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67-656: The word is borrowed from the late Latin description of a tornose , a grossus denarius Turnosus , in English the "thick denarius of Tours ". Groschen was frequently abbreviated in old documents to gl , in which the second character was not an L (12th letter of the alphabet), but an abbreviation symbol; later it was written as Gr or g . The name was introduced in 13th-century France as [denarius] grossus , lit. "thick penny ", whence Old French gros , Italian grosso , Middle High German gros(se) , Low German and Dutch grōte and English groat . In

134-541: A coin worth 4 pfennigs arose from the linguistic abbreviation of the small Kreuzgroschen . The groschen was first introduced into the Holy Roman Empire in 1271 by Duke Meinhard II of Tyrol in Merano . It was originally a solid coin of pure silver , larger than the denarius which was no longer valid. In essence, it took the place of a variety of the older pfennigs , whose silver purity had inflated their value over

201-696: A constituent part of the Bohemian Crown Lands under the Holy Roman Empire , which passed to the Austrian Habsburg monarchy in 1526; however, a number of duchies remained under the rule of Polish dukes from the houses of Piast, Jagiellon and Sobieski as formal Bohemian fiefdoms, some until the 17th–18th centuries. As a result of the Silesian Wars , the region was annexed by the German state of Prussia from Austria in 1742. After World War I , when

268-580: A majority ethnic Polish population, was awarded to Poland, becoming the Silesian Voivodeship . The Prussian Province of Silesia within Germany was then divided into the provinces of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia . Meanwhile, Austrian Silesia , the small portion of Silesia retained by Austria after the Silesian Wars , was mostly awarded to the new Czechoslovakia (becoming known as Czech Silesia and Trans-Olza ), although most of Cieszyn and territory to

335-559: A network of forced labour camps solely for Poles ( Polenlager ), subcamps of prisons, POW camps and of the Gross-Rosen and Auschwitz concentration camps. The Potsdam Conference of 1945 defined the Oder-Neisse line as the border between Germany and Poland, pending a final peace conference with Germany which eventually never took place. At the end of WWII, Germans in Silesia fled from

402-586: A period of intense immigration from Silesia to the United States), considered Silesian as a geographical (not ethnic) term, denoting the inhabitants of Silesia. It is also mentioned the existence of both Polish Silesian and German Silesian dialects in that region. Modern Silesia is inhabited by Poles , Silesians , Germans , and Czechs . Germans first came to Silesia during the Late Medieval Ostsiedlung . The last Polish census of 2011 showed that

469-635: A result of immigration from German-speaking states of the Holy Roman Empire . The first granting of municipal privileges in Poland took place in the region, with the granting of rights for Złotoryja by Henry the Bearded. Medieval municipal rights modeled after Lwówek Śląski and Środa Śląska , both established by Henry the Bearded, became the basis of municipal form of government for several cities and towns in Poland, and two of five local Polish variants of medieval town rights. The Book of Henryków , which contains

536-443: A thriving agricultural sector, which produces cereals (wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn), potatoes, rapeseed, sugar beets and others. Milk production is well developed. The Opole Silesia has for decades occupied the top spot in Poland for their indices of effectiveness of agricultural land use. Mountainous parts of southern Silesia feature many significant and attractive tourism destinations (e.g., Karpacz , Szczyrk , Wisła ). Silesia

603-560: Is different from Upper Silesia in many respects as its population was predominantly German-speaking from around the mid 19th century until 1945–48. In the fourth century BC from the south, through the Kłodzko Valley , the Celts entered Silesia, and settled around Mount Ślęża near modern Wrocław , Oława and Strzelin . Germanic Lugii tribes were first recorded within Silesia in the 1st century BC. West Slavs and Lechites arrived in

670-466: Is generally well forested. This is because greenness is generally highly desirable by the local population, particularly in the highly industrialized parts of Silesia. Silesia has been historically diverse in every aspect. Nowadays, the largest part of Silesia is located in Poland; it is often cited as one of the most diverse regions in that country. The United States Immigration Commission, in its Dictionary of Races or Peoples (published in 1911, during

737-653: Is nearing extinction due to its speakers' expulsion. The names of Silesia in different languages most likely share their etymology— Polish : Śląsk [ɕlɔ̃sk] ; German : Schlesien [ˈʃleːzi̯ən] ; Czech : Slezsko [ˈslɛsko] ; Lower Silesian : Schläsing ; Silesian : Ślōnsk [ɕlonsk] ; Lower Sorbian : Šlazyńska [ˈʃlazɨnʲska] ; Upper Sorbian : Šleska [ˈʃlɛska] ; Slovak : Sliezsko ; Kashubian : Sląsk ; Latin , Spanish and English: Silesia ; French: Silésie ; Dutch : Silezië ; Italian : Slesia . The names all relate to

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804-695: Is now part of the Czech Republic, forming part of the Moravian-Silesian Region and the northern part of the Olomouc Region . Germany retains the Silesia-Lusatia region ( Niederschlesien-Oberlausitz or Schlesische Oberlausitz ) west of the Neisse , which is part of the federal state of Saxony . The region was affected by the 1997 , 2010 and 2024 Central European floods. Most of Silesia

871-664: Is relatively flat, although its southern border is generally mountainous. It is primarily located in a swath running along both banks of the upper and middle Oder (Odra) River, but it extends eastwards to the upper Vistula River. The region also includes many tributaries of the Oder, including the Bóbr (and its tributary the Kwisa ), the Barycz and the Nysa Kłodzka . The Sudeten Mountains run along most of

938-618: The Groschen , often under a new name to distinguish it from the old, was worth 1 ⁄ 30 of a Thaler or Taler . This began in 1821 in Prussia , where the coin was called the Silbergroschen (Sgr) and was worth 12 pfennigs. Saxony followed in 1840 with the Neugroschen (ngr), also 1 ⁄ 30 of a thaler, but subdivided in 10 (new) pfennigs. Silesia and Bohemia introduced

1005-621: The Bohemian Crown which was part of the Holy Roman Empire; however, a number of duchies remained under the rule of the Polish dukes from the houses of Piast, Jagiellon and Sobieski as formal Bohemian fiefdoms , some until the 17th–18th centuries. In 1469, sovereignty over the region passed to Hungary , and in 1490, it returned to Bohemia. In 1526 Silesia passed with the Bohemian Crown to

1072-669: The Brynica River, which separates it from Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in the Lesser Poland region. However, to many Poles today, Silesia ( Śląsk ) is understood to cover all of the area around Katowice, including Zagłębie. This interpretation is given official sanction in the use of the name Silesian Voivodeship ( województwo śląskie ) for the province covering this area. In fact, the word Śląsk in Polish (when used without qualification) now commonly refers exclusively to this area (also called Górny Śląsk or Upper Silesia). As well as

1139-636: The Diocese of Kraków . The Duchy of Krosno Odrzańskie ( Crossen ) was inherited by the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1476 and with the renunciation of King Ferdinand I and the estates of Bohemia in 1538, became an integral part of Brandenburg. From 1645 until 1666, the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz was held in pawn by the Polish House of Vasa as dowry of the Polish queen Cecylia Renata . In 1742, most of Silesia

1206-561: The Habsburg monarchy . In the 15th century, several changes were made to Silesia's borders. Parts of the territories that had been transferred to the Silesian Piasts in 1178 were bought by the Polish kings in the second half of the 15th century (the Duchy of Oświęcim in 1457; the Duchy of Zator in 1494). The Bytom area remained in the possession of the Silesian Piasts, though it was a part of

1273-532: The Province of Silesia in 1815, in Germany Görlitz , Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis and neighbouring areas are considered parts of historical Silesia. Those districts, along with Poland's Lower Silesian Voivodeship and parts of Lubusz Voivodeship, make up the geographic region of Lower Silesia. Silesia has undergone a similar notional extension at its eastern extreme. Historically, it extended only as far as

1340-530: The Tafjordfjella mountain range and within Reinheimen National Park , about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southwest of Karitinden and 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi) south of Puttegga . The lake Grønvatnet sits 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of the mountain and the lake Tordsvatnet lies 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) straight east of the mountain. Other mountains surrounding it include Veltdalseggi to

1407-439: The mark , the groschen was replaced by the 10 pfennig coin and groschen remained a nickname for the 10 pfennig coin until the introduction of the euro . For the same reason, the name Sechser (sixer) remained in use regionally for the half- groschen coin, 5 Pfennig s. There is a Beethoven rondo for piano, opus 129 (1795) entitled " Die Wut über den verlorenen Groschen " (literally "The Rage Over

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1474-526: The 14th century, it appeared as Old Czech groš , whence Modern German Groschen . Names in other modern languages include: The Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew, Greek and Turkish names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire derived from the same Italian origin. Names like groschen , grossus/grossi , grosso , grossone , grosz , gros , groš , groat , Groten , garas etc. were used in

1541-766: The 1970s under the People's Republic of Poland . During this period, Silesia became one of the world's largest producers of coal, with a record tonnage in 1979. Coal mining declined during the next two decades, but has increased again following the end of Communist rule. The 41 coal mines in Silesia are mostly part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin , which lies in the Silesian Upland. The coalfield has an area of about 4,500 km (1,700 sq mi). Deposits in Lower Silesia have proven to be difficult to exploit and

1608-539: The Czech city of Ostrava and the German city of Görlitz are within Silesia's borders. Silesia's borders and national affiliation have changed over time, both when it was a hereditary possession of noble houses and after the rise of modern nation-states , resulting in an abundance of castles , especially in the Jelenia Góra valley . The first known states to hold power in Silesia were probably those of Greater Moravia at

1675-592: The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1837 based on a monetary standard , the Konventionsfuß , of the state, according to which the silver contained in 320 groschen was equal to the weight of a Cologne Mark (233.856 grammes). An exception in relation to the value of thaler coins is the series of 'butterfly coins' ( Schmetterlingsmünzen ) in the Electorate of Saxony . All these coins only show their value in groschen;

1742-645: The High Middle Ages were similarly called Grossini (cf. also Schilling ). The 1286 Tyrolean example (above right) weighs 1.45 grams (22.4 grains), it is marked with ME IN AR DVS (for "Meinhard") and a Double Cross ( obverse ), and with DUX TIROL and the Eagle of Tyrol (reverse). In 1328 Emperor Louis IV, the Bavarian , authorised Count Adolf VI of Berg to mint torneses in Wipperfürth . The oldest groschen in

1809-895: The Holocaust and had returned to Silesia. The newly formed Polish United Workers' Party created a Ministry of the Recovered Territories that claimed half of the available arable land for state-run collectivized farms. Many of the new Polish Silesians who resented the Germans for their invasion in 1939 and brutality in occupation now resented the newly formed Polish communist government for their population shifting and interference in agricultural and industrial affairs. The administrative division of Silesia within Poland has changed several times since 1945. Since 1999, it has been divided between Lubusz Voivodeship , Lower Silesian Voivodeship , Opole Voivodeship , and Silesian Voivodeship . Czech Silesia

1876-580: The Katowice area, historical Upper Silesia also includes the Opole region (Poland's Opole Voivodeship) and Czech Silesia. Czech Silesia consists of a part of the Moravian-Silesian Region and the Jeseník District in the Olomouc Region . Silesia is a resource-rich and populous region. Since the middle of the 18th century, coal has been mined. The industry had grown while Silesia was part of Germany, and peaked in

1943-695: The Lost Groschen", but known as " Rage Over a Lost Penny "). In recent times, the name was used by three currencies in circulation: Likewise, in Germany groschen remained a slang term for the 10 pfennig coin, thus a 1 ⁄ 10 part both of the (West German) Deutsche Mark and the East German mark . The word has lost popularity with the introduction of the euro , although it can still be heard on occasion, especially from older people. The Ukrainian and Belarusian common word for money, hroshi , derives from

2010-592: The Middle Ages for all thick silver coins , as opposed to thin silver coins such as deniers or pennies . Historically it was equal to between several and a dozen denarii . In the German-speaking world, the groschen was usually worth 12 pfennigs; many regional (small) groschen e.g. Neugroschen , Groten (plural: Grote) in northern Germany, English: groat, Mariengroschen , Grösch(e)l were worth between 2½ and 10 pfennigs. The later Kreuzer ,

2077-528: The Old Polish words ślęg [ɕlɛŋk] or śląg [ɕlɔŋk] , which means dampness, moisture, or humidity. They disagree with the hypothesis of an origin for the name Śląsk from the name of the Silings tribe, an etymology preferred by some German authors. In Polish common usage, "Śląsk" refers to traditionally Polish Upper Silesia and today's Silesian Voivodeship , but less to Lower Silesia, which

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2144-701: The Pious at the Battle of Legnica , which took place at Legnickie Pole near the city of Legnica . Upon the death of Orda Khan , the Mongols chose not to press forward further into Europe, but returned east to participate in the election of a new Grand Khan (leader). Between 1289 and 1292, Bohemian king Wenceslaus II became suzerain of some of the Upper Silesian duchies. Polish monarchs had not renounced their hereditary rights to Silesia until 1335. The province became part of

2211-506: The Poles and Czechs regained their independence, the easternmost part of Upper Silesia became again part of Poland by the decision of the Entente Powers after insurrections by Poles and the Upper Silesian plebiscite , while the remaining former Austrian parts of Silesia were divided between Czechoslovakia and Poland. During World War II , as a result of German occupation the entire region

2278-579: The Second World War, Silesia was inhabited mostly by Germans, with Poles a large minority, forming a majority in Upper Silesia . Silesia was also the home of Czech and Jewish minorities. The German population tended to be based in the urban centres and in the rural areas to the north and west, whilst the Polish population was mostly rural and could be found in the east and in the south. Ethnic structure of Prussian Upper Silesia ( Opole regency) during

2345-510: The Silesian Piasts, although their population was primarily Vistulan and not of Silesian descent. Walloons came to Silesia as one of the first foreign immigrant groups in Poland , probably settling in Wrocław since the 12th century, with further Walloon immigrants invited by Duke Henry the Bearded in the early 13th century. Since the 13th century, German cultural and ethnic influence increased as

2412-516: The Silesian mountain region (Hirschberg, Schneekoppe). After World War I, a part of Silesia, Upper Silesia , was contested by Germany and the newly independent Second Polish Republic . The League of Nations organized a plebiscite to decide the issue in 1921. It resulted in 60% of votes being cast for Germany and 40% for Poland. Following the third Silesian uprising (1921), however, the easternmost portion of Upper Silesia (including Katowice), with

2479-652: The Silesians are the largest ethnic or national minority in Poland, Germans being the second; both groups are located mostly in Upper Silesia. The Czech part of Silesia is inhabited by Czechs, Moravians , Silesians, and Poles . In the early 19th century the population of the Prussian part of Silesia was between 2/3 and 3/4 German-speaking, between 1/5 and 1/3 Polish-speaking, with Sorbs , Czechs , Moravians and Jews forming other smaller minorities (see Table 1. below). Before

2546-698: The area that is now modern Germany were minted there until 1346. Following the example of the Tours Grossus , the Prague groschen or groš was minted in Kuttenberg and, around 1338/1339, the Meissen groschen in Freiberg 's National Mint in the Margraviate of Meissen . Both coins gained national importance and had a strong influence on German coinage. Groschen valued at 12 pfennigs were common. The Polish groschen or grosz

2613-400: The area's unprofitable mines were closed in 2000. In 2008, an estimated 35 billion tonnes of lignite reserves were found near Legnica, making them some of the largest in the world. From the fourth century BC, iron ore has been mined in the upland areas of Silesia. The same period had lead, copper, silver, and gold mining. Zinc, cadmium, arsenic, and uranium have also been mined in

2680-587: The battle ground, assuming they would be able to return when the war was over. However, they could not return, and those who had stayed were expelled and a new Polish population, including people displaced from former Eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union and from Central Poland, joined the surviving native Polish inhabitants of the region. After 1945 and in 1946, nearly all of the 4.5 million Silesians of German descent fled, or were interned in camps and expelled, including some thousand German Jews who survived

2747-543: The centuries. According to one source, the city of Trier is said to have struck groschen-like, thick pfennigs as early as 1104, which were then followed in 1300 by the Bohemian groschen from Kuttenberg . The new coin soon inspired other 'mint lords' ( Münzherren ) and was given, not least for reasons of economic necessity, a higher face value in the Early Renaissance period. Upper Italian coins of multiple pfennig value in

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2814-520: The earliest known sentence written in the Polish language, as well as a document which contains the oldest printed text in Polish, were created in Henryków and Wrocław in Silesia, respectively. In 1241, the Mongols conducted their first invasion of Poland , causing widespread panic and mass flight. They looted much of the region and defeated the combined Polish, Moravian and German forces led by Duke Henry II

2881-449: The east and Vulueggi and Krosshø to the south. This article about a mountain, mountain range, or peak in Møre og Romsdal is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Silesia Silesia (see names below ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland , with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany . Its area is approximately 40,000 km (15,400 sq mi), and

2948-404: The east of it went to Poland. Polish Silesia was among the first regions invaded during Germany's 1939 attack on Poland , which started World War II . One of the claimed goals of Nazi German occupation , particularly in Upper Silesia, was the extermination of those whom Nazis viewed as " subhuman ", namely Jews and ethnic Poles. The Polish and Jewish population of the then Polish part of Silesia

3015-418: The end of the 9th century and Bohemia early in the 10th century. In the 10th century, Silesia was incorporated into the early Polish state, and after its fragmentation in the 12th century it formed the Duchy of Silesia , a provincial duchy of Poland. As a result of further fragmentation, Silesia was divided into many duchies , ruled by various lines of the Polish Piast dynasty . In the 14th century, it became

3082-408: The name of a river (now Ślęza ) and mountain ( Mount Ślęża ) in mid-southern Silesia, which served as a place of cult for pagans before Christianization . Ślęża is listed as one of the numerous Pre-Indo-European topographic names in the region (see old European hydronymy ). According to some Polonists , the name Ślęża [ˈɕlɛ̃ʐa] or Ślęż [ɕlɛ̃ʂ] is directly related to

3149-400: The name was transferred to a coin (no longer with a hole) worth 1 ⁄ 100 of a lira (ten perutot, later one agora). The name persisted for a while after the lira was replaced by the shekel in 1980 (one new agora, worth ten old agorot), but it gradually lost its standing as the name of a certain coin. Now it is slang for a very small value. Austria introduced the groschen in 1924 as

3216-431: The population is estimated at 8,000,000. Silesia is split into two main subregions, Lower Silesia in the west and Upper Silesia in the east. Silesia has a diverse culture, including architecture , costumes , cuisine , traditions, and the Silesian language (minority in Upper Silesia). The largest city of the region is Wrocław . Silesia is situated along the Oder River, with the Sudeten Mountains extending across

3283-432: The region around the 7th century, and by the early ninth century, their settlements had stabilized. Local West Slavs started to erect boundary structures like the Silesian Przesieka and the Silesia Walls . The eastern border of Silesian settlement was situated to the west of the Bytom , and east from Racibórz and Cieszyn . East of this line dwelt a closely related Lechitic tribe, the Vistulans . Their northern border

3350-465: The region, and one of the oldest dioceses in Poland, subjugated to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gniezno . Poland repulsed German invasions of Silesia in 1017 at Niemcza and in 1109 at Głogów . During the Fragmentation of Poland , Silesia and the rest of the country were divided into many smaller duchies ruled by various Silesian dukes . In 1178, parts of the Duchy of Kraków around Bytom, Oświęcim , Chrzanów , and Siewierz were transferred to

3417-464: The region. Lower Silesia features large copper mining and processing between the cities of Legnica , Głogów , Lubin , and Polkowice . In the Middle Ages, gold (Polish: złoto ) and silver (Polish: srebro ) were mined in the region, which is reflected in the names of the former mining towns of Złotoryja , Złoty Stok and Srebrna Góra . The region is known for stone quarrying to produce limestone, marl , marble, and basalt. The region also has

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3484-443: The result of the forced population shifts of 1945–48, today's inhabitants of Silesia speak the national languages of their respective countries. Previously German-speaking Lower Silesia had developed a new mixed Polish dialect and novel costumes . There is ongoing debate about whether the Silesian language , common in Upper Silesia, should be considered a dialect of Polish or a separate language. The Lower Silesian German dialect

3551-412: The same name. In Germany , the name Groschen (both singular and plural) replaced Schilling as the common name for a 12 pfennig coin. In the 18th century it was used predominantly in the northern states as a coin worth 1 ⁄ 24 of a Reichsthaler (equal to 1 ⁄ 32 of a Conventionsthaler ). In the 19th century, a new currency system was introduced in which

3618-420: The southern border. The region contains many historical landmarks and UNESCO World Heritage Sites . It is also rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. The largest city and Lower Silesia's capital is Wrocław ; the historic capital of Upper Silesia is Opole . The biggest metropolitan area is the Katowice metropolitan area , the centre of which is Katowice . Parts of

3685-403: The southern edge of the region, though at its south-eastern extreme it reaches the Silesian Beskids and Moravian-Silesian Beskids , which belong to the Carpathian Mountains range. Historically, Silesia was bounded to the west by the Kwisa and Bóbr Rivers, while the territory west of the Kwisa was in Upper Lusatia (earlier Milsko ). However, because part of Upper Lusatia was included in

3752-399: The subdivision of the schilling . It was restored, along with the schilling , in 1945 and continued in use until the introduction of the euro in 2002. Tornose Tordsnose is a mountain on the border of Fjord Municipality (in Møre og Romsdal county) and Skjåk Municipality (in Innlandet county) in Norway . The 1,975-metre (6,480 ft) tall mountain lies within

3819-458: The two main wartime centers where medical experiments were conducted on kidnapped Polish children by Nazis. Czech Silesia was occupied by Germany as part of so-called Sudetenland . In Silesia, Nazi Germany operated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp , several prisoner-of-war camps for Allied POWs (incl. the major Stalag VIII-A , Stalag VIII-B , Stalag VIII-C camps), numerous Nazi prisons and thousands of forced labour camps, including

3886-426: The usual abbreviation for groschen used in the everyday correspondence being used for the denomination on the coins. Likewise, the abbreviation for groschen used in the written word was stamped on the Electoral Saxon golden Reichsgulden zu 21 Groschen of 1584. In this case, it was probably intended to express the fact that it is a coin of account ( Rechnungsmünze ). Another special case is the Kipperthaler , on which

3953-434: The value in groschen (or Kreuzer ) is also stamped to circumvent the Imperial Minting Ordinance ( Reichsmünzordnung ). Also interesting are thalers, which were minted in denominations of 28 and 24 groschen without differences in design and size. For example, the 24 groschen Hosenbandtaler were also coins of account, which is sometimes not recognized. Following German unification and decimalisation , with 100 pfennigs to

4020-413: The white groschen ( Weissgroschen ) in 1821 at the same time as Prussia. Frederick William III of Prussia could not yet decide on the consistent introduction of the decimal system. In order to be able to distinguish his new pfennig' from the old ones, they were called Pfenninge . The last German Kurantgroschen (regarding the simple face value) were issued in the Kingdom of Saxony in 1827 and 1828, and in

4087-409: The word "grosh". In Bulgaria , the grosh ( Cyrillic : грош ) was used as a currency until the lev was introduced in the 19th century. In Palestine during the British Mandate, a grush was a coin with a hole in it, valued at 1 ⁄ 100 part of a pound (ten mils ). It was named after an Ottoman coin. When the pound was replaced by the lira after Israeli statehood in 1948,

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4154-414: Was in the valley of the Barycz River, north of which lived the Western Polans tribe who gave Poland its name . The first known states in Silesia were Greater Moravia and Bohemia . In the 10th century, the Polish ruler Mieszko I of the Piast dynasty incorporated Silesia into the newly established Polish state . In 1000, the Diocese of Wrocław was established as the oldest Catholic diocese in

4221-510: Was minted during the Middle Ages in the following areas: Later the tradition of Groschen was dropped in most states while others continued to mint only coins smaller than the original coin. In Poland for example, from 1526 these included coins of 1 ⁄ 2 grosz , 1 grosz , 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 grosz , 2 grosz , 3 grosz , 4 grosz and 6 grosz . Their weight steadily dropped to 1.8 grams (28 grains) of silver and since 1752 they were replaced by copper coins of

4288-491: Was seized by King Frederick II of Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession , eventually becoming the Prussian Province of Silesia in 1815; consequently, Silesia became part of the German Empire when it was proclaimed in 1871. The Silesian capital Breslau became at that time one of the big cities in Germany. Breslau was a center of Jewish life in Germany and an important place of science (university) and industry (manufacturing of locomotives). German mass tourism started in

4355-401: Was subjected to genocide involving expulsions , mass murder and deportation to Nazi concentration camps and forced labour camps, while Germans were settled in pursuit of Lebensraum . Two thousand Polish intellectuals, politicians, and businessmen were murdered in the Intelligenzaktion Schlesien in 1940 as part of a Poland-wide Germanization program . Silesia also housed one of

4422-422: Was under control of Nazi Germany . In 1945, after World War II , most of the German-held Silesia was transferred to Polish jurisdiction by the Potsdam Agreement between the victorious Allies and became again part of Poland, although with a Soviet -installed communist regime . The small Lusatian strip west of the Oder–Neisse line , which had belonged to Silesia since 1815, became part of East Germany . As

4489-499: Was worth only half as much – 6 pfennigs – and was commonly used in Silesia as a grosch(e)l or gresch(e)l worth just 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 3 pfennigs. The 'prince's groschen' ( Fürstengroschen ) set a record in terms of the devaluation of the Meissen groschen. When this groschen was introduced in March 1393, its value was 23 2 ⁄ 5 of a Rhenish guilder . In 1406, the devaluation of these coins reached its peak: 53 groschen were now equal to 1 Rhenish guilder. The groschen

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