Silesia

Coordinates: 51°36′N 17°12′E / 51.6°N 17.2°E / 51.6; 17.2
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Silesia (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Cilicia.
"Schlesien" and "Śląsk" redirect here. For other uses, see Schlesien (disambiguation) and Śląsk (disambiguation).

Silesia
Śląsk (
Wrocław Old Town
  • Opole Old Town
  • Spodek, Katowice
  • Zielona Góra
  • Opava
    • Prussian Silesia, 1871
      Oder River
    Base map shows modern national borders.
    Silesia on a map of Poland
    Silesia on a map of Poland
    Coordinates: 51°36′N 17°12′E / 51.6°N 17.2°E / 51.6; 17.2
    Country
    Largest city
    UTC+2 (CEST
    )

    Silesia[a] (see names below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within modern-day Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately 40,000 km2 (15,400 sq mi), and 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

    Katowice metropolitan area, the centre of which is Katowice. Parts of 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

    Greater Moravia at 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 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

    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 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 the result of the

    Lower Silesian German dialect
    is nearing extinction due to its speakers' expulsion.

    Etymology

    Silesia (Śląsk) and other historical lands of Poland against the background of modern administrative borders (names in Polish)

    The names of Silesia in different languages most likely share their etymology—

    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).[6] According to some Polonists, the name Ślęża [ˈɕlɛ̃ʐa] or Ślęż [ɕlɛ̃ʂ] is directly related to the Old Polish words ślęg [ɕlɛŋk] or śląg [ɕlɔŋk], which means dampness, moisture, or humidity.[7] 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.[8]

    In Polish common usage, "Śląsk" refers to traditionally Polish Upper Silesia and today's Silesian Voivodeship, but less to Lower Silesia, which is different from Upper Silesia in many respects as its population was predominantly German-speaking until 1945–48.[9]

    History

    Main article: History of Silesia

    In the fourth century BC from the south, through the

    Mount Ślęża near modern Wrocław, Oława and Strzelin.[10]

    Poland with Silesia (Śląsk) during the rule of Bolesław III Wrymouth, 1102-1138

    Poland its name.[12]

    The first known states in Silesia were

    Silesian dukes. In 1178, parts of the Duchy of Kraków around Bytom, Oświęcim, Chrzanów, and Siewierz were transferred to the Silesian Piasts, although their population was primarily Vistulan and not of Silesian descent.[12]

    German cultural and ethnic influence increased as a result of immigration from German-speaking states of the Holy Roman Empire
    .

    Poland's fragmentation, 1172–1177, Lower Silesia with Lubusz Land
    in orange, Upper Silesia in green and yellow

    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 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 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

    suzerain of some of the Upper Silesian duchies. Polish monarchs had not renounced their hereditary rights to Silesia until 1335.[14] The province became part of 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 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

    Diocese of Kraków.[12] 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
    .

    Lands of the Bohemian Crown between 1635 and 1742, before most of Silesia was ceded to Prussia

    In 1742, most of Silesia 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 the Silesian mountain region (Hirschberg, Schneekoppe).

    After World War I, a part of Silesia,

    Silesian uprising (1921), however, the easternmost portion of Upper Silesia (including Katowice), with 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 the east of it went to Poland.

    Typical Silesian baroque architecture in Wrocław

    Polish Silesia was among the first regions invaded during Germany's 1939

    subcamps of prisons, POW camps and of the Gross-Rosen and Auschwitz
    concentration camps.

    The

    Oder-Neisse line as the border between Germany and Poland, pending a final peace conference with Germany which eventually never took place.[19] At the end of WWII, Germans in Silesia fled from 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 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.[20]

    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 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.

    Geography

    First map of Silesia by Martin Helwig, 1561; north at the bottom

    Most of Silesia 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

    Sudeten Mountains run along most of 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 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 the

    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 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.

    Natural resources

    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 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.[21] Coal mining declined during the next two decades, but has increased again following the end of Communist rule.

    Bolesław Śmiały Coal Mine, Łaziska Górne

    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 km2 (1,700 sq mi).[21] Deposits in Lower Silesia have proven to be difficult to exploit and the area's unprofitable mines were closed in 2000.[21] In 2008, an estimated 35 billion tonnes of lignite reserves were found near Legnica, making them some of the largest in the world.[22]

    From the fourth century BC, iron ore has been mined in the upland areas of Silesia.[21] The same period had lead, copper, silver, and gold mining. Zinc, cadmium, arsenic,[23] and uranium[24] have also been mined in 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.[21]

    Annual production of minerals in Silesia
    Mineral Name Production (tonnes) Reference
    Bituminous coal 95,000,000
    Copper 571,000 [25]
    Zinc 160,000 [26]
    Silver 1,200 [27]
    Cadmium 500 [28]
    Lead 70,000 [29]

    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.[30]

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

    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 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.[31][32]

    Polish names of Silesian cities, from a 1750 Prussian official document published in Berlin during the Silesian Wars[33]

    Ethnicity

    Modern Silesia is inhabited by

    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 the Second World War, Silesia was inhabited mostly by Germans, with Poles a large minority, forming a majority in Upper Silesia.[35] 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.[36]

    Table 1. Ethno-linguistic structure of Prussian Silesia in years 1787–1823
    Ethnic group acc. G. Hassel in 1819[37] % acc. S. Plater in 1823[38] % acc. T. Ładogórski in 1787[39] %
    Germans 1,561,570 75.6 1,550,000 70.5 1,303,300 74.6
    Poles 444,000 21.5 600,000 27.3 401,900 23.0
    Sorbs 24,500 1.2 30,000 1.4 900 0.1
    Czechs 5,500 0.3 32,600 1.9
    Moravians 12,000 0.6
    Jews 16,916 0.8 20,000 0.9 8,900 0.5
    Population c. 2.1 million 100 c. 2.2 million 100 c. 1.8 million 100

    Ethnic structure of Prussian Upper Silesia (Opole regency) during the 19th century and the early 20th century can be found in Table 2.:

    The Austrian part of Silesia had a mixed German, Polish and Czech population, with Polish-speakers forming a majority in Cieszyn Silesia.[43]

    Religion

    Confessions in the German Empire (Protestant/Catholic; c. 1890). Lower Silesia was mostly Protestant, while Glatz (Kłodzko) and Upper Silesia were mostly Catholic.

    Historically, Silesia was about equally split between

    were forcibly expelled
    . Poles, who were mostly Roman Catholic, were resettled in their place. Today, Silesia remains predominantly Roman Catholic.

    Existing since the 12th century,[45] Silesia's Jewish community was concentrated around Wrocław and Upper Silesia, and numbered 48,003 (1.1% of the population) in 1890, decreasing to 44,985 persons (0.9%) by 1910.[46] In Polish East Upper Silesia, the number of Jews was around 90,000–100,000.[47] Historically, the community had suffered a number of localised expulsions such as their 1453 expulsion from Wrocław.[48] From 1712 to 1820 a succession of men held the title Chief Rabbi of Silesia ("Landesrabbiner"): Naphtali ha-Kohen (1712–16); Samuel ben Naphtali (1716–22); Ḥayyim Jonah Te'omim (1722–1727); Baruch b. Reuben Gomperz (1733–54); Joseph Jonas Fränkel (1754–93); Jeremiah Löw Berliner (1793–99); Lewin Saul Fränkel (1800–7); Aaron Karfunkel (1807–16); and Abraham ben Gedaliah Tiktin (1816–20).[49]

    Consequences of World War II

    After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, following Nazi racial policy, the Jewish population of Silesia was subjected to Nazi genocide with executions performed by Einsatzgruppe z. B.V. led by Udo von Woyrsch and Einsatzgruppe I led by Bruno Streckenbach,[50][51] imprisonment in ghettos and ethnic cleansing to the General Government. In their efforts to exterminate the Jews through murder and ethnic cleansing Nazi established in Silesia province the Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen camps. Expulsions were carried out openly and reported in the local press.[52] Those sent to ghettos would from 1942 be expelled to concentration and work camps.[53] Between 5 May and 17 June, 20,000 Silesian Jews were sent to Birkenau to gas chambers[54] and during August 1942, 10,000 to 13,000 Silesian Jews were murdered by gassing at Auschwitz.[55] Most Jews in Silesia were exterminated by the Nazis. After the war Silesia became a major centre for repatriation of the Jewish population in Poland which survived Nazi German extermination[56] and in autumn 1945, 15,000 Jews were in Lower Silesia, mostly Polish Jews returned from territories now belonging to Soviet Union,[57] rising in 1946 to seventy thousand[58] as Jewish survivors from other regions in Poland were relocated.[59]

    The majority of Germans fled or were expelled from the present-day Polish and Czech parts of Silesia during and after World War II. From June 1945 to January 1947, 1.77 million Germans were expelled from Lower Silesia, and 310,000 from Upper Silesia.

    Christian Democratic Union politician Herbert Hupka
    .

    The expulsion of Germans led to widespread underpopulation. The population of the town of Głogów fell from 33,500 to 5,000, and from 1939 to 1966 the population of Wrocław fell by 25%.[61] Attempts to repopulate Silesia proved unsuccessful in the 1940s and 1950s,[62] and Silesia's population did not reach pre-war levels until the late 1970s. The Polish settlers who repopulated Silesia were partly from the former Polish Eastern Borderlands, which was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1939. Wrocław was partly repopulated with refugees from the formerly Polish city of Lwów.

    Cities and towns

    The following table includes the cities and towns in Silesia with a population greater than 20,000 (2022).

    Name Population Area Country Administrative Historic subregion
    1
    		Wrocław 673,923 293 km2 (113 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    2
    		Ostrava* 283,504 214 km2 (83 sq mi) Czech Republic Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia/Moravia
    3
    		Katowice 281,418 165 km2 (64 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    4
    		Gliwice 171,896 134 km2 (52 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    5
    		Bielsko-Biała* 167,509 125 km2 (48 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia/Lesser Poland
    6
    		Zabrze 156,082 80 km2 (31 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    7
    		Bytom 150,594 69 km2 (27 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    8
    		Zielona Góra 139,503 58 km2 (22 sq mi) Poland Lubusz Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    9
    		Rybnik 132,266 148 km2 (57 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    10
    		Ruda Śląska 132,040 78 km2 (30 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    11
    		Opole 126,623 97 km2 (37 sq mi) Poland Opole Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    12
    		Tychy 123,562 82 km2 (32 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    13
    		Chorzów 102,564 33 km2 (13 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    14
    		Wałbrzych 102,490 85 km2 (33 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    15
    		Legnica 93,473 56 km2 (22 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    16
    		Jastrzębie-Zdrój 83,477 85 km2 (33 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    17
    		Jelenia Góra 76,174 109 km2 (42 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    18
    		Mysłowice 71,849 66 km2 (25 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    19
    		Lubin 68,775 41 km2 (16 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    20
    		Havířov 68,245 32 km2 (12 sq mi) Czech Republic Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia
    21
    		Siemianowice Śląskie 64,139 25 km2 (10 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    22
    		Głogów 63,240 35 km2 (14 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    23
    		Żory 61,835 65 km2 (25 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    24
    		Tarnowskie Góry 61,413 84 km2 (32 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    25
    		Piekary Śląskie 57,148 40 km2 (15 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    26
    		Kędzierzyn-Koźle 55,623 124 km2 (48 sq mi) Poland Opole Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    27
    		Görlitz** 55,519 68 km2 (26 sq mi) Germany Saxony Saxony Historically part of Lusatia, Görlitz was considered part of Lower Silesia in years 1319–1329 and 1815–1945
    28
    		Opava 55,512 91 km2 (35 sq mi) Czech Republic Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia
    29
    		Frýdek-Místek* 54,188 52 km2 (20 sq mi) Czech Republic Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia/Moravia
    30
    		Świdnica 53,797 22 km2 (8 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    31
    		Świętochłowice 51,824 13 km2 (5 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    32
    		Racibórz 50,419 75 km2 (29 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    33
    		Karviná 50,172 58 km2 (22 sq mi) Czech Republic Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia
    34
    		Wodzisław Śląski 45,316 50 km2 (19 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    35
    		Nysa 41,441 27 km2 (10 sq mi) Poland Opole Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    36
    		Mikołów 41,383 79 km2 (31 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    37
    		Bolesławiec 37,355 24 km2 (9 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    38
    		Nowa Sól 36,479 22 km2 (8 sq mi) Poland Lubusz Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    39
    		Knurów 36,044 34 km2 (13 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    40
    		Oleśnica 35,503 21 km2 (8 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    41
    		Czechowice-Dziedzice 34,972 33 km2 (13 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    42
    		Třinec 34,306 85 km2 (33 sq mi) Czech Republic Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia
    43
    		Brzeg 33,962 15 km2 (6 sq mi) Poland Opole Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    44
    		Cieszyn 33,486 29 km2 (11 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    45
    		Oława 33,158 27 km2 (10 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    46
    		Hoyerswerda** 31,326 96 km2 (37 sq mi) Germany Saxony Saxony Historically part of Lusatia, Hoyerswerda was considered part of Lower Silesia in years 1825–1945
    47
    		Dzierżoniów 31,256 20 km2 (8 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    48
    		Zgorzelec** 29,371 16 km2 (6 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Historically part of Lusatia, Zgorzelec was considered part of Lower Silesia in years 1319–1329 and 1815–1945
    49
    		Bielawa 28,475 36 km2 (14 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    50
    		Orlová 27,966 25 km2 (10 sq mi) Czech Republic Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia
    51
    		Żagań 23,949 40 km2 (15 sq mi) Poland Lubusz Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    52
    		Český Těšín 23,487 34 km2 (13 sq mi) Czech Republic Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia
    53
    		Lubliniec 23,406 89 km2 (34 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    54
    		Krnov 22,848 44 km2 (17 sq mi) Czech Republic Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia
    55
    		Kluczbork 22,418 12 km2 (5 sq mi) Poland Opole Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    56
    		Świebodzice 22,002 30 km2 (12 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    57
    		Orzesze 21,758 84 km2 (32 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    58
    		Polkowice 21,585 24 km2 (9 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    59
    		Łaziska Górne 21,371 21 km2 (8 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
    60
    		Świebodzin 21,112 11 km2 (4 sq mi) Poland Lubusz Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    61
    		Jawor 21,077 19 km2 (7 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    62
    Nowa Ruda
    		 20,831 37 km2 (14 sq mi) Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
    63
    		Bohumín 20,648 31 km2 (12 sq mi) Czech Republic Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia
    64
    		Rydułtowy 20,436 15 km2 (6 sq mi) Poland Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia

    * Only part in Silesia

    Flags and coats of arms

    The emblems of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia originate from the emblems of the Piasts of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia. The coat of arms of Upper Silesia depicts the golden eagle on the blue shield. The coat of arms of Lower Silesia depicts a black eagle on a golden (yellow) shield.

    Main article: Coat of arms of Silesia

    Flags with their colors refer to the coat of arms of Silesia.

    World Heritage Sites

    See also

    Notes

    1. ^ /saɪˈliːʒə, saɪˈliːʃiə/ sy-LEE-zhə, sy-LEE-shee-ə, UK also /saɪˈliːziə/ sy-LEE-zee-ə, US also /saɪˈliːʒiə, saɪˈliːʃə, sɪˈliː-/ sy-LEE-zhee-ə, sy-LEE-shə, sil-EE-.[2][3][4][5]

    References

    1. ^ "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat". Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
    2. ^ "Silesia". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
    3. ^ "Silesia". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
    4. ^ "Silesia". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019.
    5. ^ "Silesia". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
    6. ^ Zbigniew Babik, "Najstarsza warstwa nazewnicza na ziemiach polskich w granicach średniowiecznej Słowiańszczyzny", Uniwersitas, Kraków, 2001.
    7. ^ Rudolf Fischer. Onomastica slavogermanica. Uniwersytet Wrocławski. 2007. t. XXVI. 2007. str. 83
    8. Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde
      (in German). Vol. 33 (2nd ed.). Berlin, Germany; New York City: de Gruyter. Da die Silingen offensichtlich ihren Namen im mittelalterlichen pagus silensis und dem mons slenz – möglicherweise mit dem Zobten gleichzusetzen [...] – hinterließen und damit einer ganzen Landschaft – Schlesien – den Namen gaben [...]
    9. ^ Andreas Lawaty, Hubert Orłowski (2003). Deutsche und Polen: Geschichte, Kultur, Politik (in German). C.H.Beck. p. 183.
    10. ^ R. Żerelik(in:) M. Czpliński (red.) Historia Śląska, Wrocław 2007, pp. 34–35
    11. ^ R. Żerelik(in:) M. Czpliński (red.) Historia Śląska, Wrocław 2007, pp. 37–38
    12. ^ a b c R. Żerelik(in:) M. Czpliński (red.) Historia Śląska, Wrocław 2007, pp. 21–22
    13. ^ Zientara, Benedykt (1975). "Walonowie na Śląsku w XII i XIII wieku". Przegląd Historyczny (in Polish). No. 66/3. pp. 353, 357.
    14. ^ R. Żerelik(in:) M. Czpliński (red.) Historia Śląska, Wrocław 2007, p. 81
    15. ^ gonschior.de (in German)
    16. ^ Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939–1948, Warsaw 2006, p.25
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    20. ISBN 978-0-521-61857-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
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    21. ^ a b c d e "Natural Resources | poland.gov.pl". En.poland.gov.pl. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
    22. ^ "Mamy największe złoża węgla brunatnego na świecie" (in Polish). Gazetawyborcza.pl. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
    23. ^ S.Z. Mikulski, "Late-Hercynian gold-bearing arsenic-polymetallic mineralization within Saxothuringian zone in the Polish Sudetes, Northeast Bohemian Massif". In: "Mineral Deposit at the Beginning of the 21st Century", A. Piestrzyński et al. (eds). Swets & Zeitinger Publishers (Google books)
    24. ^ "Wise International | World Information Service on Energy". 0.antenna.nl. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
    25. ^ "Copper: World Smelter Production, By Country". Indexmundi.com. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
    26. ^ "Zinc: World Smelter Production, By Country". Indexmundi.com. 1 July 2004. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
    27. ^ "Silver: World Mine Production, By Country". Indexmundi.com. 13 August 2004. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
    28. ^ "Cadmium: World Refinery Production, By Country". Indexmundi.com. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
    29. ^ "Lead: World Refinery Production, By Country". Indexmundi.com. 24 June 2005. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
    30. ^ "Samorząd Województwa Opolskiego". Umwo.opole.pl. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
    31. ^ Dillingham, William Paul; Folkmar, Daniel; Folkmar, Elnora (1911). Dictionary of Races or Peoples. Washington, D.C.: Washington, Government Printing Office. p. 128.
    32. ^ Dillingham, William Paul; Folkmar, Daniel; Folkmar, Elnora (1911). Dictionary of Races or Peoples. United States. Immigration Commission (1907–1910). Washington, D.C.: Washington, Government Printing Office. pp. 105, 128.
    33. ^ "Śląska Biblioteka Cyfrowa – biblioteka cyfrowa regionu śląskiego – Wznowione powszechne taxae-stolae sporządzenie, Dla samowładnego Xięstwa Sląska, Podług ktorego tak Auszpurskiey Konfessyi iak Katoliccy Fararze, Kaznodzieie i Kuratusowie Zachowywać się powinni. Sub Dato z Berlina, d. 8. Augusti 1750". Sbc.org.pl. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
    34. ^ Weinhold, Karl (1887). Die Verbreitung und die Herkunft der Deutschen in Schlesien [The Spread and the Origin of Germans in Silesia] (in German). Stuttgart: J. Engelhorn.
    35. ^ Jobst Gumpert (1966). Polen, Deutschland (in German). Callwey. p. 138.
    36. ^ Hunt Tooley, T (1997). National Identity and Weimar Germany: Upper Silesia and the Eastern Border, 1918–1922, University of Nebraska Press, p.17.
    37. ^ a b Georg Hassel (1823). Statistischer Umriß der sämmtlichen europäischen und der vornehmsten außereuropäischen Staaten, in Hinsicht ihrer Entwickelung, Größe, Volksmenge, Finanz- und Militärverfassung, tabellarisch dargestellt; Erster Heft: Welcher die beiden großen Mächte Österreich und Preußen und den Deutschen Staatenbund darstellt (in German). Verlag des Geographischen Instituts Weimar. pp. 33–34.
    38. ^ Plater, Stanisław (1825). Jeografia wschodniey części Europy czyli opis krajów przez wielorakie narody sławiańskie zamieszkanych obeymujący Prussy, Xięztwo Poznańskie, Szląsk Pruski, Gallicyą, Rzeczpospolitę Krakowską, Królestwo Polskie i Litwę (in Polish). Wrocław: Wilhelm Bogumił Korn. p. 60.
    39. ^ Ładogórski, Tadeusz (1966). Ludność, in: Historia Śląska, vol. II: 1763–1850, part 1: 1763–1806 (in Polish). Wrocław: edited by W. Długoborski. p. 150.
    40. ^ Paul Weber (1913). Die Polen in Oberschlesien: eine statistische Untersuchung (in German). Berlin: Verlagsbuchhandlung von Julius Springer.
    41. ^ Kalisch, Johannes; Bochinski, Hans (1958). "Stosunki narodowościowe na Śląsku w świetle relacji pruskich urzędników z roku 1882" (PDF). Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka. 13. Leipzig. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2020.
    42. ^ Paul Weber (1913). Die Polen in Oberschlesien: eine statistische Untersuchung (in German). Berlin: Verlagsbuchhandlung von Julius Springer. p. 27.
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    44. ^ Meyers Konversationslexikon 5. Auflage
    45. ^ Demshuk, A (2012) The Lost German East: Forced Migration and the Politics of Memory, 1945–1970, Cambridge University Press P40
    46. ^ Kamusella, T (2007). Silesia and Central European nationalisms: the emergence of national and ethnic groups in Prussian Silesia and Austrian Silesia, 1848–1918, Purdue University Press, p.173.
    47. ^ Christopher R. Browning (2000). Nazi Policy, Jewish Workers, German Killers, Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.147.
    48. ^ van Straten, J (2011) The Origin of Ashkenazi Jewry: The Controversy Unravelled, Walter de Gruyter P58
    49. ^ "Silesia". 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
    50. ^ Popularna encyklopedia powszechna – Volume 10 – Page 660 Magdalena Olkuśnik, Elżbieta Wójcik – 2001 Streckenbach Bruno (1902–1977), funkcjonariusz niem. państwa nazistowskiego, Gruppenfuhrer SS. Od 1933 szef policji po- lit w Hamburgu. 1939 dow. Einsatzgruppe I (odpowiedzialny za eksterminacje ludności pol. i żydowskiej na Śląsku).
    51. ^ Zagłada Żydów na polskich terenach wcielonych do Rzeszy Page 53 Aleksandra Namysło, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej—Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu – 2008 W rzeczywistości ludzie Udona von Woyr- scha podczas marszu przez województwo śląskie na wschód dopuszczali się prawdziwych masakr ludności żydowskiej.
    52. ^ Steinbacher, S. "In the Shadow of Auschwitz, The murder of the Jews of East Upper Silesia", in Cesarani, D. (2004) Holocaust: From the persecution of the Jews to mass murder, Routledge, P126
    53. ^ Steinbacher, S. "In the Shadow of Auschwitz, The murder of the Jews of East Upper Silesia", in Cesarani, D. (2004) Holocaust: From the persecution of the Jews to mass murder, Routledge, pp.110–138.
    54. ^ The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939 – March 1942 – Page 544 Christopher R. Browning – 2007 Between 5 May and 17 June, 20,000 Silesian Jews were deported to Birkenau to be gassed.
    55. ^ Christopher R. Browning (2007). The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939 – March 1942, University of Nebraska Press, p.544.
    56. ^ The International Jewish Labor Bund After 1945: Toward a Global History David Slucki, page 63
    57. ^ A narrow bridge to life: Jewish forced labor and survival in the Gross-Rosen camp system, 1940–1945, page 229 Belah Guṭerman
    58. ^ Kochavi, AJ (2001)Post-Holocaust politics: Britain, the United States & Jewish refugees, 1945–1948, University of North Carolina Press P 176
    59. ^ Kochavi, AJ (2001). Post-Holocaust politics: Britain, the United States & Jewish refugees, 1945–1948, University of North Carolina Press, p.176.
    60. ^ DB Klusmeyer & DG Papademetriou (2009). Immigration policy in the Federal Republic of Germany: negotiating membership and remaking the nation, Berghahn, p.70.
    61. ^ Scholz, A (1964). Silesia: yesterday and today, Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, p.69.
    62. ^ Mazower, M (1999). Dark Continent: Europe's 20th Century, Penguin, p.223.
    63. ^ Łęknica and Bad Muskau were considered part of Silesia in years 1815–1945.

    Sources

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