Zittau (Upper Sorbian: Žitawa [ˈʒitawa]; Lower Sorbian: Žytawa [ˈʒɨtawa]; Polish: Żytawa; Czech: Žitava; Upper Lusatian dialect: Sitte[a]; Silesian: Zittawa) is the southeasternmost city in the German state of Saxony, and belongs to the district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost district.

The city has a population of around 25,000 and is located directly on the western edge of the Turów Coal Mine, one of the largest artificial holes visible from space, on the other side of the Lusatian Neisse.

[3] The inner city of Zittau still shows its original beauty with many houses from several architectural periods: the famous town hall built in an Italian style, the church of St John and the stables (Salzhaus) with its medieval heritage.

The Großes Zittauer Fastentuch (Great Zittau Lenten Cloth) is, along with the Bayeux Tapestry, one of the most impressive textile works in Western tradition.

[4] Zittau sits on the Mandau River, while the Lusatian Neisse, which forms the border with Poland, touches the city in the east.

Further south is a tripoint of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, and the incorporated village of Hartau lies where the Lusatian Neisse forms the German/Czech border for a short distance.

At that time the city was granted a special title—it was called "Die Reiche" ("the Rich") because of its high proportion of well-to-do citizens.

Primarily as a result of the near-complete destruction of the city during the Seven Years' War, Zittau's then prosperity is reflected today in only a few exceptional buildings and the cemeteries where the well-to-do were buried.

The city lacks connections to good infrastructure in Germany, but a direct link is planned to the nearest motorway between Bautzen and Görlitz.

Zittau is located close to the point where the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland meet and there are several international border crossings in the vicinity.

Zittau is the only city along the Oder–Neisse line where a number of river bridges remain closed as international crossing-points between Germany and Poland even though both countries are in the Schengen Area.