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92-639: Historically considered part of Upper Lusatia , it was also part of Lower Silesia from 1815 to 1945. The town was founded in 1742 by Moravian immigrants. As members of the Moravian Church , they fled from persecution in their Catholic homeland. The name Niesky is the Germanised version of the Czech word nízký ("low"). In 1776, at the age of 12, Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe , future designer of

184-649: A further donation to the church was made, when Henry IV transferred five other villages in the Milzenerland , four of them south of Göda. For 1144 it is documented that the Zagost province, an area southeast of Görlitz around Zawidów ( Seidenberg ), was a part of Budissin Land. Also in this region, the Diocese of Meissen was equipped with possessions. Upper Lusatia reached the Kwisa ( Queis ),

276-606: A measure that later could be rescinded in a long and arduous process of negotiations. Ferdinand's successor Emperor Maximilian II officially implemented the Lutheran Confessio Augustana in 1564. Nevertheless, the Upper Lusatian lands did not remain untouched by the rising conflicts in the course of the Counter-Reformation in the neighbouring lands of Bohemia and Moravia. The Margraviate of Upper Lusatia

368-629: A separate Upper Lusatian nobility emerged. This nobility controlled the land on behalf of the king or the margraves and in return received the country as a fief . Unlike in neighbouring Bohemia , the nobles held no allodial titles , as the conquered Milceni Land as a whole belonged to the king. In 1241 the boundary between the possessions of the Meissen bishops and the Bohemian Crown in Upper Lusatia were agreed by contract. For centuries, from as early as

460-490: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia ( German : Oberlausitz [ˈoːbɐˌlaʊ̯zɪt͡s] ; Upper Sorbian : Hornja Łužica , pronounced [ˈhɔʁnʲa ˈwuʒitsa] ; Lower Sorbian : Górna Łužyca ; Polish : Łużyce Górne or Milsko ; Czech : Horní Lužice ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland . Along with Lower Lusatia to

552-974: Is a National Institute and Library of great importance, and the Pan Tadeusz Museum, containing the manuscript of the Polish national epos, Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz , serves as its branch. Bolesławiec , center of pottery production since the Middle Ages, hosts the Museum of Ceramics. The former gold mines in Złoty Stok and Złotoryja , tin and cobalt mine in Krobica , nickel mine in Szklary , coal mine in Nowa Ruda and uranium ore mine in Kowary are available for tourists. There

644-713: Is also an underground tourist route in historic cellars under the old town of Kłodzko . Lower Silesia boasts three World Heritage Sites and 15 Historic Monuments of Poland : There are several burial sites of Polish monarchs and dukes from the Piast dynasty , including at Henryków , Lubiąż , Trzebnica , and several in Legnica and Wrocław. The Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Krzeszów and Church of St. John

736-598: Is bordered by Lubusz Voivodeship to the north-west, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the north-east, Opole Voivodeship to the south-east, the Czech Republic ( Hradec Králové Region , Liberec Region , Olomouc Region and Pardubice Region ) to the south, and Germany ( Saxony ) to the west. Wrocław Airport serves as an international and domestic airport. Wrocław Główny is the largest railway station in Poland, serving an average of 21.2 million passengers annually. It offers

828-586: Is common. In the east, Silesian is still spoken by some. The greatest density of population can be found in the German-Polish twin city of Görlitz/Zgorzelec. Currently 91,000 inhabitants, 33,000 in the Polish part, live there. In the German part of Upper Lusatia, the population has been declining since the 1990s. Young people leave the region because the unemployment in Eastern Saxony is particularly high. This and

920-474: Is divided into 30 counties ( powiaty ), four of which are city counties. These are further divided into 169 gminy . Lower Silesia is divided into three additional delegation districts governed by the provincial government, with Wrocław serving as the capital of the administrative region: The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population). Speedway , football , basketball , handball and volleyball enjoy

1012-683: Is host to several spa towns , many castles and palaces , and the Giant Mountains with several ski resorts . For this reason tourism is a large part of this region's economy. In the past 1,200 years, the region has been part of Great Moravia , the Medieval Kingdom of Poland , the Crown of Bohemia , Kingdom of Hungary , Habsburg monarchy (Austria), Kingdom of Prussia , the German Empire , and modern Poland after 1945. Silesian tribes settled

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1104-828: Is located in Upper Lusatia. Main museums dedicated to the history of the region include the Sorbian museum in Bautzen ( Serbski muzej Budyšin ) and Muzeum Łużyckie ("Lusatian Museum") in Zgorzelec . Zgorzelec is home to one of Poland's largest war cemeteries. One of the most successful sports teams is Turów Zgorzelec , 2013–14 Polish Basketball Champions and former participant of the EuroLeague and EuroCup Basketball . Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship ( Polish : Województwo dolnośląskie , [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ dɔlnɔˈɕlɔ̃skjɛ] ) in southwestern Poland,

1196-519: Is mostly located within the voivodeship. The village of Henryków Lubański contains Poland's oldest tree, an over-1200-year-old yew , listed as a natural monument . The voivodeship has a number of mineral springs and is host to a large number of spa towns . The highest point in the voivodeship is Mount Śnieżka (1603 m above sea level) while the lowest point is located in the Oder River Valley (69 m above sea level). Lower Silesian Voivodeship

1288-483: Is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. It covers an area of 19,946 square kilometres (7,701 sq mi), and as of 2019 has a total population of 2,899,986. It is one of the wealthiest provinces in Poland as natural resources such as copper , brown coal and rock materials are widely present. Its capital and largest city is Wrocław , situated on the Oder River . The voivodeship

1380-526: Is rich in architecture from various reigns, including Czech, Polish, German and Hungarian, whose styles range from Gothic through Renaissance and Baroque to modern architecture. The Muskau Park in Bad Muskau ( Mužakow ) and Łęknica is a World Heritage Site and Historic Monument of Poland . Poland's oldest tree, the over-1200-year-old Henryków yew ( Cis henrykowski ) in Henryków Lubański ,

1472-712: Is the 1st Horse Artillery Company of the Jan Henryk Dąbrowski Division and 2nd Horse Artillery Company of the VIII Corps of Prince Józef Poniatowski . According to the Final Act of the 1815 Congress of Vienna , the northeastern part of Upper Lusatia passed from the Kingdom of Saxony to the Kingdom of Prussia . The new demarcation line ran from Ruhland in the northwest to the Bohemian border at Seidenberg (Zawidów) in

1564-598: The Ostsiedlung , the cultural and ethnic Germanic influence grew with an influx of immigrants from the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire , and since the 1330s when it was subjugated to the Kingdom of Bohemia , although large portions of Lower Silesia still formed Polish-ruled duchies under the houses of Piast, Jagiellon and Sobieski , some up to the 17th and 18th century. Chief medieval ducal capitals of

1656-579: The Cistercian monastery of St. Marienthal , which was subjected to the Diocese of Prague in 1244, and Bishop Bernhard in 1248 founded the second Cistercian monastery of St. Marienstern in Kuckau/Kukow . The forest clearance from about the year 1100, mainly by Sorbian peasants, expanded the cultivated land. New places in the northern area around Hoyerswerda/Wojerecy arose. The country's expansion intensified in

1748-533: The Czech Reformation . In alliance with Emperor Sigismund and Lower Lusatian nobles, the cities waged war against the insurgents. In turn Kamenz , Reichenbach and Löbau , as well as Zittau and Lubań were conquered by the Hussites and devastated. Only the two largest cities, Bautzen and Görlitz, could stand up to the sieges. The Hussite Wars eased the links of Upper Lusatia to the Bohemian Crown, and because of

1840-650: The Gross-Rosen concentration camp , the prisoners of which were mostly Jews, Poles and Russians, but also Frenchmen, Italians, Yugoslavs, Czechs, Belgians, etc. During the war, the Poles postulated that after the defeat of Germany, the Sorbs should be allowed free national development either within the borders of Poland or Czechoslovakia , or as an independent Sorbian state in alliance with Poland. The Eastern Front reached Lusatia in early 1945, with Soviet and Polish troops defeating

1932-670: The Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus , who had conquered Moravia , Silesia and both Lusatias, but never ruled in Bohemia itself. Until the 1479 Peace of Olomouc with King Vladislaus II , the Lusatian League took part in Matthias' war for the Bohemian Crown. Matthias tried to manage his country more efficient. In Silesia, he therefore installed the office of an Oberlandeshauptmann (Upper State Governor), to whom both Lusatias were subjected. This

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2024-568: The Lusatian League . The united forces of the cities should secure the public peace and override local robber barons . This was also in the sense of the sovereign, King Charles IV , who supported the League with numerous privileges. The six municipalities in the subsequent period were able to prevail successfully against the nobility. With their increased economic prosperity they gained political influence. They were able to purchase numerous villages in

2116-565: The Lutheran doctrine finally prevailed in most parishes, as in Upper Lusatia not the Bohemian sovereign introduced the Reformation but the local city councils and noble lords. When King Louis II was killed at the 1526 Battle of Mohács , his crown lands including Upper Lusatia were inherited by his Habsburg brother-in-law Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria , husband of the late king's sister Anne of Bohemia . During his only visit in 1537, he received

2208-768: The Market Square , the Cathedral Island and Wrocław's dwarfs . The Festival of Good Beer is held every year of June. The annual international Chopin Festival is held in the Fryderyk Chopin Theatre in the town of Duszniki-Zdrój . Other major attraction of the town is the Museum of Papermaking , established in a 17th-century paper mill . Śnieżka is the highest peak of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship and

2300-484: 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 voivodeship contains 8 cities and 83 towns. The cities, governed by a city mayor ( Polish : prezydent miasta ), are listed below in descending order of population (as of 2019): Lower Silesian Voivodeship

2392-612: The Milceni was located. Their center was a fortified town at the site of today's Ortenburg in Bautzen. Another early Slavic settlement was situated in the valley of the Neisse river. The rural Sorbian population erected numerous hill forts, which were tribal centers as well as the residences of Slavic nobility. The independent development of the West Slavic tribes was interrupted in the 10th century by

2484-567: The Oder–Neisse line . This new border split the historic region of Upper Lusatia between the two countries. From 1949, up to 7,000 Greeks and Macedonians , refugees of the Greek Civil War , settled in Zgorzelec and Lubań , however, many soon relocated to other places in Poland. Today approximately 780,000 people live in Upper Lusatia, nearly 157,000 of them in the Polish part to the east of

2576-699: The Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. Although much of the region is relatively low-lying, Lower Silesia includes the Sudeten Foreland , as well as part of the Sudetes mountain range, that runs along the Polish/ Czech border. Ski resorts in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship include Karpacz and Szklarska Poręba in the Karkonosze mountains. Lower Silesian Forest , the largest continuous forest of Poland,

2668-607: The Protestant Reformation , the Silesian Wars , Napoleonic Wars , industrialisation and the two World Wars . Before and during World War II , the region's Polish and Jewish populations were persecuted by Nazi Germany . During the war, Germany operated numerous prisons and camps in the region, most notably the Gross-Rosen concentration camp and Stalag VIII-A prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs of various nationalities, both with multiple subcamps scattered throughout

2760-529: The Thirty Years' War , although the administrative practice changed frequently. During the reign of the House of Ascania the division of Upper Lusatia into the countries of Bautzen (Budissin) and Görlitz by Margrave Otto IV of Brandenburg in 1268 was the most important event. Although the autonomy of Görlitz Land ended in 1329 (shortly revived under Duke John of Görlitz between 1377 and 1396), it permanently divided

2852-657: The United States Capitol , as well as of the Baltimore Basilica , was sent to the Moravian School at Niesky. Niesky was administered by the Moravian Church until 1892, when a separate civil administration was established. In 1931 it obtained a coat of arms, and in 1935 it was granted town rights . In 1935 a Catholic church was opened. In 1926 the architect Konrad Wachsmann worked in the timber construction firm Christoph & Unmack AG. During World War II ,

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2944-791: The Zittau Mountains (Lusatian Ridge), part of the Lusatian Mountains forming the border with the adjacent Bohemian region in the south, which today belong to the Czech Republic . The highest peaks of the Zittau Mountains are the Lausche at 792.6 m (2,600 ft)and Hochwald at 749 m (2,457 ft). The adjacent Lusatian Highlands comprise the Landeskrone (420 m), Löbauer Berg (448 m), Kottmar (583 m), Czorneboh (561 m), Bieleboh (499 m), and Valtenberg (587 m). However,

3036-414: The homage by the estates; however the rule was entrusted to the Bohemian Hofmeister Zdislav Berka of Dubá as Landvogt in Bautzen, who was not able to reach a settlement between the League and the local nobility. King Ferdinand himself took contradictory decisions, that did not resolve the continuous struggle over the hegemony in the Upper Lusatian lands. The stance of the nobility was strengthened with

3128-410: The 10th century BC, the Schafsberg near Löbau/Lubij played a special role. Another significant settlement was on the cliff above the Spree river, where in the course of history Bautzens Ortenburg was built, dominant and administrative center of what would become Upper Lusatia. Slavs settled in the region from the 7th century. In the area between today's cities of Kamenz/Kamjenc and Löbau the tribe of

3220-406: The 15th century prelates , nobles and cities could, without the consent of the king's, assemble and take decisions. Thus, the Landtag was, next to the king, the legislative body of Upper Lusatia. The power of the cities had the effect that there were only two voting estates: The cities had extensive judicial powers over the subjects of many knights and over the nobles themselves. The supreme court

3312-427: The 1840s, Polish Romantic poet Roman Zmorski  [ pl ] issued the Polish newspaper Stadło in Budissin and co-operated with the Sorbs. In the interbellum, the German government carried out a massive campaign of changing of place names in Lusatia in order to erase traces of Slavic origin, and while most of the historic names were restored after World War II , some were retained. During World War II,

3404-437: The Archdiocese Museum in Wrocław, which contains the Book of Henryków . Wrocław also hosts the Post and Telecommunications Museum, Poland's chief museum dedicated to postal history. The Regional Museum in Środa Śląska holds the Środa Treasure , containing medieval gold and silver coins, jewellery and royal regalia , considered one of the most precious archaeological findings of 20th-century Europe. The Ossolineum in Wrocław

3496-445: The Baptist in Legnica contain entire Baroque mausoleums of the Piast dukes from the Świdnica and Legnica lines, respectively. Other rather unique historic structures include the Skull Chapel in Kudowa-Zdrój and the Vang Stave Church in Karpacz . The Ducal Tower in Siedlęcin contains one of the best preserved medieval frescos in Poland, and the world's only in situ depiction of Sir Lancelot . World War II sites include

3588-406: The Bohemian king, but retained the remaining towns. In the same year John incorporated the terra et civitas goerlic into the Bohemian Crown, which tied Upper Lusatia closely and permanently with the Kingdom of Bohemia, without affecting Upper Lusatias internal order. In 1346 the five royal cities of Upper Lusatia and Zittau, which had fallen to Bohemia upon the death of Duke Henry of Jawor, founded

3680-452: The German feudal rule was threatened by the ascending Kingdom of Poland and its western expansion. In 1002 Bolesław I Chrobry conquered both Upper and Lower Lusatia and forced German king Henry II to enfeoff him with the Gau Milsca . After several volatile and bitter feuds both parties signed the Peace of Bautzen on 30 January 1018, which assigned the Milceni lands of Upper Lusatia and Lusatia proper (today Lower Lusatia) to Poland. After

3772-451: The Germans and buried in forests along the way. The prisoners remaining in the camp were liberated by the Polish Second Army which captured the town on 18 April 1945. On 26 July 1945 the city issued three postage stamps of its own. Localities of Niesky are Neuhof, Neusärchen, Neuödernitz, Ödernitz, See, Zeche-Moholz, Kosel, Zedlig and Sandschänke. Niesky is twinned with the French town of Albert . This Görlitz location article

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3864-405: The Germans and capturing the region. In Horka , on 26 April 1945, the Germans carried out a massacre of a field hospital column of the 9th Polish Armored Division, killing some 300 POWs, mostly wounded soldiers and medical personnel (see German atrocities committed against Polish prisoners of war ). After the end of World War II in 1945, the border between East Germany and Poland was fixed at

3956-426: The Germans established and operated the AL Niesky subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp , whose prisoners were mostly Poles , Russians , Jews and Yugoslavs , but also Czechs and Frenchmen , and hundreds of whom died. The Germans evacuated the prisoners in February 1945, leaving only those unable to walk in the camp. During the march, weak prisoners and those unable to continue walking were murdered by

4048-458: The Germans operated the Stalag IV-A , Stalag VIII-A and Oflag IV-D prisoner-of-war camps for Polish POWs and civilians, and French , Belgian, British, Australian, New Zealander, Canadian, South African, Italian , Serbian, Soviet, Slovak and American POWs with multiple forced labour subcamps in the region. There were also several Nazi prisons with multiple forced labour subcamps, including in Görlitz and Zittau and multiple subcamps of

4140-408: The Landogt, who traditionally descended from the nobility of the Bohemian crown lands. However, before 1620, only one Upper Lusatian noble was able to assume the office. In Bautzen and Görlitz moreover two Amtshauptmänner existed. These three officials, with several secretaries, formed the entire royal administration. The country's centre of power was the Landtag assembly of the estates. Ever since

4232-460: The Middle Ages, trade flourished, and several important trade routes ran through Lusatia, connecting German states in the west, Poland in the east and Bohemia in the south. Between the death of King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia in 1253 and 1262, the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg attained Budissin Land. Neither the exact date of the acquisition nor the legal form of ownership – feud, marriage or pledge rule – can be established with certainty. With

4324-455: The Neisse river. A part of the country belongs to the settlement area of the Sorbs. Between Kamenz, Bautzen and Hoyerswerda, about 20,000 people speak Sorbian . However, the German population is not culturally homogeneous, and the cultural borders can be quite well identified by the different dialect groups. While in the region around Bautzen a good deal of High German is spoken, in the south the Upper Lusatian dialect of German ( Oberlausitzisch ),

4416-432: The Polish part are still active. Many of the old coal mines have been restored since the 1970s, especially after 1990, when particular attention was paid to revitalize the landscape. The newly formed lakes are already named and advertised as the Lusatian Lake District . Today, Upper Lusatia is grouped into eight natural regions or landscapes: The hunters of the Middle Stone Age (until about 8000 BC) only crossed through

4508-404: The Upper Lusatian nobility and the municipal administration. In Görlitz Land henceforth own meetings nobility took place, which also remained the case after the reunification of the two countries. The town of Görlitz, centre of the eastern phalf, rapidly gained importance and became economically the strongest city of Upper Lusatia. After the extinction of the Ascanian dynasty in 1319, the rulers of

4600-427: The area were Wrocław , Legnica , Głogów , Świdnica and Jawor . Lower Silesia was, during the Middle Ages , one of Poland's cultural centers. The Book of Henryków (1273), which contains the earliest known sentence written in the Polish language, as well as a document which contains the oldest printed text in Polish, were both created within it. The first granting of municipal privileges in Poland took place in

4692-430: The area. Even the oldest agricultural cultures (4500 BC to 3300 BC) left behind only little evidence of settlement. In the early Bronze Age (11th century BC to 9th century BC) people of the Lusatian culture entered the previously uninhabited region from Bohemia and the Lusatian Neisse . Archeological evidence documents a path between the settlement areas around Bautzen/Budyšin and Zittau/Žitawa . A fortified hill from

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4784-461: The border to Silesia and its largest expansion to the east, already in the 12th century. In 1156 Emperor Frederick Barbarossa signed an alliance with the Přemyslid duke Vladislaus II of Bohemia . He not only promised him the royal crown but also the investiture with Ortenburg Castle and Land Budissin, which both became reality two years later. Therewith the first Bohemian period in the history of Upper Lusatia, with far-reaching consequences for

4876-418: The cities of Legnica , Głogów , Lubin and Polkowice produces copper , as well as other valuable minerals, making Poland the second largest producer of copper in Europe, and the largest producer of silver and rhenium in Europe and one of the largest in the world (as of 2024). Strzegom and its surroundings are the site of granite mining, and the town is called the "capital of Polish granite". One of

4968-445: The country at Bad Muskau for Lower Lusatia. Most of the smaller rivers are called -wasser (water), often in combination with the name of a village which the stream flows through. The eastern border of Upper Lusatia with Lower Silesia is marked by the River Kwisa , who flows past Lubań and continues north towards the Silesian lands into the Bóbr river. The central hilly Gefilde ( Pahórčina ) landscape between Kamenz and Löbau

5060-425: The development of the country, began. In the first century of Přemyslid rule all major towns of Upper Lusatia, and all major religious institutions of the country – apart from the older Bautzen – were established. The Meissen bishop Bruno II from 1213 to 1218 established the college of St. Peter in Bautzen , which was richly endowed by King Ottokar I of Bohemia and his successors; Queen Kunigunde in 1234 donated

5152-445: The domestic and international connections of various carriers. The A4 motorway , A8 motorway , A18 motorway and S3 Expressway , S5 Expressway , S8 Expressway also run through the voivodeship. Tourism is important for Lower Silesian Voivodeship. There are 99 castles and hundreds of palaces. A lot are located Jelenia Góra Valley . Wrocław being the largest city in the voivodeship has many sights and attractions, including

5244-431: The establishment of a Landvogt as deputy of the Ascanian ruler they created the most important office in Upper Lusatia. In principle, the powers of the burggraves and judges from Bohemians time were united in one hand and even expanded. The Landvogt was the country's highest official, he decided in feudal matters, presided in the supreme court and was military commander-in-chief. The Landvogts remained in power until after

5336-495: The establishment of the Upper Lusatian state countries of Muskau , Seidenberg, Hoyerswerda, and Königsbrück. King Ferdinand was dependent on support and taxes in the ongoing Ottoman–Habsburg wars and neither could afford to estrange the nobles nor to force back spreading Protestantism . In turn the estates, unlike the Bohemian utraquists , remained neutral in the Schmalkaldic War of 1546/47 and even arranged troops in support of Ferdinand's brother Emperor Charles V —against

5428-444: The expansion of the German state of East Francia . With the raids of 921/922 and 928/929 King Henry the Fowler initiated a period of military subjugation of the Polabian Slavs . In 932 the Milceni were forced to pay tribute. After Henry's death in 936 the Milceni once again became independent, but were subdued again in 939 by King Otto I of Germany . As a result, the Milceni lands, despite persistent militant struggles, became part of

5520-405: The fierce protest of reformer Johannes Bugenhagen . In contrast, the hesitant Lusatian League was not able to prolong military support up to the decisive Battle of Mühlberg . Furious King Ferdinand ordered the League's representatives to his Bohemian court at Prague , where he sentenced the cities to pay an enormous fine and seized their properties. Moreover, he revoked all the League's privileges,

5612-499: The first Protestant sermons were preached in 1520 and 1521, although the nobility, the city councils and King Louis II of Bohemia tried to prevent its spread. In Görlitz and Bautzen the municipal authorities however soon conceded the pressure of the population and officially adopted the Protestant Reformation in 1523 and 1524, though only in small cautious steps. In particular, the chapter of St. Peter in Bautzen resisted successfully and remained Catholic . Overall, it took decades until

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5704-423: The following 200 years and a significant proportion of the country fell under the direct rule of the city councils. In addition, within the so-called Weichbild enlarged municipal area, they were able to enforce their jurisdiction over large parts of the local nobility and its possessions. When the Hussite revolution erupted in the beginning of the 15th century in Bohemia, the League took up an adverse stance over

5796-405: The highest point of historic Upper Lusatia is the Tafelstein (Tabulový Kámen) in the Polish part, located at 1,123 m (3,684 ft) on the eastern slopes of the Smrk ( Smrek ) in the Jizera Mountains , the border tripoint of Upper Lusatia with the historical region of Lower Silesia to the east and Bohemia to the south. All major rivers in the Upper Lusatia flow from south to north. In

5888-418: The lands at the end of the first millennium after the Migration Period . In the 9th century, the region became part of Great Moravia under Svatopluk I of Moravia and in the 10th century, Mieszko I of the Piast dynasty eventually incorporated the region to Poland. The region withstood German invasions with decisive Polish victories at Niemcza (1017) and Głogów (1109), both commemorated with monuments. It

5980-406: The low birth rate have led to severe aging of the population. In the absence of available jobs, minimal influx of foreigners is noticeable. The Polish part of Upper Lusatia is, apart from Zgorzelec, Lubań and Bogatynia, only sparsely populated and the area belongs to an economically weak region of Poland: only the coal-fired power plant in Turów offers a larger number of industrial jobs. The region

6072-406: The middle of the 12th century under the Bohemian kings , which was almost carried out as a competition with the Meissen bishops. German peasants, who cleared the large forest areas and created many new villages, were brought into the country in the course of the Ostsiedlung . Often Slavic (Sorbian) hamlets were also extended by German settlers. The new German farmers were legally better off than

6164-644: The museum at the former Nazi German Gross-Rosen concentration camp and memorials at the sites of other Nazi camps and prisons and to the Polish resistance movement , etc. A portion of the underground structures built as part of the unfinished Nazi German Project Riese is available for tourists. There are also the Kłodzko and Srebrna Góra fortresses, which initially served for military purposes, and during World War II as German prisons for prisoners of various nationalities, especially Polish. Protected areas in Lower Silesian Voivodeship: and many areas of Natura 2000 network. The gross domestic product (GDP) of

6256-450: The neighboring territories, including King John of Bohemia from the mighty House of Luxembourg , claimed Upper Lusatia for themselves. The Bohemian king again received the western lands around Bautzen in 1319 from Emperor Louis the Bavarian . The eastern part with Görlitz, Zittau and Lubań passed to the Duchy of Jawor , the southwesternmost duchy of fragmented Piast -ruled Poland. In 1329 Duke Henry I of Jawor had to cede Görlitz to

6348-416: The north and northeast, the plain of the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape is Pleistocene formed. The UNESCO has declared this area a Biosphere Reserve in 1996, in particular for the protection of otters . The middle part is hilly, while the south is characterized by the Lusatian Mountains , the westernmost range of the Sudetes . The highest elevations of the German part of Upper Lusatia are in

6440-436: The north, it makes up the region of Lusatia , named after the Slavic Lusici tribe. Both parts of Lusatia are home to the West Slavic minority group of the Sorbs . The major part of Upper Lusatia is part of the German federal state of Saxony , roughly comprising Bautzen district and Görlitz district . The northwestern extremity, around Ruhland and Tettau , is incorporated into the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district of

6532-419: The old-established population. The majority of the Sorbians peasants were serfs and had to perform serjeanty . The new (mostly German) villages could manage their affairs also relatively autonomously. However, when Sorbian peasants were involved in the Landesausbau development of the country, they enjoyed the same rights as the German colonists. Due to immigration from the west of the Elbe River, over time

6624-622: The province was 41.1 billion euro in 2018, accounting for 8.3% of the Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €23,400 or 78% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 85% of the EU average. Lower Silesia Voivodeship is the province with the second highest GDP per capita in Poland. The wealth of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship is partly due to mining and production of various minerals. The Legnica-Głogów Copper Basin (Polish: Legnicko-Głogowski Okręg Miedziowy ) with

6716-571: The province. In 1469, Lower Silesia passed to Hungary , and in 1490 it fell back to Bohemia, then ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty, then together with it became part of the Habsburg monarchy (1526). In 1742/44, the territory was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia , and subsequently became part of the German Empire (1871). Over the centuries, Lower Silesia has experienced several epochal events such as

6808-597: The region and beyond, including forced labour camps at the Project Riese construction project. There was also a camp for kidnapped Polish children up to 5 years of age deemed " racially worthless " in Wąsosz , and a youth prison in Wołów with several forced labour subcamps in the region, whereas Kamieniec Ząbkowicki was the place of Aktion T4 murders of mentally ill children by involuntary euthanasia . In 1945, Lower Silesia

6900-696: The region's ties to Poland are the 18th-century mileposts decorated with the coat of arms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth located in various towns in the region. Polish-Sorbian contacts increased in that period. With the Age of Enlightenment , the Sorbian national revival began and resistance to Germanization emerged. During the Napoleonic Wars , in 1813, Polish troops stayed in the region and two Polish military units were established in Zittau , that

6992-524: 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. Burial sights of medieval Polish monarchs from the Piast dynasty are located in

7084-526: The southeast. The Upper Lusatian territory north of it, i.e. the districts of Hoyerswerda , Rothenburg , Görlitz and Lauban (Lubań) , was attached to the Prussian Province of Silesia . Though this area had never been affiliated with historic Silesia before, it is still referred to as "Silesian Upper Lusatia" ( Schlesische Oberlausitz ), e.g. by the local body of the Evangelical Church . In

7176-601: The state of Brandenburg . The eastern part of Upper Lusatia is in Poland, east of the Neisse ( Nysa ) river , in Lower Silesian Voivodeship . A small strip of land in the north around Łęknica is incorporated into Lubusz Voivodeship , along with the Polish part of Lower Lusatia . The historic capital of Upper Lusatia is Bautzen/Budyšin , while the largest city in the region is Görlitz / Zgorzelec , halved between Germany and Poland since 1945. The name Lusatia superior

7268-488: The three largest lignite mines in Poland is located in Bogatynia . Wałbrzych and Nowa Ruda are former bituminous coal mining centers. Szklary was the location of the country's sole nickel ore mine, and one of only five places in the world, where the rare chrysoprase , carnelian and opal were extracted, and the place of discovery of the extremely rare szklaryite , nioboholtite and titanoholtite minerals. In

7360-595: The vast Marca Geronis under the Saxon margrave Gero and after 965 of the newly established Margraviate of Meissen . All the major wall ring castles in the border areas were strengthened and prepared as starting points for further conquests. In place of the Milceni castles, German Burgwards appeared (first mentioned 1006), such as the Ortenburg Castle in Bautzen, or the castles of Göda/Hodźij and Doberschau/Dobruša . In

7452-663: The victory of Emperor Conrad II over the Polish king Mieszko II Lambert in 1031, Upper Lusatia again came under the rule of the Meissen margraves, confirmed by the 1033 Treaty of Merseburg . During the Investiture Controversy in 1076, King Henry IV of Germany granted Budissin Land to Duke Vratislaus II of Bohemia as an Imperial fief in turn for his support in the Saxon Rebellion . The son-in-law of Vratislaus, Count Wiprecht of Groitzsch , ruled it independently from 1084 to 1108 residing at Ortenburg Castle. In 1091,

7544-568: The weakness of the kingdom the internal affairs of the margraviate were regulated largely without royal interference. During this time the Upper Lusatian Landtag (diet) developed into the main instrument of the estates' autonomy. In 1469 the Upper Lusatian estates even seceded from the Bohemian king George of Poděbrady , because of his utraquist confession, which the Pope had condemned as heretical. Upper Lusatia rendered homage to his rival,

7636-890: The west, the Pulsnitz at Königsbrück (the "Gate to Upper Lusatia" on the Via Regia trade route) formerly marked the border with the Meissen lands of the Saxon Electorate . The Spree river has its source in the Lusatian Highlands in the far south of the country and flows through Bautzen. The Lusatian Neisse has formed the German-Polish border since 1945. The river rises in the Czech Jizera Mountains , enters Upper Lusatia near Zittau , flows through Görlitz/Zgorzelec and leaves

7728-451: The whole of the Sudetes . The voivodeship contains 11 spa towns ( Długopole-Zdrój , Duszniki-Zdrój , Jedlina-Zdrój , Kudowa-Zdrój , Lądek-Zdrój , Polanica-Zdrój , Przerzeczyn-Zdrój , Szczawno-Zdrój , Świeradów-Zdrój ), more than any other province of Poland. There are various museums, including the major National Museum in Wrocław with the branch Racławice Panorama Museum, and

7820-465: The year 1002 the city of Bautzen was first mentioned by the chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg . Until the second half of the 10th century the fights continued, and in 990 the Milceni were finally subdued by Margrave Eckard I of Meissen . The church of Upper Lusatia was assigned to the Diocese of Meissen in 968. In 1007, the diocese received the first donation in Milceni lands, the castles Ostrusna (probably Ostritz ) and Godobi (Göda). Soon, however,

7912-423: Was considered a threat to autonomy by the Upper Lusatian estates. Upon the death of Matthias Corvinus in 1490, Upper Lusatia again became a constituent Land of the Bohemian Crown . The hated Landvogt of King Matthias, Georg von Stein, was immediately expelled from Bautzens Ortenburg. At the end of the 15th century the political system of the margraviate was largely stabilized. Deputy of the absent sovereign remained

8004-569: Was divided into small realms reigned by Silesian branches of Piast dukes after the testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1138. Wrocław was mentioned as one of three centers of the Kingdom of Poland, along with Kraków and Sandomierz , in the early-12th-century Gesta principum Polonorum chronicle. In 1241, it was the place of the Battle of Legnica , the largest battle of the Mongol invasions of Poland. With

8096-469: Was especially well suited for agriculture and is still very profitable. In the 19th century, in the northern part of Upper Lusatia, in the east on both sides of the Neisse river and around Hoyerswerda large quantities of brown coal were found. Especially the digging in open pits has destroyed large parts of the old cultural landscape. Currently the Nochten pit south of Weißwasser and Turów near Bogatynia in

8188-472: Was first recorded in a 1474 deed, derived from the adjacent Lower Lusatian lands in the north, which originally were just called the March of Lusatia . The Upper Lusatian territory was previously referred to as Milsko in contemporary chronicles, named after the local West Slavic Milceni tribe, later also called Land Budissin . Geomorphological Upper Lusatia is shaped by the uniform Lusatian granite massif, only

8280-473: Was made again part of Poland as agreed at the post-war Potsdam Conference . As a consequence, Lower Silesia suffered a nearly total loss of its pre-war population between 1945 and 1950. Polish citizens dispossessed by the Soviets were then settled in the now emptied lands. The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Wrocław , Legnica , Wałbrzych and Jelenia Góra Voivodeships, following

8372-635: Was the court of the land and the cities, which was formed together by both estates. According to the privilegium de non-appellando , a decision was final and couldn't be changed at the royal courts in Prague. The cities' supremacy remained a thorn in the side of the Upper Lusatian nobility. Only a few years after Martin Luther put up The Ninety-Five Theses in Saxon Wittenberg , his Reformative ideas spread all over Upper Lusatia. In Görlitz, Bautzen and Zittau,

8464-621: Was transferred by the Peace of Prague (1635) to the Electorate of Saxony . Two main routes connecting Warsaw and Dresden ran through the region in the 18th century and Kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland often traveled the routes. Numerous Polish dignitaries also traveled through Upper Lusatia on several occasions, and some Polish nobles owned estates in Lusatia. A distinct remnant of

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