Gorlitz is a town in the German federal state of Saxony. It is in the region of Lusatia and has a population of approximately 56 000. From 1815 to 1918, Gorlitz belonged to the Province of Silesia in the Kingdom of Prussia. Gorlitz was first mentioned in 1071 in historical records and means ‘burned land’.

 Gorlitz prospered due to it being located at the intersection of the important east-west trade route named the VIA REGIA which means the royal road. This route ran from Russia to Spain through many important towns and cities in Europe. It was under royal protection offering travelers security.

The war of succession in Bavaria raged from 1504-1505 and brought great hardship and misery to the people. Many travelled east as trade and commerce were flourishing in Silesia. The Finster family was one of these. The family were clothiers. After the 30 Years War (1618-1648) the Finsters went to Saxon Lusatia. Many went to Upper Lusatia and small towns on the Polish border.

In 1668 Gottfried Finster was born in Lubin, Poland and sometime between 1690 and 1692 he moved to Gorlitz. Because he was a clothier he took advantage of the Via Regia trade route. The location offered ideal conditions for the convenience of trade and manufacturing. The ongoing quality control by members of the clothmakers’ guild guaranteed the high quality of the products. The production of wool fabrics soon developed into a most important craft. The high-quality Gorlitz fabrics were much sort after by traders from the east.

Christian Gottfried Finster (1723-1790) was a master craftsman and clothier. He became an alderman of the clothier’s guild in 1792.  His name is printed on the Clothiers’ Guild Shield in the Gorlitz Clothiers’ Guild Cabinet at the Gorlitz Museum.

The Finster family have been described as ‘an old respected clothmaking family’. Most had property situated to the north of the town, not far from the Finster gate – the only town gate that has survived in modern times.

Carl Gottfried Finster (1757-1821) was a banker and wealthy man. He is described as clever and resolute He was held in high esteem by the City Council and his fellow burghers.  The Gorlitz City Council gladly made use of the services of Carl’s business knowledge in financial matters. He owned a brewery at No 10 Bruderstrasse. In the Middle Ages brewing rights were the one of the most important rights of the city. Many houses along the trade routes in the old city were breweries with the right to brew their own beer.

Carl Gottfried also was the owner of the so called ‘White Wall’ a white walled manor house and a farm estate.

One of his 15 Children was Frederick Nathanael (1785-1849). Nathanael was a greengrocer and lived opposite his father, Carl, in the center of Gorlitz. He grew his vegetables outside the wall and brought them to his business place each day.

The family moved to Steinstrasse 12, Gorlitz, in 1845 when Nathanael’s son Theodor started in the Silversmith and Goldsmith jewelry business. On the shop front of the jewelry shop is the name THEODOR FINSTER.

Gorlitz has been very good for the Finster family, and the family has left its mark with an artistic family tree located in the Upper Lusatia Library of Sciences, Oberlausitzische Bibliothek der Wissenschaften, Neissestrasse 30. This was created by Max Finster in 1900. Max Finster was a cloth merchant in Gorlitz. He was also treasurer of the Holy Trinity Church and arranged a stained-glass window to the Finster family in the chancel of the Church. This window was donated by the Finster family in 1910.

Another connection in Gorlitz with the Finster family is the founding of the Gorlitz Liedertafel by Theodor and Alwin Finster. This choir enjoyed a superb reputation far beyond the borders of Silesia. The Finster family also formed the highly esteemed Finster Quartet of the Gorlitz Liedertafel.

Gorlitz a lovely city has many fine buildings. In 1995 an anonymous donor gave the city one million marks for the restoration of listed historic properties in the old town. This included the tombstones at the Nikolaifriedhof cemetery. Another interesting activity in Gorlitz was the filming of The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2013and in the 1950s Around the World in 80 Days.