Lusatia
Lusatia
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Lusatia (German: Lausitz [ˈlaʊ̯zɪt͡s] ⓘ, Polish: ⓘ, Upper Sorbian: Łužica [ˈwuʒitsa], Lower Sorbian: Łužyca [ˈwuʒɨtsa], Czech: Lužice) is a historical region in Central Europe, territorially split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Pulsnitz and Black Elster rivers in the west, and is located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Polish voivodeships of Lower Silesia and Lubusz. Major rivers of Lusatia are the Spree and the Lusatian Neisse, which defines the border between Germany and Poland. The Lusatian Mountains of the Western Sudetes separate Lusatia from Bohemia (Czech Republic) in the south. Lusatia is traditionally divided into Upper Lusatia, the hilly southern part, and Lower Lusatia, the flat northern part.
The areas east and west along the Spree in the German part of Lusatia are home to the
The
The largest Lusatian city is Cottbus (Chóśebuz), with nearly 100,000 inhabitants. Other notable towns are the former members of the Lusatian League: the German/Polish twin towns of Görlitz (Zhorjelc) and Zgorzelec, Bautzen (Budyšin), Zittau (Žitawa), Lubań, Kamenz (Kamjenc), and Löbau (Lubij)), as well as Żary, the German/Polish twin towns of Guben (Gubin) and Gubin, Hoyerswerda (Wojerecy), Senftenberg (Zły Komorow), Eisenhüttenstadt (Pśibrjog), and Spremberg (Grodk).
Etymology
The name derives from the Sorbian word łužicy meaning "swamps" or "water-hole", Germanized as Lausitz. Lusatia is the Latinized form which spread in the English and Romance languages area.
Geography
Lusatia comprises two both scenically and historically different parts: a hilly southern "upper" section and a "lower" region, which belongs to the
Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia (Oberlausitz, Łużyce Górne or Hornja Łužica) is today part of the German state of Saxony, except for a small part east of the
Upper Lusatia is characterized by fertile soil and undulating hills as well as by historic towns and cities such as
Lower Lusatia
Most of the area belonging to the German state of Brandenburg today is called Lower Lusatia (Niederlausitz, Łużyce Dolne or Dolna Łužyca) and is characterized by forests and meadows. In the course of much of the 19th and the entire 20th century, it was shaped by the lignite industry and extensive open-pit mining. Important towns include
Between Upper and Lower Lusatia is a region called the
Lusatian Lake District
The Lusatian Lake District (German: Lausitzer Seenland, Lower Sorbian: Łužyska jazorina, Upper Sorbian: Łužiska jězorina) will become Europe's largest artificial lake district. Some of the biggest lakes are Lake Senftenberg (Senftenberger See / Złokomorowski jazor) and Bluno Southern Lake (Blunoer Südsee / Južny Blunjanski jězor).
Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape
The Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape (German: Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft, Upper Sorbian: Hornjołužiska hola a hatowa krajina) is the region richest in ponds in Germany, and together with the Lower Lusatian Pond Landscape forms the biggest pond landscape in Central Europe.
Lusatian capitals
As Lusatia is not, and never has been, a single administrative unit, Upper and Lower Lusatia have different, but in some respects similar, histories. The city of Cottbus is the largest in the region, and though it is recognized as the cultural capital of Lower Lusatia, it was a Brandenburg exclave since 1445. Historically, the administrative centres of Lower Lusatia were at Luckau and Lübben, while the historical capital of Upper Lusatia is Bautzen. Since 1945, when a small part of Lusatia east of the Oder–Neisse line was incorporated into Poland, Żary has been touted as the capital of Polish Lusatia.[1]
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Bautzen (Budyšin), capital of Upper Lusatia
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Cottbus (Chóśebuz), capital of Lower Lusatia
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Lübben (Lubin), former capital of Lower Lusatia
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Luckau (Łuków), former capital of Lower Lusatia
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Żary, capital of Polish Lusatia
History
Early history
According to the earliest records, the area was settled by culturally Celtic tribes. Later, around 100 BC, the Germanic Semnones settled in that area. The name of the region may be derived from that of the Ligians. From around 600 onwards, West Slavic tribes known as the Milceni and Lusici settled permanently in the region.
In the 10th century, the region came under the influence of the
At the same time the
In 1367 the Brandenburg elector Otto V of Wittelsbach finally sold Lower Lusatia to King Karel of Bohemia, thereby becoming a Bohemian crown land.
Bohemian rule
As Margrave
In 1346 six Upper Lusatian cities formed the Lusatian League to resist the constant attacks conducted by robber barons. The association supported King Sigismund in the Hussite Wars leading to armed attacks and devastation. The cities were represented in the (Upper) Lusatian Landtag assembly, where they met with the fierce opposition of the noble state countries. In 1469 the region passed to Hungary, and in 1490 it returned to the Bohemian Crown, then under the rule of Polish Prince Vladislaus II.[4]
Following the
Saxon rule
According to the 1635
The newly established Kingdom of Saxony, however, sided with Napoleon; therefore, at the 1815 Congress of Vienna, Lusatia was divided, with Lower Lusatia and the northeastern part of Upper Lusatia around Hoyerswerda, Rothenburg, Görlitz, and Lauban awarded to Prussia. Only the southwestern part of Upper Lusatia, which included Löbau, Kamenz, Bautzen, and Zittau, remained part of Saxony.
Prussian rule
The Lusatians in Prussia demanded that their land become a distinct administrative unit, but Lower Lusatia was incorporated into the Province of Brandenburg, while the Upper Lusatian territories were attached to the Province of Silesia instead.
One of the main escape routes for insurgents of the unsuccessful Polish November Uprising from partitioned Poland to the Great Emigration led through Lübben and Luckau.[8]
The 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed an era of cultural revival for Sorbs. The modern languages of Upper and Lower Lusatian (or Sorbian) emerged, national literature flourished, and many national organizations such as Maćica Serbska and Domowina were founded. There were also notable Polish communities in Lusatia, such as Klettwitz (Upper Sorbian: Klěśišća, Polish: Kletwice), inhabited in the 1930s by some 550 Poles.[9]
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.
This era came to an end during the
During the war, the Germans established and operated several
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.[16]
The Eastern Front reached Lusatia in early 1945, with Soviet and Polish troops defeating the Germans and capturing the region. In Horka, on April 26, 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).[17]
Since 1945
After World War II according to the
In 1945, the northeastern part of Upper Lusatia west of the Neisse rejoined
In 1950, the Sorbs obtained language and
Demographics
Sorbs
More than 80,000 of the
There is a daily newspaper in the Sorbian language (Serbske Nowiny); a Sorbian radio station (Serbski Rozhłós) uses local frequencies of two otherwise German-speaking radio stations for several hours a day. There are very limited programmes on television (once a month) in Sorbian on two regional television stations (RBB and MDR TV).
In 2020, despite the loss of the Sorbian language in most of Lusatia, there are some Sorbian traditions and habits that still live on to this day. In February, many people (mostly people from villages, regardless of German or Sorbian ancestry) will still engage in the Sorbian tradition of Zampern (a festive procession). Some Sorbian dishes like boiled potatoes with linseed oil and curd (German: Quark mit Leineöl)[19] are still prevalent and, today, are eaten in other parts of Germany (like Berlin or western Saxony) too. Spreewälder Gurken (pickled cucumbers potted by using a special mixture of herbs and spices) are often associated with the Sorbs even though the cucumbers themselves were introduced by Dutch migrants, who started to pickle them for higher durability. Soon Sorbs adopted the pickling and might have changed the recipes slightly over time.[20]
The traditional Sorbian costumes are still to be worn in the Spreewald region even though mainly in the tourism industry. Recently, some women started to revive traditional clothes by using them as wedding dresses, even though this practise differs from original traditions.
Demographics in 1900
Percentage of Sorbs:
- Cottbus (Chóśebuz) (Province of Brandenburg) 55.8%
- Hoyerswerda (Wojerecy) (Province of Silesia) 37.8%
- Bautzen (Budyšin) (Kingdom of Saxony) 17.7%
- Rothenburg, Oberlausitz (Rózbork) (Province of Silesia) 17.2%
- Kamenz (Kamjenc) (Kingdom of Saxony) 7.1%
Total number: 93,032[21]
The percentage of
Culture
Sights
The region is rich in architecture from various reigns, including Czech, Polish, German and Hungarian, whose styles range from Romanesque and 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.[22]
There are two major Sorbian museums in Cottbus (Serbski muzej Chóśebuz) and Bautzen (Serbski muzej Budyšin).
In Poland, notable museums include the Muzeum Łużyckie ("Lusatian Museum") in Zgorzelec and the Muzeum Pogranicza Śląsko-Łużyckiego ("Museum of Silesian-Lusatian Borderland") in Żary.
Zgorzelec is home to one of Poland's largest war cemeteries.
Literature
- Micklitza, Kerstin and André: Lausitz – Unterwegs zwischen Spreewald und Zittauer Gebirge. 5. aktualisierte und erweiterte Aufl. Trescher Verlag, Berlin 2016. ISBN 978-3-89794-330-8.
- Brie, André: Lausitz – Landschaft mit neuem Gesicht. ISBN 3-865-68538-2.
- Micklitza, Kerstin and André: HB-Bildatlas Spreewald-Lausitz. 4. aktualisierte Aufl. HB Verlag, Ostfildern 2008. ISBN 978-3-616-06115-3.
- Jacob, Ulf: Zwischen Autobahn und Heide. Das Lausitzbild im Dritten Reich. Eine Studie zur Entstehung, Ideologie und Funktion symbolischer Sinnwelten. Hrsg. von der Internationalen Bauausstellung Fürst-Pückler-Land, Großräschen (Zeitmaschine Lausitz), Verlag der Kunst, Dresden in der Verlagsgruppe Husum, Husum 2004. ISBN 3-86530-002-2.
- Freiherr von Vietinghoff-Riesch, Arnold: Der Oberlausitzer Wald – seine Geschichte und seine Struktur bis 1945 [reprint]. Oberlausitzer Verlag, Spitzkunnersdorf 2004. ISBN 3-933827-46-9.
See also
References
- ^ a b "STOLICA POLSKICH ŁUŻYC – Żary". Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2014-09-08.
- ^ Pieradzka, Krystyna (1949). "Związki handlowe Łużyc ze Śląskiem w dawnych wiekach". Sobótka (in Polish). IV (4). Wrocław: 89–91.
- ^ Bogusławski, Wilhelm (1861). Rys dziejów serbo-łużyckich (in Polish). Petersburg. p. 142.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Köhler, Gustav (1846). Der Bund der Sechsstädte in der Ober-Lausitz: Eine Jubelschrift (in German). Görlitz: G. Heinze & Comp. p. 30.
- ^ "Informacja historyczna". Dresden-Warszawa (in Polish). Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich: 243.
- ^ Matyniak, p. 241
- ^ Umiński, Janusz (1998). "Losy internowanych na Pomorzu żołnierzy powstania listopadowego". Jantarowe Szlaki (in Polish). Vol. 4, no. 250. p. 16.
- ^ Leksykon Polactwa w Niemczech (in Polish). Opole: Związek Polaków w Niemczech. 1939. p. 364.
- ISBN 978-0-253-06089-1.
- ^ "Gefängnis Görlitz". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ "Zuchthaus Luckau". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ "Gerichtsgefängnis Zittau". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ "Frauenzuchthaus Cottbus". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ "Subcamps of KL Gross- Rosen". Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoźnica. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ Orzechowski, Marian (1976). "Kwestia serbołużycka w polskiej myśli politycznej w latach 1939–1947". Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka (in Polish). XXXI (2). Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk: 380–381.
- ISSN 0867-6364.
- ^ on site Prolusatia foundation "Działalność Wojciecha (Wojcecha) Kócki w serbołużyckim ruchu narodowym w latach 1945 – 1950"
- ^ "The world of the Sorbs – Saxony – Germany's finest travel destination".
- ^ Reimann, Marieke. "Spreewaldgurken: Knack. Schnurps. Knack". Faz.net.
- ^ All figures from the 1900 census.
- ^ Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 14 kwietnia 2004 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii, Dz. U. z 2004 r. Nr 102, poz. 1059
External links
- Media related to Lusatia at Wikimedia Commons
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). 1911. .