It is situated on the border with Poland, on the left bank of the Lusatian Neisse, 16 km south of Görlitz.

It was the scene of a small battle in the Seven Years' War, described in a contemporary journal as follows: On 31st December 1756 a picket of Prince Heinrich's Regiment under the command of Major Heinrich von Blumenthal, which had been sent out from Zittau to Ostritz, was attacked by 500 Croats who, notwithstanding their numerical superiority were thoroughly beaten off.

The most serious loss on the Prussian side was the brave Major von Blumenthal, who fell right at the beginning of the action.

[12] Due to territorial changes after the Second World War its railway station lies in the Polish village of Krzewina.

[13] In 2019, a court in Dresden imposed a ban on the sale or possession of alcohol at the Schild and Schwert Festival.