Silesia

Silesia is a historical region in Central Europe, mostly inside modern-day Poland, with smaller parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. It covers around 40,000 square kilometers and is home to about 8 million people. The region splits into two main areas: Lower Silesia in the west and Upper Silesia in the east.

Silesia lies along the Oder River and includes the Sudeten Mountains along its southern edge. It is a highly industrial area, rich in minerals and natural resources. Important cities include Wrocław, the capital of Lower Silesia, and Katowice, which is the center of a large metropolitan area. The region also includes parts of the Czech city Ostrava and the German city Görlitz.

The culture of Silesia is diverse, shaped by its complex history and influenced by Polish, Czech, and German traditions. It is known for its unique Silesian language, colorful folk costumes, tasty regional cuisine, and interesting mix of Gothic, Baroque, and industrial architecture. The area has many historical sites and landmarks, including several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Over time, Silesia's borders have changed, leading to many castles and strongholds, especially in the Jelenia Góra valley.

Etymology

The name "Silesia" is used in many languages, such as Śląsk in Polish, Schlesien in German, and Slezsko in Czech. All these names come from an old river called Ślęza and a mountain called Mount Ślęża in the middle of southern Silesia. These places were important to people who lived there long ago before they followed Christianity.

Some experts think the name Ślęża comes from old Polish words meaning dampness or moisture. They do not agree that the name comes from a group of people called the Silings. In everyday Polish, "Śląsk" usually means the part of Silesia that has always been Polish, called Upper Silesia, and the area that is now Silesian Voivodeship. It is different from Lower Silesia, which had mostly German-speaking people from the mid-1800s until 1945–48.

History

Main article: History of Silesia

Silesia has a long and interesting history. In ancient times, the Celts entered the region through the Kłodzko Valley and settled near modern Wrocław, Oława, and Strzelin. Later, Germanic Lugii tribes and West Slavs arrived, establishing settlements and building boundary structures.

The first known states in Silesia were Greater Moravia and Bohemia. In the 10th century, Polish ruler Mieszko I incorporated Silesia into the Polish state. The Diocese of Wrocław was established in 1000, becoming an important Catholic center. During the Fragmentation of Poland, Silesia was divided into many smaller duchies.

In the 13th century, German influence grew due to immigration from German-speaking states. The first municipal privileges in Poland were granted in Silesia, and important documents like the Book of Henryków were created there.

The Mongols invaded Silesia in 1241, causing panic and looting, but they did not continue further into Europe. Later, parts of Silesia came under the rule of Bohemian kings and then the Habsburg monarchy.

In 1742, most of Silesia was taken by King Frederick II of Prussia and became part of the German Empire in 1871. After World War I, part of Upper Silesia was contested between Germany and Poland, leading to a plebiscite in 1921. Following World War II, the borders changed again, with most of Silesia becoming part of Poland.

Table 1. Ethno-linguistic structure of Prussian Silesia in years 1787–1823
Ethnic group	acc. G. Hassel in 1819	%	acc. S. Plater in 1823	%	acc. T. Ładogórski in 1787	%
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

Geography

Silesia is mostly flat but has mountains along its southern edge. It lies along the Oder (Odra) and Vistula Rivers and includes many smaller rivers like the Bóbr, Barycz, and Nysa Kłodzka. The Sudeten Mountains run along the southern part of Silesia.

Silesia is rich in natural resources. Coal has been mined there since the 1700s, and the region once produced a lot of the world's coal. Other minerals like iron, lead, copper, silver, gold, zinc, and uranium have also been mined. Silesia also has farms that grow crops like wheat, rye, and potatoes, and it has forests and popular mountain tourist spots like Karpacz and Wisła.

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

**Annual production of minerals in Silesia**
Mineral name	Production (tonnes)
Bituminous coal	95,000,000
Copper	571,000
Zinc	160,000
Silver	1,200
Cadmium	500
Lead	70,000

Demographics

Silesia is a place with many different kinds of people. Today, most of Silesia is in Poland, where it is known as one of the most interesting areas.

Long ago, in 1911, a group that studied people moving to the United States said that “Silesian” just means people who live in Silesia, not a special group of people. The area had both Polish and German ways of speaking.

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

Flags and coats of arms

The symbols of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia come from old designs used by leaders in the past. The coat of arms for Upper Silesia shows a golden eagle on a blue background, while Lower Silesia’s coat of arms has a black eagle on a golden yellow background.

Main article: Coat of arms of Silesia

Coat of arms of the Prussian [province of Upper Silesia](/wiki/Province_of_Upper_Silesia) (1919–1938 and 1941–1945)

[Coat of arms of the Silesian Voivodeship](/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Silesian_Voivodeship)

[The coat of arms of the Opolskie Voivodeship](/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Opole_Voivodeship)

Coat of arms of Duke [Henry Probus](/wiki/Henry_Probus)

Coat of arms of [Austrian Silesia](/wiki/Austrian_Silesia) (1742–1918)

Prussian [province of Lower Silesia](/wiki/Province_of_Lower_Silesia) (1919–1938 and 1941–1945)

Coat of arms of the [Lower Silesia Voivodeship](/wiki/Lower_Silesia_Voivodeship)

Coat of arms of [Czech Silesia](/wiki/Czech_Silesia)

Flags are based on the colors of these coats of arms.

[Flag of Prussian Upper Silesia province](/wiki/Flag_of_Upper_Silesia) (1919–1938 and 1941–1945)

Flag of Silesia Voivodeship

Flag of the Austrian Silesia (1742–1918), and Czech Silesia

[Flag of Prussian Lower Silesia province](/wiki/Flag_of_Silesia_and_Lower_Silesia) (1919–1938 and 1941–1945)

Flag of Lower Silesia Voivodeship

World Heritage Sites

Silesia is home to several important places recognized worldwide for their history and beauty. These include the Churches of Peace in Świdnica and Jawor, Centennial Hall in Wrocław, the Historic Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry, and Muskau Park spanning Łęknica and Bad Muskau. These sites show the rich culture and history of the region.