Historical Silesia (outlined) and modern national boundaries
( or ; ; ; ;
Silesian:
Ślůnsk ; ) is a historical region of
Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the
Czech Republic and
Germany.
Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest cities are
Wrocław, its historical capital, and
Katowice in Poland, and
Ostrava in the Czech Republic. Its main river is the
Oder (Polish:
Odra).
Silesia's borders and national affiliation have changed radically over time, both when it was a hereditary possession of
noble houses and after the rise of modern
nation-states. The first known states to hold power there were those of
Greater Moravia and
Bohemia. In the 10th century Silesia was incorporated into the early Polish state, but it later broke into independent duchies, coming under increasing German influence. It came under the rule of the Crown of Bohemia, which passed to Austria in 1526. Most of Silesia was conquered by
Prussia in 1742, later becoming part of the
German Empire. The easternmost part of this region became part of Poland after
World War I, but the bulk of it was transferred back to Poland after
World War II. Meanwhile the remaining Austrian parts of Silesia mostly became part of
Czechoslovakia after World War I, and are now in the Czech Republic.
Most inhabitants of Silesia today speak the national languages of their respective countries (
Polish,
Czech,
German), although there is a recognized
Silesian language, considered by some to be a dialect of Polish, with about 60,000 declared speakers in Upper Silesia. There also exists a Silesian German or
Lower Silesian language (or group of German dialects), though this is almost extinct.
Etymology
The names of Silesia in the different languages most likely share their etymology -
Latin and
English:
Silesia;
Polish:
Śląsk;
Old Polish:
Ślążsk[o];
Silesian:
Ślůnsk;
German:
Schlesien;
Silesian German:
Schläsing;
Czech:
Slezsko;
Slovak:
Sliezsko;
Croatian,
Sеrbian and
Upper Sorbian:
Šleska;
Lower Sorbian:
Šlazyńska. The names are all related to the name of a river (now
Ślęza) and mountain (
Mount Ślęża) in mid-southern Silesia. The mountain is a prehistoric holy place.
Ślęża is listed as one of the numerous
preindoeuropean topographic names in the region (see
old European hydronymy).
The name
Ślęża may come from the
Silingi, a probably
Vandalic (East Germanic) people that migrated south from the
Baltic Sea along the
Elbe,
Oder and
Vistula rivers in the 2nd century.
Alternatively, the name of the Silingi tribe may come from the name of the river or mountain. Another alternative proposed source are
West Slavic words
ślęga meaning "humid weather" or "wet ground" and perhaps even
slizsko meaning "slime, peat, swamp area".
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 the Czech proto-states of
Greater Moravia and
Bohemia. In the 10th century, Polish ruler
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. Consequently Silesia became part of the
German Empire when it was proclaimed in 1871.
After World War I,
Upper Silesia was contested by Germany and the newly-independent
Second Polish Republic. The
League of Nations organized a
plebiscite to decide the issue in 1921, whose results (disputed by Poland) showed that the majority of the population wished to remain part of Germany. Following the third
Silesian Uprising (1921), however, the easternmost portion of Upper Silesia (including
Katowice), with a majority ethnic Polish population, was finally awarded to Poland, where it formed the
Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. The Prussian Province of Silesia within Germany was 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), although most of
Cieszyn and territory to the east of it went to Poland (see
Zaolzie).
In 1945, at the end of
World War II, all of Silesia was occupied by the
Soviet Union, and under the
post-war border changes most of it became part of Poland. As a result the vast majority of the native ethnic German population was
expelled by force and replaced by
Polish settlers, most of whom had themselves been expropriated and expelled from the eastern parts of Poland (
Kresy) that had been annexed by the Soviet Union.
The administrative division of Silesia within Poland has changed several times since 1945. Since 1999 it has been divided between
Lower Silesian Voivodeship,
Opole Voivodeship,
Silesian Voivodeship and
Lubusz Voivodeship. Czech Silesia is now part of the Czech Republic, forming the
Moravian-Silesian Region and the northern part of
Olomouc Region. Germany retains the Silesian-Lusatian region (
Niederschlesien-Oberlausitz or
Schlesische Oberlausitz) west of the
Neisse, which is part of the federal-state of Saxony.
Geography
First map of Silesia by Martin Helwig, 1561
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
Oder (Odra) river, but it extends eastwards to the upper
Vistula river. The region also includes many tributaries of the Oder, including the
Bóbr (and its tributary the
Kwisa), the
Barycz and the
Nysa Kłodzka. The
Sudeten mountains run along most of 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 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 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
Brynica river, which separates it from
Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in the
Lesser Poland region. However to many Poles today, Silesia (
Śląsk) is understood to cover all of the area around Katowice, including Zagłębie. This interpretation is given official sanction in the use of the name
Silesian Voivodeship (
województwo śląskie) for the province covering this area. In fact the word
Śląsk in Polish (when used without qualification) now commonly refers exclusively to this area (also called
Górny Śląsk or
Upper Silesia).
As well as 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. 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,
Głogów, 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.
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.
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.
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
Modern Silesia is inhabited by
Poles,
Germans,
Czechs and
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,
Silesians 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 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. Also stereotyping of Silesians and by Silesians themselves is common. 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
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 created by the cities themselves and only later recognized at the central-government level.
The following table lists the cities in Silesia with a population greater than 100,000 (2006) (in italics their German names):
* Only part in Silesia
See also
Footnotes
