Town Pairs, Divided Border Towns and Places of Integration: The Case of Görlitz/Zgorzelec

Twin town pairs along the German-Polish border are a relatively new phenomenon, as the new border separated some town parts from their core areas in 1945. The relations between the bordering countries have experienced several crucial changes since then. This article analyzes the demographic conditions of small cross-border urban areas in peripheral positions and their spatial development in dependency of the permeability of the border, by examining the example of Görlitz/ Zgorzelec. The focus of this article lies on the integration process of German-Polish border twin towns.