The lovely village of Kottmarsdorf lies on a hill, where the blades of a post windmill are still rotating, where the smell of freshly baked bread and cake comes out of a bakehouse and where resting hikers enjoy the magnificent panoramic views of the mountains and hills of the beautiful Upper Lusatia. This is the ideal starting point for hiking to the birthplace of the Spree river or to escalade the summit of Kottmar hill.
Kottmarsdorf was first mentioned in records in 1306 under the name of "Khotdmersdorpp". There are several theories regarding the origin of the name of this place. The most likely one is the Slavic theory according to which the name originates from the village being situated on a hill ridge at the foot of Kottmar hill, called “Kupper” in the vernacular.
Due to the building of new houses around the year 1850, the village grew by nearly half of its size and comprised 132 buildings with 800 inhabitants at that time.
The first weaver is supposed to have been working in Kottmarsdorf already in 1633. Further domiciled craftsmen were farriers, carpenters, spinning wheel-makers, sieve-makers and waggon-makers, coopers and millers. The latter were running the three post windmills temporarily existing in Kottmarsdorf.
The noblemen of Kottmarsdorf belonged to several noble families. Still clearly visible is the former separation of the village into an estate area with the landlords’ property, and that part where farmers lived and where their farms where to be found. The estate area, comprising two former manors, extends from the church down to the lower part of the village in the direction of Löbau. The village’s upper part stretches along the road to the city of Ebersbach and is characterized by several three- and four-sided farms and some baroque architectureal remains here and there. The church was first mentioned in records in 1346 and took on its present appearance in 1736.