Border controls in Görlitz: Residents are upset about traffic jams and restrictions!

Border controls in Görlitz: Residents are upset about traffic jams and restrictions!

In the night of Monday, July 8, 2025, the Polish border controls began, which affect both residents and the commuters between Germany and Poland. Like Sächsische.de reported, ten border crossings between the district of Görlitz and Poland were examined. The new controls raise questions, especially since they take place in the middle of a heated discussion about the effects on traffic and trade in the region.

Again and again you hear from resentment among the commuters. A Görlitz publisher, Alfred Theisen, very much regrets the return of the border with Poland. His incomprehension is reflected in the statements of many residents who find the Situation unjust and, above all, critically see the additional time they lose through the controls. As an outraged pole noticed: "For me, the border only means traffic jam."

border closures and traffic jams

The tourism -promoting city administration of Zgorzelec plans to close the Görlitz city bridge on long weekends and public holidays. The aim is not to use the bridge as a sneak path for traffic on the A4. So far, the police have not reported long queues, neither on the bridge between Görlitz and Zgorzelec, nor at the border crossings in Hagenwerder and Zodel. But in the continued border controls, every traffic jam event has a major impact on the mood and behavior of the people who cross the border every day to commute or make errands, such as the MDR news.

The situation in Görlitz also has a broader dimension, especially with regard to the Schengen area. Critics emphasize that the controls violate the spirit of Schengen, which has stood for freedom of movement in Europe for 40 years. The debt is expected to continue to exaggerate, since eleven out of 29 Schengen countries currently control their limits, which leads to tensions and raises questions about the future of freedom of movement, such as the Tagesschau

An impressive example of the faults that bring these new borders with it is not only shown in the words of the residents, but also in the statistics of travel, which prove that the Schengen area is still an attractive goal for tourists, but is significantly limited by temporary controls.

The return of border controls could therefore not only cause resentment, but also sustainable changes in the coexistence between the countries. The coming weeks will show how the situation will continue to develop and whether the good old days of uncomplicated trips will soon return.