the historic region of Upper Lusatia

Upper Lusatia

Upper Lusatia is a region a biggest part of which belongs to Saxony, a small eastern part belongs to Poland, the northern part to Brandenburg. In Saxony, Upper Lusatia comprises roughly the districts of Bautzen and Görlitz , in Brandenburg the southern part of district Oberspreewald-Lausitz...

, while the southern Czech portion is also known as the Šluknov Hook

Šluknov Hook

The Šluknov Hook or Šluknov Projection is a "panhandle" region found in the northern Czech Republic along the border with Germany. The area is part of the southern Lusatian Highlands, between the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in the west and the Lusatian Mountains in the east. It is administratively...

. It is situated between the Elbe Sandstone Mountains

Elbe Sandstone Mountains

The Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the Elbe sandstone highlands is a mountain range straddling the border between the state of Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, with about three-quarters of the area lying on the German side...

 in the west and the somewhat higher Lusatian Mountains

Lusatian Mountains

The Lusatian Mountains are a mountain range of the Western Sudetes, located on the southeastern border of Germany with the Czech Republic east of the Elbe river, a continuation of the Ore Mountains range west of the Elbe valley...

 and the Zittau Mountains in the east. The source of the Spree

Spree

The Spree is a river that flows through the Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin states of Germany, and in the Ústí nad Labem region of the Czech Republic...

 river, which runs through the centre of Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, is located near the small town of Ebersbach.

The Lusatian Highlands is a famous tourist region shown in several movies. It is known for the beauty of its landscape and its picturesque towns with Baroque

Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...

 churches and wooden houses. Popular tourist towns in the region are Schirgiswalde

Schirgiswalde

Schirgiswalde is a town and a former municipality in the district of Bautzen in Saxony in Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Schirgiswalde-Kirschau. It is located on the river Spree, 15 km south of Bautzen. The small town is an official place of relaxation...

, also known as the capital of carnival

Carnival

Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...

 in Upper Lusatia, Šluknov

Šluknov

Šluknov is the northernmost town of the Czech Republic in its Ústí nad Labem Region . It lies in the geographic region that shares its name, the Šluknov Hook , a small portion of Bohemia which lies between Saxon Switzerland and the Zittau Hills . The district of Rožany has a border crossing to...

 with its famous arboretum

Arboretum

An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...

, and Rumburk

Rumburk

Rumburk is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region in the north of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants and is famous because of its reportedly beautiful historical inner cities with many historical sights such as the old monastery...

 with medieval old town centre. Other notable towns include Ebersbach

Ebersbach

Ebersbach can refer to several places in Germany:*Ebersbach an der Fils, a town in the district of Göppingen, Baden-Württemberg*Ebersbach, Görlitz, a town in the district of Görlitz, Saxony*Ebersbach, Meißen, a municipality in the district of Meißen, Saxony...

, Großschönau

Großschönau

Großschönau is a town in the district of Gmünd in the Austrian state of Lower Austria....

, Sohland an der Spree

Sohland an der Spree

Sohland an der Spree is a municipality in the district of Bautzen in Saxony in Germany near the border to the Czech Republic in a region called Lusatia. The river Spree flows right through the village. Together with some smaller villages it constitutes one of the biggest villages or communities...

, Kirschau

Kirschau

Kirschau is a village and a former municipality in Upper Lusatia in the district of Bautzen in Saxony in Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Schirgiswalde-Kirschau...

, Crostau

Crostau

Crostau is a village and a former municipality in the upper Lusatia in the district of Bautzen in eastern Saxony in Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Schirgiswalde-Kirschau...

, and Wehrsdorf

Wehrsdorf

Wehrsdorf is a small village in a valley of the "Lausitzer Bergland" in the region of Upper Lusatia in Saxony, Germany. It has about 1,776 inhabitants and belongs to an administrative community of three different villages, with Sohland an der Spree and Taubenheim. This community is offícially...

.