Silesia
Outlined in light blue, up and down river from Wroclaw.
Language(s):	Silesian language, Polish language, German language, Czech language
Time zone:	CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2)

Silesia (in English, , ; ; ; ; Silesian: ?l?nsk) is a historical region of Central Europe located in contemporary Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. It is rich in mineral and natural resources and home to large amounts of industry. The largest cities are Wroc?aw, Katowice, and Ostrava.

Geographically, the area is very accessible but terminates within several mountain ranges making it historically a border region when incorporated amongst larger nation-states. It is primarily located in a swath flanking along both banks of the upper and middle Oder River, but extends to the upper Vistula River, and into and along the Sudetes, and arms of the Carpathian (both the Silesian Beskids, Silesian-Moravian Beskids) mountain ranges.

As a region, "national" ownership and borders have changed radically over the past millennium both as a heredity possession of noble houses and after the rise of modern nation-states; but, at present, most of the area is now within the borders of Poland where it is administered by the following sub-divisions: Silesian Voivodeship, Opole Voivodeship, Lower Silesian Voivodeship and Lubusz Voivodeship. Additional parts of the region are now in the Czech Republic (Czech Silesia) and Germany (Silesian-Lusatian Region or Silesian Lusatia: ).

Silesia has been inhabited by people of multiple ethnic groups, primarily Germanic tribes and Slavic tribes. The first known states in Silesia were those of Greater Moravia and Bohemia. In the 10th century, Mieszko I incorporated Silesia into the Polish state; in the Middle Ages, Silesia was divided among many independent duchies ruled by various Silesian dukes of the Piast dynasty. During this time, cultural and ethnic German influence increased. Silesia fell under the influence of the Bohemian crown under the Holy Roman Empire in the 14th century, and passed with that crown to the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria in 1526. In 1742, most of Silesia was seized by King Frederick the Great of Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession and subsequently made the Prussian Province of Silesia. After World War I, parts of Silesia were transferred to the Second Polish Republic. The Prussian Province of Silesia within Germany was divided into the Provinces of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia. Austrian Silesia (now Czech Silesia), the small portion of Silesia retained by Austria after the Silesian Wars, became part of the new Czechoslovakia. In 1945 following World War II, all of Silesia was seized by the Soviet Union and most of it transferred to Poland.

Etymology

One theory claims that the name Silesia is derived from the Silingi, who were most likely a Vandalic (East Germanic) people migrated towards south of the Baltic Sea along the Elbe, Oder, and Vistula Rivers in the 2nd century. When the Silingi moved from the area during the Migration Period, they left remnants of their society behind.

The most evident remnants are in the names of places, which were imposed (in Slavic form) by the new inhabitants, who were in fact Slavic (; Old Polish: ?l??sk [-o]; Old Slavic: *S?l???sk? [<*s?l?g?sk?], from Old Vandalic *Siling-isk [land]). These people became associated with the place, and were thenceforth known as Silesians (using a Latinized form of the Polish name, ?l??anie), even though they may have had little in common with the original Silingi. The critics claim that neither the Polish name ?l?sk nor German Schlesien show resemblance to the alleged tribe of "Silingi", and that the Latin name Silesia originated in 11th century.

The other theory (supported by archaeological finds) claims that the original name of the region ?l?sk, is derived from the West Slavic word ?l?gwa meaning high humidity (to this day the region of Mountain ?l??a, the original Polish settlement, has a coastal climate).

History

Silesia has been inhabited from time immemorial by people of multiple ethnic groups. Germanic tribes were first recorded within Silesia in the 1st century. Slavic White Croats arrived in this territory around the 6th century establishing White Croatia. The first known states in Silesia were those of Greater Moravia and Bohemia. In the 10th century, Mieszko I incorporated Silesia into the Polish state.

In the Middle Ages, Silesia was divided among many independent duchies ruled by various Silesian dukes of the Piast dynasty. During this time, cultural and ethnic German influence increased due to immigrants from the German-speaking components of the Holy Roman Empire. Between the years 1289–1292 Bohemian king Wenceslaus II became suzerain of some Upper Silesian duchies. Silesia subsequently became a possession of the Bohemian crown under the Holy Roman Empire in the 14th century, and passed with that crown to the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria in 1526. The Duchy of Crossen was inherited by Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1476 and, with the renunciation by King Ferdinand I and estates of Bohemia in 1538, it became an integral part of Brandenburg.

In 1742, most of Silesia was seized by King Frederick the Great of Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession and subsequently made the Prussian Province of Silesia.

After World War I, parts of Silesia were transferred to the Second Polish Republic and administered as the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. A plebecite (results of which were contested by Poland) recorded the majority of the population of all of Upper Silesia wished to remain part of Germany. However, the easternmost portion of Upper Silesia, with a majority ethnic Polish population, was transferred to Poland. The Prussian Province of Silesia within Germany was divided into the Provinces of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia. Austrian Silesia (now Czech Silesia), the small portion of Silesia retained by Austria after the Silesian Wars, became part of the new Czechoslovakia.

In 1945 following World War II, all of Silesia was seized by the Soviet Union and most of it transferred to Poland. As a result a vast majority of the native ethnic German population was expelled by force and replaced by Polish settlers who had themselves been expelled from eastern Poland.

Geography

First map of Silesia by Martin Helwig, 1561

Silesia has undergone a similar notional extension at its eastern extreme. Traditionally it extended only as far as the Brynica river, which separates it from Zag??bie D?browskie. However to most Poles today (excluding those from the area in question), Silesia (?l?sk) is understood to cover all of the area around Katowice, including Zag??bie. This interpretation is given official sanction in the use of the name Silesian Voivodeship (województwo ?l?skie) for the province covering this area. In fact the word ?l?sk in Polish (when used without qualification) now commonly refers exclusively to this area (also called Upper Silesia), to the exclusion of Lower Silesia.

Apart from Silesian Voivodeship, Upper Silesia in a broader sense also includes Opole Voivodeship in Poland and Czech Silesia in the Czech Republic. Czech Silesia consists of the Moravian-Silesian Region and Jeseník District in the Olomouc Region.

Natural resources

Silesia is a resource-rich and populous region. Bituminous and lignite coal is abundant, and a substantial manufacturing industry is present, particularly in Upper Silesia. Lower Silesia features large copper mining and processing between the cities of Legnica, G?ogów, Lubin and Polkowice. Recently, the estimate of lignite reserves near Legnica has been upgraded to about 35 billion tonnes, making them some of the largest in the world.^[1]

The following minerals have also been mined in Silesia: zinc, silver, cadmium, lead, gold, methane, iron ore, limestone, marl, marble, and basalt. Historically, also uranium used to be mined.^[2]

In post-communist times, however, the outdated nature of many facilities has led to environmental problems and substantial transition away from the resource-based to service-based economy.

The region also has 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.^[8]

Mountainous parts of southern Silesia feature many significant and attractive tourism destinations (e.g., Karpacz, Szczyrk, Wis?a).

Silesia is generally well forested. This is because greenness is generally highly desirable by the local population, particularly in the highly industrialized parts of Silesia.

Demographics

Modern Silesia is inhabited by Poles, Germans, Czechs and Slavic Silesians. The last Polish census of 2002 showed that the Silesians are the largest 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, and Poles.

Before the Second World War, Silesia was inhabited mostly by Germans and Poles, in addition to German and Polish Jews and Czechs. In 1905, a census showed (in Upper Silesia) that 75% of the population was German and 25% Polish. Most Jews were murdered in the Holocaust in the German concentration camps. The vast majority of German Silesians fled or were expelled from Silesia during and after World War II. Most ethnic German Silesians today live in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, many of them working as miners in the Ruhr area, like their ancestors did in the Silesian mines. In order to smooth their integration into West German society after 1945, they were organized into officially recognized organisations, like the Landsmannschaft Schlesien, financed from the federal German budget. One of its most notable but controversial spokesmen was the CDU politician Herbert Hupka. The prevailing public opinion in Germany is that these organisations will achieve reconciliation with the Polish Silesians, which is gradually occurring. Many of the pre-war Germanised Slavic Silesians living in Upper Silesia have remained culturally bound to and have sought work in the Federal Republic of Germany after 1990, along with their ethnic German Silesian countrymen. Examples of mixed Polish-German Silesians include Miroslav Klose; fellow teammate Lukas Podolski who is also Silesian. Both are stars of the German national football team.

Silesia is perceived by many inhabitants as a distinct region with its own culture.^[9] Also stereotyping of Silesians and by Silesians themselves is common.^[10] The Silesian people are perceived to traditionally exhibit exceptional working ethics, high technical aptitude, dedication to family, team-work orientation, and skepticism to politics and media. The stereotypical way for Silesian men to spend their free time would include pigeon keeping, bee keeping, soccer, gardening, home upgrades, beer drinking, or magazine reading, while stereotypical housewife would prefer to play with kids, chat with a neighbour, or bake elaborate pastry (possibly a poppy-seed cake).

Cities in Silesia

By far, the largest urban center in Silesia (and in Poland) is the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, which is a voluntary union of a 14 neighbouring cities. However, it struggling to gain recognition in Poland, and is sometimes not even shown on Polish maps^[11].

The following table lists the (official) cities in Silesia with a population greater than 100,000 (2006):

Wroc?aw

Katowice

Ostrava

Bielsko-Bia?a

Opole

Görlitz

		Official name	Population	Area	Administrative	Country
1		Wroc?aw	635 932	293 km²	Lower Silesian V.
2		Katowice	317 220	165 km²	Silesian Voivodeship
3		Ostrava	309 531	214 km²	Moravian-Silesian R.
4		Gliwice	199 451	134 km²	Silesian Voivodeship
5		Bytom	187 943	69 km²	Silesian Voivodeship
6		Zabrze	191 247	80 km²	Silesian Voivodeship
7		Bielsko-Bia?a	176 864	125 km²	Silesian Voivodeship
8		Ruda ?l?ska	146 658	78 km²	Silesian Voivodeship
9		Rybnik	141 580	148 km²	Silesian Voivodeship
10		Tychy	131 153	82 km²	Silesian Voivodeship
11		Opole	128 268	97 km²	Opole Voivodeship
12		Wa?brzych	126 465	85 km²	Lower Silesian V.
13		Zielona Góra	118 221	58 km²	Lubusz Voivodeship
14		Chorzów	114 686	33 km²	Silesian Voivodeship
15		Legnica	105 750	56 km²	Lower Silesian V.

See also

• Architecture of Silesia
• List of Silesians
• Silesian language
• Silesian uprisings
• Silesians
• Union of Poles in Germany
• Expulsion of Germans after World War II

Footnotes

References

Further reading

• Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, 1st Series, volume XI, Upper Silesia, Poland, and the Baltic States, January 1920-March 1921, edited by Rohan Butler, MA, J.P.T.Bury, MA, & M.E.Lambert, MA, Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO), London, 1961 (amended edition 1974), ISBN 0-11-591511-7*

• Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, 1st Series, volume XVI, Upper Silesia, March 1921 - November 1922, edited by W.N.Medlicott, MA, D.Lit., Douglas Dakin, MA, PhD, & M.E.Lambert, MA, HMSO, London, 1968.

• Microcosm, Portrait of a Central European City, by Norman Davies and Roger Moorhouse (Jonathan Cape, 2002) ISBN 0-224-06243-3

• Dehio - Handbuch der Kunstdenkmäler in Polen: Schlesien, Herder-Institut Marburg and Krajowy Osrodek Badan i Dokumentacji Zabytkow Warszawa, Deutscher Kunstverlag 2005, ISBN 342203109X*

External links

• Silesia in Europe page
• Republic of Silesia page
• Silesian Autonomy Movement page
• Map of Silesia in 1763
• Old postcards from Silesian towns
• Photos from Silesian towns, villages and communities before 1946
• Map of Silesia as of 2000
• Silesia in maps of Europe
• Combined European History Exhibit by Germans, Poles, Czech, Slovaks and Hungarians

af:Silesië ar:??????? br:Silezia bg:??????? cs:Slezsko da:Schlesien de:Schlesien el:??????? es:Silesia eo:Silezio fr:Silésie fy:Sileezje gl:Silesia ko:???? hsb:?leska id:Silesia it:Slesia he:????? la:Silesia lb:Schlesien lt:Silezija hu:Szilézia mdf:??????? nl:Silezië ja:???? no:Schlesien oc:Silèsia pl:?l?sk pt:Silésia ro:Silezia ru:??????? simple:Silesia sk:Sliezsko sl:?lezija szl:?l?nsk sr:?????? fi:Sleesia sv:Schlesien vi:Silesia uk:??????? zh:????