Difference between revisions of "Silesia" - New World Encyclopedia

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! colspan="2" | [[Image:Silesia (Now).png|300px|right]]
 
! colspan="2" | [[Image:Silesia (Now).png|300px|right]]
 
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| [[National language|Language(s)]]:
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| Language(s):
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| [[Silesian]], [[Polish language|Polish]],<br> [[German language|German]], [[Czech language|Czech]]
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| Silesian, Polish,<br/> German, Czech
 
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| [[Time zone]]:
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| Time zone:
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| [[Central European Time|CET]] ([[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]+1)<br>[[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]+2)
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| CET (UTC+1)<br/>CEST (UTC+2)
 
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'''Silesia''' ({{lang-cs|Slezsko}}; {{Audio-de|Schlesien|Schlesien.ogg}}; {{lang-la|Silesia}}; {{lang-pl|Śląsk}}; [[Silesian]]: ''Ślónsk'') is a historical region in central [[Europe]]. Most of it is now within the borders of [[Poland]], with small parts in the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Germany]]. Silesia is located along the upper and middle [[Oder|Oder (Odra)]] River, upper Vistula River, and along the [[Sudeten mountains|Sudetes]], [[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathian]] ([[Silesian Beskids]]) mountain range. The largest cities of Silesia are [[Wrocław]] and [[Katowice]].
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'''Silesia''' is a historical region in east–central [[Europe]] spanning the territory named Magna Germania by [[Tacitus]]. It is encircled by the upper and middle Oder (Odra) River, upper Vistula River, and the Sudetes and Carpathian mountain ranges. The largest portion lies within the borders of [[Poland]]; the rest is within the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Germany]].  
  
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Silesia is situated entirely in territory named by [[Tacitus]] in 98 C.E. [[Magna Germania]]. Slavic people arrived to this territory around the 6th century. It became the territory of Greater Moravia and [[Bohemia]]. Rulers of Bohemia received ducal authority by pledging allegiance to [[Emperor Otto I]] in 950 C.E. With the establishment of the Piast [[Poland]] shortly thereafter, [[Boleslaw I Chrobry]] united Silesia with the rest of his territories.
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Slavs arrived in the area around the sixth century and founded Great Moravia. In the [[Middle Ages]], it was divided between numerous independent duchies ruled by the [[Piast dynasty]] and exposed to cultural and ethnic [[Germany|Germanization]] due to immigrants from the [[Holy Roman Empire]] from the fourteenth century on, after the Czech king [[Charles IV]] of the [[Luxembourg dynasty]] became Holy Roman Emperor.
  
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In the [[Middle Ages]], Silesia was divided between many independent duchies ruled by a cadet branch of the [[Piast]] dynasty. During this time, cultural and ethnical [[Germany|Germanisation]] increased due to immigrants from the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. It subsequently became a possession of the [[Bohemia]]n 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 Krosno Odrzańskie (Crossen) was inherited by [[Brandenburg]] in 1476 and, with the renouncement by Emperor [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] in 1538, it became an integral part of Brandenburg.
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By the end of the fifteenth century, due to a succession of disputes and the region's prosperity, there were at least 16 principalities of Silesia. The crown passed to the [[Habsburg]] dynasty of [[Austria]] in 1526 and was taken by Prussia in 1742 in the War of the Austrian Succession and held on to it until 1945.  
  
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In 1742, most of Silesia was seized by King [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick the Great]] of [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] in the [[War of the Austrian Succession]]. This part of Silesia constituted the [[Province of Silesia]] (later the Prussian provinces of [[Province of Upper Silesia|Upper]] and [[Province of Lower Silesia|Lower Silesia]]) until 1945, when most of the German part of Silesia was seized by the Soviets and transferred to Poland after [[World War II]]. [[Czech Silesia|Austrian Silesia]], the small portion of Silesia retained by Austria after the [[Silesian Wars]], is now within the borders of the Czech Republic.
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Following the establishment of independent Poland in 1918, the region was divided between Poland, [[Czechoslovakia]] and [[Germany]]. During [[World War II]] Polish Silesia was occupied by Germany and was the site of atrocities against the population by [[Nazism|Nazi]] and, later, [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] forces. Following the war, the Allied powers assigned the majority of German Silesia to Poland. The small portion of Silesia retained by Austria is now within the [[Czech Republic]]. Nearly one-fourth of Poland's population is contained within Silesia at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
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In the Middle Ages, Silesia was inhabited mostly by people of Slavonic ethnic background and belonged at first to Poland and later to Bohemia. Since the 13th century Silesia together with Bohemia has come under German cultural and political influence. In the 16th century it became part of Austria and a significant part of the inhabitants were germanized. This process continued during the next centuries. In 1742 Prussia conquered most of Silesia, only the southernmost regions (marked in orange on the map below) of Opava and Cieszyn remained Austrian.  
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{{toc}}
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In 1815 the eastern part of Saxony was incoporated into Silesia, while the northernmost part of Silesia, the enclave of Swiebodzin (Schwiebus) became part of the Province of Brandenburg (marked in red on the map of Brandenburg). In the 19th century the greater part of the Silesian people were Roman Catholics. In the western and central regions practically only German was spoken, while in the eastern part of Silesia (Upper Silesia) the Polish language was predominant.
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[[Roman Catholicism]] held sway over Silesia for most of its history, for which, along with the fact that it had a large German population, it was plundered in the [[Hussite Wars]] in the fifteenth century.  
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As independent Poland came into existence in 1918, the Polish speaking populace also wanted to belong to it. After three Polish uprisings and a plebiscite, the region was divided between Poland and Germany (the area which then became Polish is shown in green). Small fragments of Middle Silesia (marked in cyan) were also incorporated into Poland and a little area in the south (marked in magenta) - into Czechoslovakia.
 
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After WWII, the greater part of Silesia became part of Poland. Only three districts west of the Neisse River remained German (they are now part of the State of Saxony). German inhabitants of the province either escaped or were expelled from Silesia after 1945 and Poles from the formerly Polish regions in the East settled there.  
 
  
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== Administration ==
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== Geography ==
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[[Image:Silesia.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A mountain cottage at the Śnieżka in Silesia (Poland)]]
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Silesia is a historical region in central [[Europe]] spanning the territory named Magna Germania by [[Tacitus]]. It is encircled by the upper and middle Oder (Odra) River, upper Vistula River, and the Sudeten and Carpathian mountain ranges. It consists largely of the river basin and is bound by the Kraków-Wielun plateau to the northeast.
  
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Silesia is a region of central Europe, extending along both banks of the Oder River and bounded in the south by the mountain ranges of the Sudetes and the Western Carpathians.   Politically, almost all of Silesia is divided between Poland and the Czech Republic. The Polish portion comprises most of the former Prussian provinces of Upper Silesia and Lower Silesia, both of which were transferred to Polish administration at the Potsdam Conference of 1945; the Polish portion also includes those parts of Upper Silesia that were ceded by Germany to Poland after World War I and part of the former Austrian principality of Teschen. A second, much smaller part of Silesia belonged to Czechoslovakia since 1918, and became part of the Czech Republic with the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993.
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The largest portion lies within the borders of [[Poland]]; the rest is within the [[Czech Republic]] (Severomoravský kraj region) and [[Germany]] (Brandenburg and Saxony Länder states). Major cities are Wrocław and Katowice.  
  
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Most of Silesia lies within modern Poland, divided within the following voivodeships (provinces):
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Silesia is now divided into nine Polish provinces, with capitals at
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*Katowice
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*Bielsko-Biala
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*Opole
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*Wroclaw (Breslau)  
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*Walbrzych
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*Legnica
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*Jelenia Góra
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*Zielona Góra 
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*Kalisz;
  
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* Greater Poland Voivodeship
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The Opole and Silesian Voivodeships form Upper Silesia. The small portion in the [[Czech Republic]] known as Czech Silesia comprises, with the country’s northern part of the Moravia region, the Moravian-Silesian Region, while the remainder makes up a small part of the Olomouc Region. The Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis and Hoyerswerda, along with the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, chart the geographic region of Lower Silesia.
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* Lower Silesian Voivodeship
 
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* Lubusz Voivodeship
 
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* Opole Voivodeship
 
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* Silesian Voivodeship
 
  
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The Opole and Silesian Voivodeships form Upper Silesia. The small portion in the [[Czech Republic]] known as Czech Silesia forms, with the northern part of Moravia, the Moravian-Silesian Region of that country, while the remainder forms a small part of the Olomouc Region.
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=== Natural resources ===
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Silesia is a populous and resource-rich region, with [[coal]] and [[iron]] deposits and booming manufacturing. The most important part is its southern tip—Upper Silesia&mdash; in Poland. Being one of the largest industrial concentrations of [[Europe]], it has extensive [[coal]] and [[lignite]] deposits as well as [[zinc]], [[lead]], and iron. Czech Silesia comprises the Karvinna coal basin. Lower Silesia boasts the largest [[copper]] deposits in Poland. The fall of [[Communism]], however, has brought to light obsolete facilities that inevitably pose environmental problems.
  
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Traditionally, Silesia was bounded by the Kwisa and Bobr rivers, while the territory west of the Kwisa was Upper Lusatia (earlier ''Milsko''). However, because part of it was included in the Prussian Province of Lower Silesia, in [[Germany]] the Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis and Hoyerswerda are considered parts of Silesia. Those districts, along with the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, make up the geographic region of Lower Silesia.
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Except in the south, Silesia is largely [[Agriculture|agricultural]] and [[forest]]ed lowland, drained by the Oder and its tributaries.
  
 
== Etymology ==
 
== Etymology ==
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One source attributes the origin of the name ''Silesia'' to the ''Silingi'', who were most likely a [[Vandals|Vandalic]] (East Germanic) people presumably living south of the Baltic Sea along the Elbe, Oder, and Vistula Rivers in the second century. When the Silingi moved out during the Migration Period, they left remnants of their society behind, the most obvious being the names of places imposed by the new inhabitants, Slavic peoples ({{lang-pl|Śląsk}}; Old Polish: ''Śląžsk [-o]''; Old Slavic: *Sьlьąžьskъ [<*sǐlęgǐskǔ], from Old Vandalic *Siling-isk [land]). These people became associated with the place and subsequently became known as Silesians (using a [[Latin|Latinized]] form of the Polish name, ''Ślężanie''), although they had little in common with the original Silingi. Archeological research has uncovered former largely populated areas from the 7th and 8th centuries, which were protected by a dense system of fortifications to the west and south; the lack of such systems to the north or east supports the hypothesis that Silesia was populated by early Slavic tribes from the 5th to 13th centuries. Because Goths, another East Germanic group, were settled in eastern Silesia while Slavic Wends lived in western Silesia, there cannot be any mention of a nation.
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One source attributes the origin of the name ''Silesia'' to the ''Silingi,'' who were most likely a [[Vandals|Vandalic]] (East Germanic) people presumably living south of the [[Baltic Sea]] along the Elbe, Oder, and Vistula Rivers in the second century. When the Silingi moved out during the [[Migration Period]], they left remnants of their society behind, the most obvious being the names of places imposed by the new inhabitants, Slavic peoples. These people became associated with the location and subsequently became known as Silesians (using a [[Latin|Latinized]] form of the Polish name, ''Ślężanie''), although they had little in common with the original Silingi.  
  
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Another source has it that ''Silesia'' is derived from the river Ślęza.
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[[Archeology|Archeological]] research has uncovered formerly largely populated areas from the seventh and eighth centuries, which were protected by a dense system of fortifications to the west and south; the lack of such systems to the north or east supports the hypothesis that Silesia was populated by early Slavic tribes between the fifth and thirteenth centuries. Because [[Goth]]s, another East Germanic group, were settled in eastern Silesia while Slavic [[Wendish|Wends]] lived in western Silesia, there cannot be any mention of a nation.
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Another source traces the region’s name to the river Ślęza.
  
 
== History ==
 
== History ==
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[[Image:Upper Silesia coat of arms.png|thumb|right|180px|Upper Silesia's historical coat of arms]]
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=== Early people ===
 
=== Early people ===
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Silesia was inhabited by various peoples in the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages. The earliest written sources come from the Egyptian Claudius Ptolemaeus (''Magna Germania'') and the Roman Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (''Germania''). Tacitus recorded that the first century Silesia was inhabited by a multi-ethnic league dominated by the Lugii, an East Germanic tribe. The Silingi were also part of this grouping, and so were most likely (East Germanic) Vandals, who lived south of the Baltic Sea in the Elbe, Oder, and Vistula river areas. Other East Germanic tribes also inhabited the scarcely populated region. Slavic tribes entered in the scene in 500 c.e.
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Silesia was inhabited by various peoples in the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages. The earliest written sources mention ''Magna Germania'' in the writings of [[Ptolemaeus]] and ''Germania,'' as recorded by the Roman historian [[Tacitus]]. Tacitus wrote that the first century Silesia was inhabited by a multi-ethnic league dominated by the Lugii, an [[East Germanic]] tribe. The Silingi were also part of this grouping, and so were most likely [[Vandal]]s. Other East Germanic tribes also inhabited the scarcely populated region. Slavic tribes entered the scene around 500 C.E.
  
 
===Middle Ages===
 
===Middle Ages===
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After 500 c.e. the Great Migration had induced the bulk of the original East Germanic tribes to leave Silesia and wander through Southern Europe, while Asian tribes had been arriving  for centuries, and Slavic tribes started forming first settlements, including the Silesian lands. Early documents mention a couple of mostly (postulated) Slavic tribes most probably living in Silesia. The Bavarian Geographer (around 845) specifies the following peoples: the Slenzanie, Dzhadoshanie, Opolanie, Lupiglaa, and Golenshitse. A document of the Bishopric of [[Prague]] (1086) adds to the list the Zlasane, Trebovyane, Poborane, and Dedositze.
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After 500 C.E. the Great Migration had induced the bulk of the original East Germanic tribes to leave Silesia, while Asian tribes had been arriving  for centuries, and Slavic tribes began forming first settlements, including the Silesian lands. Early documents mention several mostly Slavic tribes most probably living in Silesia. The Bavarian Geographer (around 845) specifies five peoples, to which a document of the Bishopric of [[Prague]] (1086) adds four others.
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In the 9th and 10th centuries, the territory to be called Silesia was part of Great Moravia, Moravia, and then [[Bohemia]] neighboring on the [[Czech Republic]] to the south. After the breakup of Great Moravia, Silesia for centuries became a target of protracted disputes and wars mostly between Czech and Polish rulers. Around 990, several parts of Silesia were conquered and annexed to the newly-created Polish state by Duke Mieszko I ([http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~koby/political/chapter_02/0205pol992.html see map]), although other sources date this event to 999 under the rule of Duke Boleslaus I. During Poland's fragmentation (1138&ndash;1320) into duchies ruled by different branches of the Piast dynasty, Silesia was ruled by descendants of the former royal family. the Premyslid Dynasty gain control of Silesia in the 10th  century, but by the end of the century, the region was back in the hands of Piasts. The two dynasties vied for the territory until the 12th century. 
 
  
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In 1146, High Duke Władysław II acknowledged the overlordship of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] over Poland, but was driven into [[exile]]. In 1163 his two sons took possession of Silesia with Imperial backing, dividing the land between them as dukes of Lower and Upper Silesia. They created two main Piast lines in Silesia, Wrocławska (of Wrocław)) and Opolsko-Raciborska (of Opole and Racibórz. The policy of subdivision continued under their successors, with Silesia gradually being divided into 16 principalities by the 1390s.
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In the ninth and tenth centuries, the territory to be called Silesia was part of Great Moravia, [[Moravia]], and [[Bohemia]] neighboring on the [[Czech Republic]] to the south. After the breakup of Great Moravia, Silesia for centuries became a target of protracted disputes and wars mostly between Czech and Polish rulers. Around 990, several parts of Silesia were conquered and annexed to the newly-created Polish state by Duke Mieszko I ([http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~koby/political/chapter_02/0205pol992.html see map]), although other sources date this event to 999 under the rule of Duke Boleslaus I. The [[Premyslid Dynasty]] took over in the tenth century, but by the end of the century, the region was back in the hands of Piasts. The two dynasties vied for the territory until the twelfth century. By the eleventh century, Silesia was an integral part of [[Poland]].
  
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In 1241, the [[Mongolia|Mongols]] invaded Europe&mdash;and Silesia&mdash;and sowed panic, looting much of the region but abandoning the siege of the castle of Wrocław, supposedly after being fended off by Blessed Cheslav's "miraculous fireball." They then annihilated the combined Polish and German forces at the Battle of Legnica. Upon the death of Ögedei Khan, the Mongols chose not to press forward further into Europe and left, while the region was further disintegrating until it counted almost 20 small administrative units and invited attempts at annexation by the Premyslid Dynasty, focused primarily on Upper Silesia.  
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King [[Boleslaus III]] (1102–1138), of the [[Piast Dynasty]] divided Poland into four hereditary duchies, of which Silesia was one, for his sons. After 1200, the duchy of Silesia disintegrated into numerous minor principalities. In 1146, High Duke Władysław II acknowledged supremacy of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], and his two sons in 1163 divided the land between themselves as dukes of Lower and Upper Silesia, creating two main Piast lines, of Wrocław and of Opole and Racibórz. Further division continued under their successors, reaching 16 principalities by the 1390s.
  
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The ruling Silesian lords rebuilt some 160 cities and 1,500 towns and restored the most recent administrative divisions, while at the same time introducing the codified German city law (Magdeburg law and Środa Śląska law) in place of the older, customary Slavic and Polish laws. They also made up for the recent population loss by inviting new settlers, mostly German and [[Netherlands|Dutch]] colonists from the Holy Roman Empire. Around the end of the 13th or early 14th century, Silesian dukes invited many German settlers to improve their duchies. Germans settled mostly in cities, as did [[Jew]]s and some Czechs. In the countryside, especially in Upper Silesia, people of Polish origins still outnumbered the rest of the population. The Germans quickly rose to prominent positions in the economic life, although this policy of inviting Germans to colonize and cultivate the barren lands, as well as the assimilation of the ruling classes and the German and Slavic inhabitants, would feed ideological and nationalist tensions between the Poles and Germans in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.  
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In 1241, the [[Mongol]]s invaded [[Europe]]&mdash;and Silesia&mdash;and sowed panic, looting much of the region and annihilating the combined Polish and German forces in the Battle of Legnica. Upon the death of Ögedei Khan, they chose not to press further into Europe and left, leaving Silesia to further disintegrate until it counted almost 20 small administrative units and invited attempts at annexation by the Premyslid Dynasty, focused primarily on Upper Silesia.  
  
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In the second half of the 13th century, various knightly orders settled in Silesia, among them the Knights of the Red Star were the Hospitaller, and the Teutonic Knights. Silesia was an integral part of Poland by the 11th century. King Boleslaus III (1102–38), of the Piast dynasty divided Poland into four hereditary duchies, of which Silesia was one, for his sons. After 1200, the duchy of Silesia disintegrated into numerous minor principalities.  
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The ruling Silesian lords rebuilt some 160 cities and 1,500 towns and restored the most recent administrative divisions, while at the same time introducing the codified German city law in place of the customary Slavic and Polish laws. They also made up for the recent population loss by inviting new settlers, mostly German and [[Netherlands|Dutch]] colonists from the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Germans settled mostly in cities, as did [[Jew]]s and some Czechs. In the countryside, especially in Upper Silesia, people of Polish origins still outnumbered the rest of the population. The Germans quickly rose to prominent positions in the economic life, although this policy of inviting Germans to colonize and cultivate the barren lands as well as the assimilation of the ruling classes by the German and Slavic inhabitants, would fuel ideological and nationalist tensions between the Poles and Germans in the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. In the second half of the thirteenth century, various knightly orders arrived.
  
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Czech king Wenceslas II ascended to the Polish throne in 1300 and annexed most of Lower Silesia to the Kingdom of Gohemia. King John Luxembourg then claimed further parts of Silesia. These territorial gains of Czech kings were acknowledged by the Polish king in 1335 in exchange for the Luxembourg Dynasty’s giving up their claims on the Polish throne. Charles IV Luxembourg then incorporated Silesian duchies into the Czech Crown lands.  In the early 14th century, the Silesian princes accepted the king of Bohemia as their suzerain and thus became princes of the Holy Roman Empire.  
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Czech king [[Wenceslas II]] of the [[Luxembourg]] dynasty ascended to the Polish throne in 1300 and annexed most of Lower Silesia to the [[Kingdom of Bohemia]]. King John expanded the possessions, which were acknowledged by the Polish king in 1335 in exchange for the Luxembourg Dynasty’s abandonment of their claims on the Polish throne. His son, [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]], who was crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor, incorporated Silesian duchies into the Czech lands, thus the Silesian princes became princes of the Holy Roman Empire in the early fourteenth century.  
  
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During the Hussite Wars of the 15th century, Silesia was temporarily detached from the Bohemian crown and was ruled by Hungary. In 1490, however, both Silesia and Moravia reverted to Bohemia, with which they passed to the house of [[Habsburg]] in 1526.
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During the [[Hussite Wars]] in the fifteenth century, Silesia was temporarily detached from the Bohemian crown and ruled by Hungary. In 1490, however, both Silesia and Moravia reverted to Bohemia, with which they passed to the House of [[Habsburg]] in 1526.
  
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=== Silesian Duchies ===
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=== Silesian duchies ===
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In the time of divisions, Piast dukes sought to reincorporate Silesia into the Polish kingdom and reunite the country, the first being Duke Henryk IV Probus of Silesia, but he died in 1290 before realizing his goal. Duke Przemysł II of Greater Poland united two of the original provinces and went on to become king in 1295, but he was murdered a year later before being able to accomplish more.
  
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In the time of divisions, Piast dukes sought to reincorporate Silesia into the Polish kingdom and reunite the country, the first being Duke Henryk IV Probus of Silesia, but he died in 1290 before realizing his goal. Duke Przemysł II of Greater Poland united two of the original provinces and went on to become king in 1295, but he died by forcible death a year later before being able to accomplish more. In his will he appointed Duke Henryk Głogowski, who also aspired to unite Poland and even claimed the title Duke of Poland, as his successor, but the will of majority prevailed and Duke Władysław I the Elbow-high won. In the meantime, King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia crowned himself King of Poland in 1302, and thus began 50 years of wars between Władysław and his son [[Casimir III of Poland|Casimir III the Great]] and a coalition of Bohemians, Brandenburgers and Teutonic Knights, who sought to divide Poland. Since most Silesian dukes controlled small chunks of the territory, they lacked the clout to unite with Poland, despite their ties with it,  and thus fell under the influence of neighboring Bohemia.
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In 1302, the self-appointment by King Wenceslaus II Luxembourg of Bohemia as King of Poland spurred 50 years of wars between Władysław and his son [[Casimir III of Poland|Casimir III the Great]] and a coalition of Bohemians, Brandenburgers and Teutonic Knights, who sought to divide Poland. Since most Silesian dukes controlled small chunks of the territory, they lacked the clout to unite with Poland and thus fell under the influence of neighboring Bohemia.
  
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In 1335 Duke Henry VI of Breslau and the Upper Silesian dukes recognized the overlordship of King John I of Bohemia, and in 1348 King [[Casimir III of Poland]] had to hand most of Silesia to Bohemia, ruled by Emperor [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]]. Thus the duchies of Silesia were incorporated into the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Breslau in particular benefited from these developments, with a large number of large [[Gothic]] buildings and [[church]]es being built.  
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In 1335 Duke Henry VI of Breslau and the Upper Silesian dukes recognized the overlordship of King John I Luxembourg of Bohemia, and in 1348 King [[Casimir III of Poland]] had no choice but to turn over most of Silesia to Bohemia, ruled by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. This marked the transition of the duchies of Silesia into the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Breslau in particular benefited from these developments, with a number of large [[Gothic]] buildings and [[church]]es being built.  
  
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Over the following centuries the lines of the Piast dukes of Silesia died out and were inherited by the Bohemian crown:
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Over the following centuries the lines of the Piast dukes of Silesia died out and were inherited by the Bohemian crown. By the end of the fourteenth century, Silesia had been fragmented into 18 principalities, whose rulers gave in to internecine quarrels and failed to curb the lawlessness of their feudal vassals. Except for several Lower Silesia principalities, the country fell into a state of crippling anarchy.
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*Wrocławska (of Wrocław) in 1335;
 
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*Świdnicka (of Świdnica) in 1368;
 
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*Oleśnicka (Oleśnica and Głogów) in 1476;
 
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*Żagańska (of Żagań) in 1504;
 
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*Opolska (of Opole) in 1532;
 
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*Cieszyńska (of Cieszyn) in 1625;
 
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*and Brzesko-Legnicka (of Brzeg and Legnica) in 1675.  
 
  
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By the end of the 14th century Silesia had been partitioned into 18 principalities: Breslau, Brieg, Glogau, Jauer, Liegnitz, Munsterberg, Ols, Schweidnitz, and Steinau in Lower Silesia, and Beuthen, Falkenberg, Kosel, Neiße, Oppeln, Ratibor, Strehlitz, Teschen, and Troppau in Upper Silesia. Their petty rulers gave in to internecine quarrels and failed to curb the lawlessness of their feudal vassals. Except for several dukes of Lower Silesia, such as Henry I and Bolko I, and Henry II and IV, who succeeded in reuniting most of the principalities under their sway, the country fell into a state of crippling anarchy.
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From the thirteenth century onward, the population became increasingly [[Germany|Germanized]] with the influx of German settlers and assimilation of local rulers and peasants within this new German majority.
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From the 13th century onward the population of the region became increasingly [[Germany|Germanized]] through the arrival of more German settlers and the assimilation of local rulers and peasants within this new German majority.
 
  
 
==Religious Strife==
 
==Religious Strife==
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===Hussite Wars===
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===Hussite wars===
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During the [[Hussite Wars]] in Bohemia, Silesia was loyal to Catholicism, with an exception of [[Cieszyn Silesia]], where Hussite ideas resonated with the local population. However, allegiance to Bohemia’s Catholic King Sigismund Luxembourg and an active role of Silesian dukes in the first two crusades against the Hussite Bohemia led to a series of invasions between 1425 and 1435 by which the region was severely devastated. The Silesians regarded Bohemian rebels as dangerous to the Silesian German nationality; indeed, the Hussites targeted the German population during their raids in the region. Many of Silesian towns gave in without resistance and were transformed into military garrisons. Some regions, especially [[Upper Silesia]], became partly Slavic-speaking again. This period lasted until the Battle of Lipany in 1434, after which the Hussites withdrew from Silesia.
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During the [[Hussite Wars]] named for the followers of [[Jan Hus]] in [[Bohemia]], Silesia was loyal to [[Catholicism]], with an exception of Cieszyn Silesia. However, the region’s allegiance to Bohemia’s Catholic [[Sigismund of Luxembourg|King Sigismund Luxembourg]] and an active role of Silesian dukes in the first two crusades against the Hussite Bohemia brought about a series of devastating Hussite invasions between 1425 and 1435. The Silesians regarded Bohemian rebels as dangerous to the Silesian German nationality; indeed, the Hussites targeted the German population during their raids in the region. Many of towns gave in without resistance. Some regions, particularly Upper Silesia, re-introduced the Slavic language. This period lasted until the Battle of Lipany in 1434, after which the Hussites withdrew.  
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The death of Sigismund Luxembourg brought uncertainty, and when the Hussite George of Podebrady (Jiří z Poděbrad) ascended to the Czech throne in 1457 and the restitution of the Slavonic nationality was looming, Silesian dukes, most notably the burghers of Breslau, refused to recognize him as their king and in 1469 accepted Hungarian king Matthyas Corvinus instead.  In late 1470s, George’s successor and Matthias Corvinus divided up Silesia, with Moravia, Silesia and Luzice going to Matthias and the entire Kingdom of Bohemia going to Vladislaus Jagellon. Both used the title of the Czech king. Matthias took many steps toward the centralization of Silesian administration, employing mercenaries and land grabs from dissenting nobles. Despite these reforms, the Silesians were growing resentful of the financial exactions of Matthias, and after his death the region went back to the Czech Crown. Moreover, they extorted virtual autonomy from Matthias’s feeble successor [[Vladislaus Jagellon]].
 
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While part of the Kingdom of Bohemia, Silesia continued to have strong economic ties with the neighboring [[Kingdom of Poland]] during the [[Renaissance]] period and beyond, especially through the [[Jewish]] merchants in the cities.
 
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===Religious Reformation===
 
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A turnabout came with the rule of the German king [[Ferdinand I]], who had been prevented from interference during his early reign by his wars with the Turks, and who showed little disposition to keep the Reformation in Silesia at bay by forcible means, but subsequently reasserted the control of the Bohemian crown by abolishing all privileges and imposed a more rigidly centralized scheme of government in which the activities of the provincial diet were restricted to some judicial and financial functions, and their freedom in matters of foreign policy was withdrawn altogether. Annexations of territory were frequently carried out by the Bohemian crown on the extinction of Silesian dynasties, and the surviving princes showed an increasing reluctance to the exercise of their authority. Accordingly the Silesian estates never again chose to exercise initiative save on rare occasions, and from 1550 Silesia passed almost completely under foreign. administration.
 
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[[Image:Upper Silesia coat of arms.png|thumb|right|200px|Upper Silesia's historical coat of arms]]
 
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The [[Protestant Reformation]] of the 16th century took an early hold in Silesia, and most inhabitants became [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]]. Many Reformation pastors contributed to developing and reemphasizing Slavic culture and language in Silesia.
 
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After the death of King [[Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia]] in 1526, [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] of the [[Habsburg]] dynasty was elected King of Bohemia. In the same year he made the formerly [[Elective monarchy|elected Bohemian crown]] an inherited possession of the Habsburg dynasty. In 1537 the Piast Duke [[Frederick II of Brieg|Frederick II]] of [[Brzeg]] concluded a treaty with [[Prince-Elector|Elector]] [[Joachim II]] of [[Brandenburg]], whereby the [[House of Hohenzollern|Hohenzollerns]] of Brandenburg would inherit the duchy upon the extinction of the Piasts, but the treaty was rejected by Ferdinand.
 
  
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Hapsburg rule and increasing Germanization loosened Silesia's historic ties with Poland. However, the ducal title, along with several fiefs, remained with the Silesian branch of the Piast dynasty until the extinction of the line in 1675. The margraviate of Jägerndorf was purchased in 1523 by a cadet branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty of Brandenburg, which later also claimed inheritance to other Silesian fiefs. Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg, moreover, concluded (1537) an alliance with the Piast duke, by which Brandenburg would inherit the Piast principalities if the Piast dynasty became extinct. This treaty was declared invalid by King Ferdinand I of Bohemia (later Emperor Ferdinand I). In 1621, John George of Jägerndorf, brother of the elector of Brandenburg, lost his fief for having supported Frederick the Winter King.
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Sigismund was succeeded by the Hussite [[George of Podebrady]] (Jiří z Poděbrad) in 1457, intensifying fears of the restitution of the Slavonic nationality, and Silesian dukes, most notably the burghers of Breslau, refused to recognize him as their king, accepting  [[Matthias I. Corvinus|Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus]] in 1469 instead. In the late 1470s, George’s successor and Matthias Corvinus divided up Silesia &ndash; Moravia, Silesia and Luzice went to Matthias, while the entire Kingdom of Bohemia was transferred over to Vladislaus Jagellon. Both used the title of the Czech king. Matthias to a large extent centralized Silesian administration, resorting to mercenaries and land grabs from dissenting nobles. However, the reforms did not placate Silesian worries and resentment stemming from Matthias’ financial tactics, and after his death the region returned to the Czech Crown. During the rule of Matthias’s feeble successor Vladislaus Jagellon, Silesia managed to secure virtual autonomy.  
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The Thirty Years War (1618–48) brought untold misery to Silesia under successive Saxon, imperial, and Swedish occupation. It reverted to Austrian control at the Peace of Westphalia (1648). In 1675, on the death of the last Piast, Austria incorporated the Piast territories into the Bohemian crown domain. The Counter Reformation had by then made great progress in Silesia, although Lutheranism was tolerated in Breslau (Wrocław) and certain other districts.
 
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It was on the very shaky dynastic grounds indicated above that Frederick II of Prussia, as heir of the house of Brandenburg, claimed a portion of Silesia in 1740 from Maria Theresa, who had just assumed the succession to Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary. His claim and his offer to assist Maria Theresa in the impending War of the Austrian Succession were rejected by the queen while Prussian troops were already invading Silesia. The Silesian Wars (1740–42 and 1744–45) were part of the general War of the Austrian Succession. By the Treaty of Berlin (1742), Maria Theresa ceded all of Silesia except Teschen and present Czech Silesia to Prussia; this cession was ratified by the Treaty of Dresden (1745). In the Seven Years War, Prussia retained Silesia.
 
  
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The religious conflicts and wars of the Reformation and [[Counter Reformation]] in the 17th century led many Silesian [[Protestantism|Protestants]] to seek refuge in the then-tolerant [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. Thousands settled in the province of Greater Poland, under the protection of powerful Protestant magnates like [[Rafał Leszczyński]]. Silesian members of the [[Unity of the Brethren|Czech Brethren]], under the leadership of [[Comenius]], settled in [[Leszno]]. Protestant Silesians often circumvented restrictive laws by building their churches on the Polish side of the border.
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A turnabout came with the rule of the German king [[Ferdinand I]], who had been previously occupied with wars with the Turks. He reasserted control of the Bohemian Crown by abolishing all of its privileges and imposed a more rigid centralized government. The Bohemian rulers continued to claim further territory after the extinction of Silesian dynasties as the surviving princes watched helplessly. By 1550 Silesia was almost completely under foreign administration but continued to enjoy economic ties with the neighboring Kingdom of Poland during the [[Renaissance]] period and beyond, especially through the [[Jewish]] merchants in the cities.
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Jakkoli zůstalo Slezsko chladné vůči husitským myšlenkám, luterská reformace se zde uchytila velmi rychle a záhy vytlačila dosud převládající katolictví. I z tohoto důvodu byl přijat s rozpaky nový panovník Ferdinand I. Habsburský, neboť se Slezané obávali možných rekatolizačních opatření. Nový král si zpočátku počínal zdrženlivě, neboť neměl mnoho prostředků k prosazení své vůle. Šance se mu naskytla až po šmalkaldské válce (1546/47), v níž slezské stavy sympatizovaly s poraženými protivníky Habsburků. Ferdinand I. využil situaci k uskutečnění některých svých představ, jež měly za následek rozvoj centralizace země. Jednou z největších změn bylo založení slezské královské komory v roce 1557. Stejně jako v Českém království se postihy i zde nejvíce dotkly královských měst.
 
  
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Na přelomu 16. a 17. století se vyhrotilo napětí mezi katolíky a evangelíky. Vleklý svár mezi Rudolfem II. a jeho bratrem Matyášem umožnil nekatolickým stavům přimět císaře k vydání tzv. Majestátů náboženských svobod. Nejprve byl vydán 9. 7. 1609 pro Čechy a 20. 8. 1609 pro Slezsko. Slezské stavy si znovu vymohly potvrzení Majestátu i na Matyášovi I. po jeho nástupu na trůn v roce 1611. Je paradoxem, že v době, kdy byl legitimován nárok na náboženskou svobodu, prakticky končilo období dlouhé náboženské tolerance a snášenlivosti mezi katolíky a nekatolíky v zemích České koruny. Zástupci slezských nekatolických stavů, kteří se už v roce 1609 zavázali spolupracovat s ostatními nekatolickými stavy monarchie, se velkou měrou zapojili do stavovského povstání. Po bitvě na Bílé Hoře se i Slezska dotkla opatření Ferdinanda II. proti vzbouřencům. Ačkoli pro Slezsko nebyla vydána obdoba Obnoveného zřízení zemského, ztratily stavy zákonodárnou moc a správa země přešla pod Českou
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=== Reformation===
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The [[Protestant Reformation]] of the sixteenth century took an early hold in Silesia, with most inhabitants converting to [[Lutheranism]]. At the same time, pastors aided the renaissance of the Slavic culture and language.  
  
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==Thirty Years' War==
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In 1526, [[Ferdinand I]] of the [[Habsburg]] dynasty was elected King of Bohemia, and in the same year he incorporated the Bohemian Kingdom into the dynasty. This was yet another period of heightened Germanization and weakening of the region’s ties with Poland. The religious conflicts and wars of the Reformation and Counter Reformation throughout the seventeenth century drove scores of Silesian [[Protestantism|Protestants]] to seek refuge in the tolerant Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Thousands settled in the province of Greater Poland, under the protection of powerful Protestant magnates. Members of the Czech Brethren, under the leadership of [[Comenius, John Amos|John Amos Comenius]], settled in Leszno. To circumvent stringent laws, Protestant Silesians built churches on the Polish side of the border.
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[[Image:Lower Silesia coat of arms.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Lower Silesia's historical coat of arms]]
 
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The second "[[Defenestrations of Prague|Defenestration of Prague]]" in 1618 sparked the [[Thirty Years' War]], caused by King [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand II]]'s attempts to restore Catholicism and stamp out Protestantism with Bohemia.
 
  
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Although Ferdinand requested assistance from the mostly Catholic [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]], the Polish ''[[szlachta]]'' sympathized with the Bohemian and [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungarian]] nobility despite their religious differences and refused King [[Sigismund III Vasa]]'s attempt to assist the Habsburgs. Finally, Sigismund decided to help the Habsburgs by sending an unemployed mercenary group called the [[Lisowczycy]] in late 1619, hoping to regain parts of Silesia in exchange. The Lisowczycy's support would prove decisive during the [[Battle of White Mountain]] in 1620. However, as the Habsburgs' situation improved, Emperor [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand II]] did not agree to any concessions in Silesia, nor did he help in Poland's war against the Ottoman Empire, and the Polish kings never received anything except a vague set of promises and several brides to keep them favourably inclined to the Habsburg dynasty.
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===Thirty Years' War===
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The tensions between [[Catholic]]s and [[Protestant]]s boiled over at the turn of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Protestant estates took advantage of the protracted disputes between Rudolf II and his brother Matthias, securing religious freedom in 1609 for both the Czech lands and Silesia. The [[Thirty Years' War]] (1618–1648), sparked by the second [[Defenestrations of Prague|Defenestration of Prague]] in 1618 in the wake of [[Ferdinand II]], Holy Roman Emperor's attempts to restore Catholicism and stamp out Protestantism in Bohemia, brought untold misery to Silesia under successive Saxon, imperial, and Swedish occupation.  
  
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After the end of the Thirty Years' War with the [[Treaty of Westphalia]] in 1648, the Habsburgs greatly encouraged Catholicism and succeeded in reconverting to [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] about 60% of the population of Silesia. By 1675 the last Silesian Piast rulers had died out.
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Ferdinand II did not receive assistance from the mostly Catholic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; the Polish dukes leaned toward the Bohemian and [[Hungary|Hungarian]] nobility and defied Polish King Sigismund III Vasa's attempt to assist the Habsburgs. Sigismund III Vasa thus dispatched an unemployed mercenary group, the Lisowczycy, in late 1619, hoping to regain parts of Silesia in exchange for assisting the Habsburgs. The Lisowczycy's support would prove decisive during the 1620 Battle of the White Mountain, in which Czech estates were defeated. However, as the Habsburg outlooks became favorable, [[Ferdinand II]] abandoned plans to grant concessions to Silesia, nor did he come to the side of [[Poland]] embroiled in the war against the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The Polish kings never received more than vague promises and several brides to keep them favorably inclined toward the [[Habsburg dynasty]].
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Krutou ránu přinesla Slezsku třicetiletá válka, provázená ohromnými materiálními i lidskými ztrátámi. Na rozdíl od Českého království zaručoval vestfálský mír protestantským knížatům na jejich území svobodu luterského vyznání a totéž platilo pro město Vratislav. Ostatní evangelíci směli setrvat při své konfesi, aniž by museli opustit svoje domovy. Při rozsáhlé rekatolizaci, jež Slezsko zasáhla, si ovšem mohli vystavět zprvu pouze tři nové protestantské kostely, pro jejichž stavbu platila přísná pravidla (musely být ze dřeva, bez věží a mimo hradby města). Tak jako v ostatních zemích sehráli při rekatolizaci Slezska důležitou roli jezuité, kteří se ve svých školách zaměřili především na výchovu dalších generací studentů z řad šlechticů i nešlechticů. Na jejich popud založil Leopold I. v roce 1702 vratislavskou Akademii, pozdější univerzitu, jež měla původně jen dvě fakulty – teologickou a filozofickou. Škola velmi rychle vzkvétala a kolem roku 1724 čítala přes 1300 studentů.
 
  
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Klidné období netrvalo pro Slezsko dlouho. Země se stala předmětem zájmu saské diplomacie ve válkách o dědictví španělské a nevyhnul se jí ani konflikt mezi polským králem a saským kurfiřtem Augustem II. Silným a švédským králem Karlem XII. – severní válka. Pobyt švédského vojska na slezském území přinesl protestantům určité naděje na změnu náboženských poměrů. Evangelíci se proto obrátili na švédského panovníka s žádostí o pomoc. Výsledkem jednání mezi Karlem XII. a císařem Josefem I. byla tzv. altranstädská smlouva uzavřená v roce 1707. Dohoda stvrzovala větší míru náboženské svobody v knížectvích jmenovaných ve vestfálském míru a umožňovala vystavět šest nových protestantských kostelů.
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== Prussian, German, and Austrian control ==
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[[Image:Schlesien 1905.png|thumb|350px|Imperial German Silesia 1905]]
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Silesia went to Austrian control with the 1648 [[Treaty of Westphalia]], which ended the Thirty Years’ War. The [[Habsburg]]s encouraged [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] and succeeded in reconverting 60 percent of the population of Silesia, with massive assistance of [[Jesuit]]s, who funded schools for the privileged and non-privileged classes alike. [[Lutheranism]] was tolerated in Breslau and a few other districts; nevertheless, Protestants were able to erect a mere three churches, which were built of wood, devoid of spires, and outside municipal fortifications. In 1675, the death of the last Piast compelled [[Austria]] to incorporate the Piast territories into [[Bohemia]].  
  
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Empress [[Maria Theresa of Austria|Maria Theresa]] heralded the region's last years under the Kingdom of Bohemia. King [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick II]], as the heir of the house of [[Brandenburg]], in 1740 claimed a portion of Silesia from her, which was welcomed not only by Protestants and Germans but also by many Silesians. Maria Theresa granted him Lower Silesia in a secret pact in exchange for a neutral stance in the Habsburg conflicts with [[Saxony]], [[Bavaria]], and [[France]]. However, in November of 1741, Frederick II switched allegiance and joined the anti-Habsburg coalition, which cost the Habsburgs most of Silesia in favor of Prussia. In the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), the Kingdom of Prussia had conquered almost all of Silesia, and only the southeastern tip remained under the Habsburg monarchy. The Silesian Wars (1740–1742 and 1744–1745) were fought as part of the War of the Austrian Succession.
  
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=== Kingdom of Prussia ===
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The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) confirmed Prussian control over most of Silesia. After the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in 1815, German language became one of choice in Lower Silesia, whereas Polish and Czech dialects were spoken in the countryside of Upper Silesia. German was the common language in the majority of Silesian cities. As a Prussian province, Silesia became part of the German Empire during the unification of [[Germany]] in 1871. Upper Silesia became target for migration during the [[industrialization]] period. The overwhelming majority of the population of Lower Silesia was by then German-speaking and many were Lutheran, while rural Upper Silesia spoke mostly Slavic languages and adhered to Roman Catholicism. Many Poles were headed to Germany via Silesia to escape the volatile Russian-Polish belt.
  
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In 1740, the annexation of Silesia by King [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick II]] (the Great) of [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] was welcomed by many Silesians, not only by Protestants or Germans. Frederick based his claims on the Treaty of Brieg and began the [[War of the Austrian Succession]] (1740-1748). By war's end, the Kingdom of Prussia had conquered almost all of Silesia, while some parts of Silesia in the extreme southeast, like the [[Duchy of Cieszyn]] and [[Duchy of Opava]], remained possessions of the [[Habsburg Monarchy]]. The [[Seven Years' War]] (1756-1763) confirmed Prussian control over most of Silesia, and the Prussian [[Province of Silesia]] became one of the most loyal provinces of Prussia. In 1815 the area around [[Görlitz]], formerly part of [[Saxony]], was incorporated into the province after the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. By this time German had become the only popular language in [[Lower Silesia]], while dialects of Polish and Czech were used in most of the countryside of [[Upper Silesia]]. German was the most common language in most Silesian cities.
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During the Industrial Revolution, textile weaving and coal mining flourished, albeit amid social tensions that were polarized along ethnic groups. The upper and middle classes were predominantly German; the workers were mostly Polish. Work conditions gradually improved, although Silesia remained a relatively backward area even in the twentieth century despite high productivity. At the same time, the areas of Ostrava and Karvina in Austrian Silesia became increasingly industrialized, with Slavic Lutherans prevalent.
  
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=== Silesia in Germany and Austria===
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In 1900 the population numbered 680,422, with Germans accounting for 44.69 percent, Poles representing 33.21 percent, and Czechs and other Slavs making up 22.05 percent. Some 84 percent were Roman Catholics, 14 percent Protestants, and the remainder were [[Jews]].
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Poslední etapa dějin Slezska jako vedlejší země Koruny české se začala psát po nástupu Marie Terezie na český trůn. Přestože většina evropských panovníků přistoupila na tzv. pragmatickou sankci (1713), která upravovala nástupnictví po Karlovi VI., vzplanuly po jeho smrti války o dědictví rakouské. Největšími soupeři Marie Terezie se stali bavorský kurfiřt Karel Albrecht, pruský král Fridrich II. a saský kurfiřt a polský král August III. Pruská vojska obsadila na přelomu let 1740 a 1741 téměř celé Slezsko. Jejich postup se pokusila zastavit „pragmatická“ armáda, která se ale po porážce u Molvic v dubnu 1741 musela stáhnout.
 
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Marie Terezie uzavřela s Fridrichem II. v Klein Schellendorfu tajnou dohodu, podle níž měl pruský král za neutralitu v konfliktu habsburské monarchie s koalicí Saska, Bavorska a Francie získat Dolní Slezsko. Fridrich II. se ovšem už v listopadu 1741 připojil k protihabsburské koalici, jež obsadila většinu Slezska a pronikla až k Brnu. Porážka císařských vojsk armádou Fridricha II. u Chotusic v květnu 1742 měla za následek ztrátu většiny Slezska ve prospěch Pruska. Po podpisu tzv. berlínského míru zůstaly součástí habsburské monarchie jen části Opavska, Krnovska, Niska a Těšínsko.
 
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http://www.troppau.estranky.cz/clanky/misc/slezsko
 
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During the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and 19th cent. textile weaving and coal mining developed rapidly in Silesia, but industrialization brought great social tension. The Silesian weavers became dependent on entrepreneurs who farmed out work; working conditions and unemployment became intolerable, and discontent ran high. Most coal mining was in the hands of private industry, under which miners were often mistreated. Landholding conditions also were iniquitous, most of the land being held by owners of large estates. The resulting tensions assumed an ethnic character, since the upper and middle classes were predominantly German, while a large percentage of the workers were Polish. Though these conditions were gradually improved, Silesia even in the 20th cent. remained, despite its great productivity, a relatively backward area.
 
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[[Image:Schlesien 1905.png|thumb|300px|Imperial German Silesia 1905]]
 
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As a [[Province of Silesia|Prussian province]], Silesia became part of the [[German Empire]] during the [[unification of Germany]] in 1871. There was considerable [[industrialization]] in Upper Silesia, and many people moved there at that time. The overwhelming majority of the population of [[Lower Silesia]] was by then German-speaking and many were Lutheran, including the capital [[Wrocław|Breslau]]. There were areas such as the [[Landkreis|District]] of [[Opole|Oppeln]] (then [[Regierungsbezirk]] Oppeln) and rural parts of Upper Silesia, however, where a larger portion or even majority of the population was Slavic-speaking and Roman Catholic. In Silesia as a whole, ethnic Poles comprised about 30% of the population, but most of them lived around [[Katowice]] in the southeast of Upper Silesia. Many people from Poland moved into Germany, coming through Silesia, often going to Berlin during Industrialisation. and particularly to get away from Russian Polish territory. The installation of trains made mass movements possible and there were times, that trains would not stop in the eastern parts of Germany in order to curb the massive onslaught of people moving in from the east. The [[Kulturkampf]] set Catholics in opposition to the government and sparked a Polish revival, much of it fostered by Poles from outside of Germany, in the Upper Silesian parts of the province. The first conference of [[Hovevei Zion]] groups took place in [[Katowice|Kattowitz (Katowice)]], [[German Empire]] in 1884.  
 
  
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At the same time, the areas of [[Ostrava]] and [[Karvina]] in Austrian Silesia became increasingly industrialized. Most of the Polish-speaking people there, however, were Slavic Lutherans in contrast to the German-speaking Catholic Habsburg dynasty ruling [[Austria-Hungary]].
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==After World War I==
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[[Image:Zaolzie karwina 1938.jpg|thumb|250px|Military band walks under the sign made by Polish people of Karwina during the 1938 annexation of Zaolzie by Poland. The sign reads "We've been waiting for you 600 years".]]
  
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In 1900 the population numbered 680,422, which corresponds to 342 inhabitants per square mile (132/km²). The Germans formed 44.69% of the population, 33.21% were Poles and 22.05% Czechs and Slays. According to religion, 84% were Roman Catholics, 14% Protestants and the remainder were Jews. The local [[diet (assembly)|diet]] is composed of 31 members, and Silesia sends 12 deputies to the [[Reichsrat]] at Vienna. For administrative purposes Silesia is divided into 9 districts and 3 towns with autonomous municipalities: Troppau, the capital, Bielitz and [[Friedek]]. Other principal towns are: Teschen, [[Polnisch-Ostrau]], Jagerndorf, [[Karwin]], [[Freudenthal]], [[Freiwaldau]] and Bennisch.
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The [[Treaty of Versailles]] (1919) granted the population of Upper Silesia a right to determine their future, with the exception of a 333 km² area with German majority around Hlučín that was granted to [[Czechoslovakia]] in 1920, but the Czechoslovak government did not endorse the proposed division and invaded Cieszyn Silesia in 1919, stopping on the Vistula River near Skoczów. The planned plebiscite was not held, and the border between Poland and the [[Czech Republic]] was decided in 1920 by the Ambassadors' Council at the Treaty of Versailles. The delineation of the rest of the region was accomplished in the 1921 plebiscite whose outcome was in favor of Germany except the easternmost Upper Silesia, predominantly Polish, where an armed conflict in 1922 compelled the [[League of Nations]] to grant the larger part of the industrial district, including Katowice, to Poland. The contested Teschen district was partitioned in 1920 between Poland and Czechoslovakia to the satisfaction of neither. The boundaries often cut through mines; some workers slept in one country and worked in another.  
  
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In the [[Treaty of Versailles]] after the defeat of Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary in [[World War I]], it was decided that the population of Upper Silesia should hold a plebiscite in order to determine the future of the province, with the exception of a 333 km² area around [[Hlučín]] (''Hultschiner Ländchen''), which was granted to [[Czechoslovakia]] in 1920 despite having a German majority. The plebiscite, organised by the [[League of Nations]], was held in 1921. In Cieszyn Silesia firstly was a deal between ''Rada Narodowa Księstwa Cieszyńskiego'' and ''Národním Výborem pro Slezsko'' about partition past lands of the [[Duchy of Cieszyn]] according to ethnic lines. However, that deal was not approved by the Czechoslovak government in [[Prague]]. On [[23 January]] [[1919]], Czechoslovakia invaded the lands of Cieszyn Silesia and stopped on [[30 January]] [[1919]] on the [[Vistula River]] near [[Skoczów]].<ref>Długajczyk 1993, 7.</ref><ref>Zahradnik 1992, 59.</ref> The planned plebiscite was not organised and the division of Cieszyn Silesia was decided on [[28 July]] [[1920]] by the Ambassadors' Council at the Treaty of Versailles, which instituted the present-day border between Poland and the [[Czech Republic]].
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The Munich Treason of 1938 divided most of Czech Silesia between Germany and Poland, and after the German conquest of Poland in 1939, the entire Polish Silesia was annexed to Germany. The local German population showed support of the [[Fascism|fascist]] regime, and numerous concentration camps were constructed throughout Silesia.
  
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After World War I the Treaty of Versailles (1919) provided for a plebiscite to determine if Upper Silesia was to remain German or to pass to Poland. The results of the plebiscite (1921) were favorable to Germany except in the easternmost part of Upper Silesia, where the Polish population predominated. After an armed rising of the Poles (1922) the League of Nations accepted a partition of the territory; the larger part of the industrial district, including Katowice, passed to Poland. The contested city and district of Teschen were partitioned in 1920 between Poland and Czechoslovakia (to the satisfaction of neither) by the conference of ambassadors. The political division of the Silesian industrial district was carried out so arbitrarily that the boundaries often cut through mines; some workers slept in one country and worked in another. As a result of the Munich Pact of 1938 most of Czech Silesia was partitioned between Germany and Poland, and after the German conquest of Poland in 1939 all Polish Silesia was annexed to Germany.
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==World War II==
  
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Under [[Adolf Hitler]], the [[German Third Reich]] retook possession of the predominately Polish sections of Upper Silesia along with Sosnowiec ''(Sosnowitz),'' Będzin (''Bendzin,'' ''Bendsburg),'' Chrzanów ''(Krenau),'' and Zawiercie ''(Warthenau)'' counties and parts of Olkusz ''(Ilkenau)'' and Zywiec ''(Saybusch)'' counties in September 1939, when the [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|invasion of Poland]] marked the beginning of [[World War II]]. The local German populations frequently welcomed the Wehrmacht. In 1940 the Germans began construction of the [[Auschwitz]] concentration camp, which was later used as a death camp during the [[Holocaust]].
  
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=== Interwar period ===
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The Gross-Rosen [[concentration camp]], which had subcamps in many Silesian cities, was also constructed in 1940. The Riese Project was later implemented, during which thousands of prisoners died.
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[[Image:Zaolzie karwina 1938.jpg|thumb|250px|Military band walks under the sign made by Polish people of [[Karwina]] during the 1938 annexation of [[Zaolzie]] by Poland. The sign reads "We've been waiting for you 600 years".]]
 
  
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After the referendum, there were three [[Silesian Insurrections]] instigated by Polish inhabitants of the area, as a result of which the League of Nations decided that the province should be split again and that the eastern-most Upper Silesian areas, even though a majority there had voted to remain inside Germany, should become an autonomous area within Poland organised as the [[Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship]] (''Autonomiczne Wojewodztwo Śląskie'') and with [[Silesian Parliament]] as a constituency and Silesian Voivodship Council as the executive body. One of the central political figures that stirred these changes was [[Wojciech Korfanty]].
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=== After the war ===
  
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The [[Silesian Uprisings]] [[1919]]-[[1921]]:
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In 1945, Silesia was occupied by the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] Red Army and the Communist Polish Army. By then a large portion of the German population were expelled or had fled for fear of retribution by Soviet soldiers, but many returned after Germany's capitulation. Under the terms of the [[Yalta Conference]] agreements held in 1944 and the [[Potsdam Conference|Potsdam Agreement of 1945]], German Silesia east of the rivers Oder and Lusatian Neisse was granted to Poland, and most of the remaining Silesian Germans, who before World War II amounted to more than four million, were displaced or sent to [[labor camp]]s. Over 30,000 men were deported to Soviet mines and [[Siberia]]. The section of the region formerly controlled by Prussia was placed under Polish administration, with the German population likewise forced to leave. After the fall of [[Communism]], local industry was rebuilt and the region repopulated by Poles. For administrative purposes, Silesia was divided into nine districts and three cities with autonomous municipalities Troppau, the capital, Bielitz, and Friedek.
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* [[First Silesian Uprising]]: [[16 August]] [[1919]]-[[26 August]] [[1919]]
 
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* [[Second Silesian Uprising]]: [[19 August]] [[1920]]-[[25 August]] [[1920]]
 
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* [[Third Silesian Uprising]]: [[2 May]] [[1921]]-[[5 July]] [[1921]]
 
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The major part of Silesia, remaining in [[Weimar Republic|Germany]], was reorganised into the two provinces of [[Province of Upper Silesia|Upper Silesia]] and [[Province of Lower Silesia|Lower Silesia]]. In Silesia the synagogues in [[Wrocław|Breslau]] and in many other cities were destroyed during the [[Kristallnacht]] of 1938. In October 1938, [[Cieszyn Silesia]] (the disputed area west of the [[Olza River]], also called [[Zaolzie]] in Polish - 876 km² with 258,000 inhabitants), was taken by Poland from Czechoslovakia, in accord with the [[Munich Agreement]] that surrendered Czechoslovakia to [[Nazi Germany]] in the same year. [[Czech Silesia]] with [[Ostrava|Ostrau]] was incorporated into the [[Sudetenland]] [[Gau]], while [[Hultschin]] was incorporated into Upper Silesia province.
 
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=== World War II ===
 
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The [[Nazi Germany|German Reich]] retook possession of these mostly Polish parts of Upper Silesia along with [[Sosnowiec]] (''Sosnowitz''), [[Będzin]] (''Bendzin'', ''Bendsburg''), [[Chrzanów]] (''Krenau''), and [[Zawiercie]] (''Warthenau'') counties and parts of [[Olkusz]] (''Ilkenau'') and [[Zywiec]] (''Saybusch'') counties in 1939, when the [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|invasion of Poland]] marked the beginning of [[World War II]]. The local German populations frequently welcomed the [[Wehrmacht]]. In 1940 the Germans started to construct the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]], which was later used as a death camp during the [[Holocaust]].
 
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The [[Gross-Rosen concentration camp|Groß-Rosen concentration camp]], which had subcamps in many Silesian cities, was also constructed in 1940. The [[Riese Project]] was later implemented, during which thousands of prisoners died.
 
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=== Silesia after WWII ===
 
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In 1945, all of Silesia was occupied by the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Red Army]] and Polish-Communist Army. By then a large portion of the German population had fled or were [[World War II evacuation and expulsion|evacuated]] from Silesia out of fear of revenge by Soviet soldiers, but many returned after the German capitulation. Under the terms of the agreements at the [[Yalta Conference]] of 1944 and the [[Potsdam Agreement]] of 1945, German Silesia east of the rivers [[Oder River|Oder]] and [[Lusatian Neisse]] Rivers was transferred to Poland (see [[Oder-Neisse line]]). Most of the remaining Silesian Germans, who before World War II amounted to more than four million, were forcibly [[Expulsion of Germans after World War II|expelled]], some of them imprisoned in labour camps, e.g. [[Łambinowice|Lamsdorf (Łambinowice)]] and [[Zgoda labour camp]]. Many perished in those camps due to Polish and Soviet torture, starvation and cruelty. More than 30,000 Silesian men (majority of German roots, some having partially Polish roots) were deported to Soviet [[mine]]s and [[Siberia]], the majority of whom never returned. Others emigrated from Silesia in the years after the war (see [[German exodus from Eastern Europe]]).
 
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The industry of Silesia was rebuilt after the war and the region was repopulated by Poles, many of whom had themselves been expelled from eastern [[Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union]]. Today, more than 20% of the entire population of Poland lives in Silesia, but many families do not have [[Silesians|Silesian]] ancestry.
 
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A small German speaking remnant exists in the region around [[Opole]] (''Oppeln''), as well as some Slavic speaking and bilingual remnants of the pre-1945 population of Upper Silesia. In official Polish census  153,000 people declared German nationality, though up to 500,000 are of German ancestry.
 
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After World War II the pre-1938 boundaries were restored, but all formerly Prussian Silesia E of the Lusatian Neisse was placed under Polish administration (a small section of Lower Silesia W of the Neisse was incorporated with the East German state of Saxony). The Allies also allowed the expulsion (in an “orderly and humane” manner) of the German population from Czech Silesia, Polish Silesia, and Polish-administered Silesia. The mass expulsion of Germans was, perforce, neither orderly nor humane; moreover, although the transfer of territories to Polish administration was made subject to revision in a final peace treaty with Germany, the Polish government treated all Silesia as integral Polish territory. West Germany finally relinquished all claims to the area under the terms of a nonaggression pact with Poland in 1972. With the unification of East and West Germany in 1990, German leaders attempted once again to allay the fears of its neighbors, particularly Poland, by declaring the stability of the borders determined at the end of World War II.
 
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== Natural resources ==
 
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Silesia is a populous and resource-rich region, with [[coal]] and [[iron]] deposits and booming manufacturing. Lower Silesia between the cities of Legnica (''Liegnitz''), Lubin and Polkowice is the largest centre of [[copper]] mining in Poland. The fall of [[Communism]], however, has brought to light the obsolete facilities that inevitably pose environmental problems. The region also boasts thriving [[agriculture]], producing mainly grains, potatoes, and sugar beets.  
 
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Except in the south, Silesia is largely an agricultural and forested lowland, drained by the Oder and its tributaries. The major city of the region is Wroc aw. Along the slopes of the Sudetes there are numerous small industrial centers with traditional textile and glass industries. Czech Silesia comprises the rich Karvinna coal basin. The most important part of Silesia is, however, its southern tip—Upper Silesia, in Poland. One of the largest industrial concentrations of Europe, it has extensive coal and lignite deposits and zinc, lead, iron, and other ores. The industrial area around Katowice comprises such important centers as Bytom, Gliwice, Zabrze, and Cz stochowa, and has iron and steel mills, coke ovens, and chemical plants. Opole, the former capital of Upper Silesia, is an important trade center.
 
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{{sect-stub}}
 
  
 
== Demographics ==
 
== Demographics ==
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Modern Silesia is inhabited mostly by Poles and Silesians, but also by minorities of Germans, Czechs, and Moravians. The last Polish census of 2002 showed that the Slavic Silesians are the largest ethnic minority in Poland, Germans being the second &mdash; both groups are located mostly in Upper Silesia. The Czech part of Silesia is inhabited by Czechs, Moravians, and Poles.
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Silesia is inhabited mostly by Poles and Silesians, followed by German, Czech, and [[Moravian]] minorities. Poland’s 2002 census found that the Slavic Silesians are the largest ethnic minority in Poland, trailed by Germans &mdash; both reside mostly in Upper Silesia. The Czech part of Silesia is inhabited by Czechs, Moravians, and Poles. For comparison, the 1905 census showed that 75 percent of the population was German and 25 percent Polish. The vast majority of German Silesians either fled Silesia or were expelled during and after World War II and now live in the [[Federal Republic of Germany]], many are employed in the mines of the [[Ruhr]] area, as were their ancestors in Silesian mines. In order to facilitate their integration into West German society after 1945, the West German government established and sponsored various organizations.
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Before the [[Second World War]], Silesia was inhabited by Germans, Poles, and Czechs. The 1905 census showed that 75% of the population was German and 25% Polish. 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, as did their ancestors in the Silesian mines. In order to facilitate their integration into West German society after 1945, the West German government established and sponsored organizations such as the Landsmannschaft Schlesien. Public opinion in Germany favors reconciliation of these organizations with the Polish Silesians, which is already in the making. Many of the pre-war Germanized Slavic Silesians living in Upper Silesia have remained culturally united and have sought work in the [[Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]] after 1990, along with their ethnic German Silesian countrymen.
 
  
 
== Cities in Silesia ==
 
== Cities in Silesia ==
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==Sources and Further Reading==
  
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* Bireley, Robert. ''The Jesuits and the Thirty Years War: Kings, Courts, and Confessors.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003. ISBN 0521820170
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* Butler, Rohan. ''Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939.'' London: Her Majesty's Stationary Office, 1961, OCLC: 63769283
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* Davies, Norman, and Roger Moorhouse. ''Microcosm, Portrait of a Central European City.'' London: Jonathan Cape, 2002, ISBN 0224062433 OCLC 49551193
  
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== Footnotes ==
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* Długajczyk, Edward, ''Tajny front na granicy cieszyńskiej : wywiad i dywersja w latach 1919-1939'', Katowice, Śląsk, 1993, ISBN 8385831037 OCLC 34150911
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{{reflist}}
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* Grau, Karl Friedrich. ''Silesian Inferno: War Crimes of the Red Army on Its March into Silesia in 1945: A Collection of Documents.''  Translated from the German by Ernst Schlosser. Valley Forge, PA: Landpost Press, 1992. ISBN 1880881098
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* Medlicott, W.N., Douglas Dakin, and M.E. Lambert. ''Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939.'' London: Her Majesty's Stationary Office, 1968, ISBN 0115915591 OCLC 58619553
  
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==Sources and Further Reading==
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* Zahradnik, Stanisław and Marek Ryczkowski. ''Korzenie Zaolzia.'' Warszawa: PAI-press, 1992
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* Długajczyk, Edward, ''Tajny front na granicy cieszyńskiej : wywiad i dywersja w latach 1919-1939'', Katowice, Śląsk, 1993, ISBN 8385831037 OCLC 34150911
 
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* Zahradnik, Stanisław Zahradnik; Ryczkowski, Marek, ''Korzenie Zaolzia'', Warszawa, PAI-press, 1992
 
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* Butler, Rohan, ''Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939'', London, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, 1961, OCLC: 63769283
 
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* Medlicott, W.N.; Dakin, Douglas; Lambert, M.E., ''Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939'', London, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, 1968, ISBN 0115915591 OCLC 58619553
 
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* Davies, Norman; Moorhouse, Roger, ''Microcosm, Portrait of a Central European City'', London, Jonathan Cape, 2002, ISBN 0224062433 OCLC 49551193
 
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
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{{Commonscat|Silesia}}
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All links retrieved January 29, 2023.
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* [http://www.republikasilesia.com Republic of Silesia], ''REPUBLIKA  S'LOONSKO'', Accessed February 3,2007
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===English Language===
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* [http://wwwtest.library.ucla.edu/libraries/mgi/maps/blaeu/germania.jpg Silesia on Germany Map of 1600], ''Blaeu Atlas'', Accessed February 3,2007
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* [http://www.hoeckmann.de/germany/silesia.htm "Historical Map of Silesia 1763"] ''Thomas Höckmann Website''.
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* [http://www.hoeckmann.de/germany/silesia.htm Historical Map of Silesia 1763], ''Thomas Höckmann'', Accessed February 3,2007
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* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9067752/Silesia “Silesia”] ‘’Encyclopaedia Britannica’’.  
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* [http://www.schlesierland.de/index.html Willkommen im schlesischen Museum!], ''Manfred Schürmann'', Accessed February 3,2007
 
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* [http://www.tr62.de/maps/Silesia-2000.html Historical Maps: Silesia], ''German Genealogy'', Accessed February 3,2007
 
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* [http://www.upper-silesia.com/map.html Where is Upper Silesia?], ''Geography'', Accessed February 3,2007
 
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* [http://raslaska.aremedia.net Silesian Autonomy Movement], ''Ruch Autonomii Śląska'', Accessed February 3,2007
 
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http://www.polishroots.com/genpoland/sil.htm
 
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http://www.bartleby.com/65/si/Silesia.html
 
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http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9067752/Silesia
 
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http://www.answers.com/topic/silesia
 
  
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===German Language===
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* [http://www.schlesierland.de/index.html Willkommen im Schlesischen Museum!] ''Silesian Museum Website''.
  
  
  
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[[Category:Nations and places]]
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[[Category:Geography]]
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[[Category:States of the Holy Roman Empire]]
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[[Category:Europe]]
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[[Category:Divided regions]]
 
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Latest revision as of 22:03, 29 January 2023

Silesia
Silesia (Now).png
Language(s): Silesian, Polish,
German, Czech
Time zone: CET (UTC+1)
CEST (UTC+2)

Silesia is a historical region in east–central Europe spanning the territory named Magna Germania by Tacitus. It is encircled by the upper and middle Oder (Odra) River, upper Vistula River, and the Sudetes and Carpathian mountain ranges. The largest portion lies within the borders of Poland; the rest is within the Czech Republic and Germany.

Slavs arrived in the area around the sixth century and founded Great Moravia. In the Middle Ages, it was divided between numerous independent duchies ruled by the Piast dynasty and exposed to cultural and ethnic Germanization due to immigrants from the Holy Roman Empire from the fourteenth century on, after the Czech king Charles IV of the Luxembourg dynasty became Holy Roman Emperor.

By the end of the fifteenth century, due to a succession of disputes and the region's prosperity, there were at least 16 principalities of Silesia. The crown passed to the Habsburg dynasty of Austria in 1526 and was taken by Prussia in 1742 in the War of the Austrian Succession and held on to it until 1945.

Following the establishment of independent Poland in 1918, the region was divided between Poland, Czechoslovakia and Germany. During World War II Polish Silesia was occupied by Germany and was the site of atrocities against the population by Nazi and, later, Soviet forces. Following the war, the Allied powers assigned the majority of German Silesia to Poland. The small portion of Silesia retained by Austria is now within the Czech Republic. Nearly one-fourth of Poland's population is contained within Silesia at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Roman Catholicism held sway over Silesia for most of its history, for which, along with the fact that it had a large German population, it was plundered in the Hussite Wars in the fifteenth century.

Geography

A mountain cottage at the Śnieżka in Silesia (Poland)

Silesia is a historical region in central Europe spanning the territory named Magna Germania by Tacitus. It is encircled by the upper and middle Oder (Odra) River, upper Vistula River, and the Sudeten and Carpathian mountain ranges. It consists largely of the river basin and is bound by the Kraków-Wielun plateau to the northeast.

The largest portion lies within the borders of Poland; the rest is within the Czech Republic (Severomoravský kraj region) and Germany (Brandenburg and Saxony Länder states). Major cities are Wrocław and Katowice.

Silesia is now divided into nine Polish provinces, with capitals at

  • Katowice
  • Bielsko-Biala
  • Opole
  • Wroclaw (Breslau)
  • Walbrzych
  • Legnica
  • Jelenia Góra
  • Zielona Góra
  • Kalisz;

The Opole and Silesian Voivodeships form Upper Silesia. The small portion in the Czech Republic known as Czech Silesia comprises, with the country’s northern part of the Moravia region, the Moravian-Silesian Region, while the remainder makes up a small part of the Olomouc Region. The Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis and Hoyerswerda, along with the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, chart the geographic region of Lower Silesia.

Natural resources

Silesia is a populous and resource-rich region, with coal and iron deposits and booming manufacturing. The most important part is its southern tip—Upper Silesia— in Poland. Being one of the largest industrial concentrations of Europe, it has extensive coal and lignite deposits as well as zinc, lead, and iron. Czech Silesia comprises the Karvinna coal basin. Lower Silesia boasts the largest copper deposits in Poland. The fall of Communism, however, has brought to light obsolete facilities that inevitably pose environmental problems.

Except in the south, Silesia is largely agricultural and forested lowland, drained by the Oder and its tributaries.

Etymology

One source attributes the origin of the name Silesia to the Silingi, who were most likely a Vandalic (East Germanic) people presumably living south of the Baltic Sea along the Elbe, Oder, and Vistula Rivers in the second century. When the Silingi moved out during the Migration Period, they left remnants of their society behind, the most obvious being the names of places imposed by the new inhabitants, Slavic peoples. These people became associated with the location and subsequently became known as Silesians (using a Latinized form of the Polish name, Ślężanie), although they had little in common with the original Silingi.

Archeological research has uncovered formerly largely populated areas from the seventh and eighth centuries, which were protected by a dense system of fortifications to the west and south; the lack of such systems to the north or east supports the hypothesis that Silesia was populated by early Slavic tribes between the fifth and thirteenth centuries. Because Goths, another East Germanic group, were settled in eastern Silesia while Slavic Wends lived in western Silesia, there cannot be any mention of a nation.

Another source traces the region’s name to the river Ślęza.

History

Upper Silesia's historical coat of arms

Early people

Silesia was inhabited by various peoples in the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages. The earliest written sources mention Magna Germania in the writings of Ptolemaeus and Germania, as recorded by the Roman historian Tacitus. Tacitus wrote that the first century Silesia was inhabited by a multi-ethnic league dominated by the Lugii, an East Germanic tribe. The Silingi were also part of this grouping, and so were most likely Vandals. Other East Germanic tribes also inhabited the scarcely populated region. Slavic tribes entered the scene around 500 C.E.

Middle Ages

After 500 C.E. the Great Migration had induced the bulk of the original East Germanic tribes to leave Silesia, while Asian tribes had been arriving for centuries, and Slavic tribes began forming first settlements, including the Silesian lands. Early documents mention several mostly Slavic tribes most probably living in Silesia. The Bavarian Geographer (around 845) specifies five peoples, to which a document of the Bishopric of Prague (1086) adds four others.

In the ninth and tenth centuries, the territory to be called Silesia was part of Great Moravia, Moravia, and Bohemia neighboring on the Czech Republic to the south. After the breakup of Great Moravia, Silesia for centuries became a target of protracted disputes and wars mostly between Czech and Polish rulers. Around 990, several parts of Silesia were conquered and annexed to the newly-created Polish state by Duke Mieszko I (see map), although other sources date this event to 999 under the rule of Duke Boleslaus I. The Premyslid Dynasty took over in the tenth century, but by the end of the century, the region was back in the hands of Piasts. The two dynasties vied for the territory until the twelfth century. By the eleventh century, Silesia was an integral part of Poland.

King Boleslaus III (1102–1138), of the Piast Dynasty divided Poland into four hereditary duchies, of which Silesia was one, for his sons. After 1200, the duchy of Silesia disintegrated into numerous minor principalities. In 1146, High Duke Władysław II acknowledged supremacy of the Holy Roman Empire, and his two sons in 1163 divided the land between themselves as dukes of Lower and Upper Silesia, creating two main Piast lines, of Wrocław and of Opole and Racibórz. Further division continued under their successors, reaching 16 principalities by the 1390s.

In 1241, the Mongols invaded Europe—and Silesia—and sowed panic, looting much of the region and annihilating the combined Polish and German forces in the Battle of Legnica. Upon the death of Ögedei Khan, they chose not to press further into Europe and left, leaving Silesia to further disintegrate until it counted almost 20 small administrative units and invited attempts at annexation by the Premyslid Dynasty, focused primarily on Upper Silesia.

The ruling Silesian lords rebuilt some 160 cities and 1,500 towns and restored the most recent administrative divisions, while at the same time introducing the codified German city law in place of the customary Slavic and Polish laws. They also made up for the recent population loss by inviting new settlers, mostly German and Dutch colonists from the Holy Roman Empire. Germans settled mostly in cities, as did Jews and some Czechs. In the countryside, especially in Upper Silesia, people of Polish origins still outnumbered the rest of the population. The Germans quickly rose to prominent positions in the economic life, although this policy of inviting Germans to colonize and cultivate the barren lands as well as the assimilation of the ruling classes by the German and Slavic inhabitants, would fuel ideological and nationalist tensions between the Poles and Germans in the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. In the second half of the thirteenth century, various knightly orders arrived.

Czech king Wenceslas II of the Luxembourg dynasty ascended to the Polish throne in 1300 and annexed most of Lower Silesia to the Kingdom of Bohemia. King John expanded the possessions, which were acknowledged by the Polish king in 1335 in exchange for the Luxembourg Dynasty’s abandonment of their claims on the Polish throne. His son, Charles IV, who was crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor, incorporated Silesian duchies into the Czech lands, thus the Silesian princes became princes of the Holy Roman Empire in the early fourteenth century.

During the Hussite Wars in the fifteenth century, Silesia was temporarily detached from the Bohemian crown and ruled by Hungary. In 1490, however, both Silesia and Moravia reverted to Bohemia, with which they passed to the House of Habsburg in 1526.

Silesian duchies

In the time of divisions, Piast dukes sought to reincorporate Silesia into the Polish kingdom and reunite the country, the first being Duke Henryk IV Probus of Silesia, but he died in 1290 before realizing his goal. Duke Przemysł II of Greater Poland united two of the original provinces and went on to become king in 1295, but he was murdered a year later before being able to accomplish more.

In 1302, the self-appointment by King Wenceslaus II Luxembourg of Bohemia as King of Poland spurred 50 years of wars between Władysław and his son Casimir III the Great and a coalition of Bohemians, Brandenburgers and Teutonic Knights, who sought to divide Poland. Since most Silesian dukes controlled small chunks of the territory, they lacked the clout to unite with Poland and thus fell under the influence of neighboring Bohemia.

In 1335 Duke Henry VI of Breslau and the Upper Silesian dukes recognized the overlordship of King John I Luxembourg of Bohemia, and in 1348 King Casimir III of Poland had no choice but to turn over most of Silesia to Bohemia, ruled by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. This marked the transition of the duchies of Silesia into the Holy Roman Empire. Breslau in particular benefited from these developments, with a number of large Gothic buildings and churches being built.

Over the following centuries the lines of the Piast dukes of Silesia died out and were inherited by the Bohemian crown. By the end of the fourteenth century, Silesia had been fragmented into 18 principalities, whose rulers gave in to internecine quarrels and failed to curb the lawlessness of their feudal vassals. Except for several Lower Silesia principalities, the country fell into a state of crippling anarchy.

From the thirteenth century onward, the population became increasingly Germanized with the influx of German settlers and assimilation of local rulers and peasants within this new German majority.

Religious Strife

Hussite wars

During the Hussite Wars named for the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia, Silesia was loyal to Catholicism, with an exception of Cieszyn Silesia. However, the region’s allegiance to Bohemia’s Catholic King Sigismund Luxembourg and an active role of Silesian dukes in the first two crusades against the Hussite Bohemia brought about a series of devastating Hussite invasions between 1425 and 1435. The Silesians regarded Bohemian rebels as dangerous to the Silesian German nationality; indeed, the Hussites targeted the German population during their raids in the region. Many of towns gave in without resistance. Some regions, particularly Upper Silesia, re-introduced the Slavic language. This period lasted until the Battle of Lipany in 1434, after which the Hussites withdrew.

Sigismund was succeeded by the Hussite George of Podebrady (Jiří z Poděbrad) in 1457, intensifying fears of the restitution of the Slavonic nationality, and Silesian dukes, most notably the burghers of Breslau, refused to recognize him as their king, accepting Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus in 1469 instead. In the late 1470s, George’s successor and Matthias Corvinus divided up Silesia – Moravia, Silesia and Luzice went to Matthias, while the entire Kingdom of Bohemia was transferred over to Vladislaus Jagellon. Both used the title of the Czech king. Matthias to a large extent centralized Silesian administration, resorting to mercenaries and land grabs from dissenting nobles. However, the reforms did not placate Silesian worries and resentment stemming from Matthias’ financial tactics, and after his death the region returned to the Czech Crown. During the rule of Matthias’s feeble successor Vladislaus Jagellon, Silesia managed to secure virtual autonomy.

A turnabout came with the rule of the German king Ferdinand I, who had been previously occupied with wars with the Turks. He reasserted control of the Bohemian Crown by abolishing all of its privileges and imposed a more rigid centralized government. The Bohemian rulers continued to claim further territory after the extinction of Silesian dynasties as the surviving princes watched helplessly. By 1550 Silesia was almost completely under foreign administration but continued to enjoy economic ties with the neighboring Kingdom of Poland during the Renaissance period and beyond, especially through the Jewish merchants in the cities.

Reformation

The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century took an early hold in Silesia, with most inhabitants converting to Lutheranism. At the same time, pastors aided the renaissance of the Slavic culture and language.

In 1526, Ferdinand I of the Habsburg dynasty was elected King of Bohemia, and in the same year he incorporated the Bohemian Kingdom into the dynasty. This was yet another period of heightened Germanization and weakening of the region’s ties with Poland. The religious conflicts and wars of the Reformation and Counter Reformation throughout the seventeenth century drove scores of Silesian Protestants to seek refuge in the tolerant Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Thousands settled in the province of Greater Poland, under the protection of powerful Protestant magnates. Members of the Czech Brethren, under the leadership of John Amos Comenius, settled in Leszno. To circumvent stringent laws, Protestant Silesians built churches on the Polish side of the border.

Thirty Years' War

The tensions between Catholics and Protestants boiled over at the turn of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Protestant estates took advantage of the protracted disputes between Rudolf II and his brother Matthias, securing religious freedom in 1609 for both the Czech lands and Silesia. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), sparked by the second Defenestration of Prague in 1618 in the wake of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor's attempts to restore Catholicism and stamp out Protestantism in Bohemia, brought untold misery to Silesia under successive Saxon, imperial, and Swedish occupation.

Ferdinand II did not receive assistance from the mostly Catholic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; the Polish dukes leaned toward the Bohemian and Hungarian nobility and defied Polish King Sigismund III Vasa's attempt to assist the Habsburgs. Sigismund III Vasa thus dispatched an unemployed mercenary group, the Lisowczycy, in late 1619, hoping to regain parts of Silesia in exchange for assisting the Habsburgs. The Lisowczycy's support would prove decisive during the 1620 Battle of the White Mountain, in which Czech estates were defeated. However, as the Habsburg outlooks became favorable, Ferdinand II abandoned plans to grant concessions to Silesia, nor did he come to the side of Poland embroiled in the war against the Ottoman Empire. The Polish kings never received more than vague promises and several brides to keep them favorably inclined toward the Habsburg dynasty.

Prussian, German, and Austrian control

Imperial German Silesia 1905

Silesia went to Austrian control with the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War. The Habsburgs encouraged Catholicism and succeeded in reconverting 60 percent of the population of Silesia, with massive assistance of Jesuits, who funded schools for the privileged and non-privileged classes alike. Lutheranism was tolerated in Breslau and a few other districts; nevertheless, Protestants were able to erect a mere three churches, which were built of wood, devoid of spires, and outside municipal fortifications. In 1675, the death of the last Piast compelled Austria to incorporate the Piast territories into Bohemia.

Empress Maria Theresa heralded the region's last years under the Kingdom of Bohemia. King Frederick II, as the heir of the house of Brandenburg, in 1740 claimed a portion of Silesia from her, which was welcomed not only by Protestants and Germans but also by many Silesians. Maria Theresa granted him Lower Silesia in a secret pact in exchange for a neutral stance in the Habsburg conflicts with Saxony, Bavaria, and France. However, in November of 1741, Frederick II switched allegiance and joined the anti-Habsburg coalition, which cost the Habsburgs most of Silesia in favor of Prussia. In the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), the Kingdom of Prussia had conquered almost all of Silesia, and only the southeastern tip remained under the Habsburg monarchy. The Silesian Wars (1740–1742 and 1744–1745) were fought as part of the War of the Austrian Succession.

The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) confirmed Prussian control over most of Silesia. After the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, German language became one of choice in Lower Silesia, whereas Polish and Czech dialects were spoken in the countryside of Upper Silesia. German was the common language in the majority of Silesian cities. As a Prussian province, Silesia became part of the German Empire during the unification of Germany in 1871. Upper Silesia became target for migration during the industrialization period. The overwhelming majority of the population of Lower Silesia was by then German-speaking and many were Lutheran, while rural Upper Silesia spoke mostly Slavic languages and adhered to Roman Catholicism. Many Poles were headed to Germany via Silesia to escape the volatile Russian-Polish belt.

During the Industrial Revolution, textile weaving and coal mining flourished, albeit amid social tensions that were polarized along ethnic groups. The upper and middle classes were predominantly German; the workers were mostly Polish. Work conditions gradually improved, although Silesia remained a relatively backward area even in the twentieth century despite high productivity. At the same time, the areas of Ostrava and Karvina in Austrian Silesia became increasingly industrialized, with Slavic Lutherans prevalent.

In 1900 the population numbered 680,422, with Germans accounting for 44.69 percent, Poles representing 33.21 percent, and Czechs and other Slavs making up 22.05 percent. Some 84 percent were Roman Catholics, 14 percent Protestants, and the remainder were Jews.

After World War I

Military band walks under the sign made by Polish people of Karwina during the 1938 annexation of Zaolzie by Poland. The sign reads "We've been waiting for you 600 years".

The Treaty of Versailles (1919) granted the population of Upper Silesia a right to determine their future, with the exception of a 333 km² area with German majority around Hlučín that was granted to Czechoslovakia in 1920, but the Czechoslovak government did not endorse the proposed division and invaded Cieszyn Silesia in 1919, stopping on the Vistula River near Skoczów. The planned plebiscite was not held, and the border between Poland and the Czech Republic was decided in 1920 by the Ambassadors' Council at the Treaty of Versailles. The delineation of the rest of the region was accomplished in the 1921 plebiscite whose outcome was in favor of Germany except the easternmost Upper Silesia, predominantly Polish, where an armed conflict in 1922 compelled the League of Nations to grant the larger part of the industrial district, including Katowice, to Poland. The contested Teschen district was partitioned in 1920 between Poland and Czechoslovakia to the satisfaction of neither. The boundaries often cut through mines; some workers slept in one country and worked in another.

The Munich Treason of 1938 divided most of Czech Silesia between Germany and Poland, and after the German conquest of Poland in 1939, the entire Polish Silesia was annexed to Germany. The local German population showed support of the fascist regime, and numerous concentration camps were constructed throughout Silesia.

World War II

Under Adolf Hitler, the German Third Reich retook possession of the predominately Polish sections of Upper Silesia along with Sosnowiec (Sosnowitz), Będzin (Bendzin, Bendsburg), Chrzanów (Krenau), and Zawiercie (Warthenau) counties and parts of Olkusz (Ilkenau) and Zywiec (Saybusch) counties in September 1939, when the invasion of Poland marked the beginning of World War II. The local German populations frequently welcomed the Wehrmacht. In 1940 the Germans began construction of the Auschwitz concentration camp, which was later used as a death camp during the Holocaust.

The Gross-Rosen concentration camp, which had subcamps in many Silesian cities, was also constructed in 1940. The Riese Project was later implemented, during which thousands of prisoners died.

After the war

In 1945, Silesia was occupied by the Soviet Red Army and the Communist Polish Army. By then a large portion of the German population were expelled or had fled for fear of retribution by Soviet soldiers, but many returned after Germany's capitulation. Under the terms of the Yalta Conference agreements held in 1944 and the Potsdam Agreement of 1945, German Silesia east of the rivers Oder and Lusatian Neisse was granted to Poland, and most of the remaining Silesian Germans, who before World War II amounted to more than four million, were displaced or sent to labor camps. Over 30,000 men were deported to Soviet mines and Siberia. The section of the region formerly controlled by Prussia was placed under Polish administration, with the German population likewise forced to leave. After the fall of Communism, local industry was rebuilt and the region repopulated by Poles. For administrative purposes, Silesia was divided into nine districts and three cities with autonomous municipalities Troppau, the capital, Bielitz, and Friedek.

Demographics

Silesia is inhabited mostly by Poles and Silesians, followed by German, Czech, and Moravian minorities. Poland’s 2002 census found that the Slavic Silesians are the largest ethnic minority in Poland, trailed by Germans — both reside mostly in Upper Silesia. The Czech part of Silesia is inhabited by Czechs, Moravians, and Poles. For comparison, the 1905 census showed that 75 percent of the population was German and 25 percent Polish. The vast majority of German Silesians either fled Silesia or were expelled during and after World War II and now live in the Federal Republic of Germany, many are employed in the mines of the Ruhr area, as were their ancestors in Silesian mines. In order to facilitate their integration into West German society after 1945, the West German government established and sponsored various organizations.

Cities in Silesia

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

Wrocław panorama.jpg
Wrocław
Ulica Chorzowska widoczna z Silesia City Center.JPG
Katowice
Ostrava, pohled z Nové radnice 2.jpg
Ostrava
PL Opole NCentrum.jpg
Opole
Official name German name Population Area Administrative Country
1
Herb wroclaw.svg
 Wrocław Breslau 635 932 293 km² Lower Silesian V.
Flag of Poland.svg
2
Katowice Herb.svg
 Katowice Kattowitz 317 220 165 km² Silesian Voivodeship
Flag of Poland.svg
4
Ostrava coat of arms.svg
 Ostrava Ostrau 309 531 214 km² Moravian-Silesian R.
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg
4
Gliwice herb.svg
 Gliwice Gleiwitz 199 451 134 km² Silesian Voivodeship
Flag of Poland.svg
5
Bytom herb.svg
 Bytom Beuthen 187 943 69 km² Silesian Voivodeship
Flag of Poland.svg
6
POL Zabrze COA.svg
 Zabrze Hindenburg 191 247 80 km² Silesian Voivodeship
Flag of Poland.svg
7
POL Bielsko-Biała COA.svg
 Bielsko-Biała Bielitz 176 864 125 km² Silesian Voivodeship
Flag of Poland.svg
8
POL Ruda Śląska COA.svg
 Ruda Śląska Ruda 146 658 78 km² Silesian Voivodeship
Flag of Poland.svg
9
POL Rybnik COA.svg
 Rybnik Rybnik 141 580 148 km² Silesian Voivodeship
Flag of Poland.svg
10
POL Tychy COA.svg
 Tychy Tichau 131 153 82 km² Silesian Voivodeship
Flag of Poland.svg
28 File:POL Opole COA.svg Opole Oppeln 128 268 97 km² Opole Voivodeship
Flag of Poland.svg
11 File:POL Wałbrzych COA.svg Wałbrzych Waldenburg 126 465 85 km² Lower Silesian V.
Flag of Poland.svg
12 File:POL Zielona Góra COA.svg Zielona Góra Grünberg 118 221 58 km² Lubusz Voivodeship
Flag of Poland.svg
13
Chorzów herb.svg
 Chorzów Königshütte 114 686 33 km² Silesian Voivodeship
Flag of Poland.svg
14
Legnica herb.svg
 Legnica Liegnitz 105 750 56 km² Lower Silesian V.
Flag of Poland.svg

Sources and Further Reading

  • Bireley, Robert. The Jesuits and the Thirty Years War: Kings, Courts, and Confessors. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003. ISBN 0521820170
  • Butler, Rohan. Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939. London: Her Majesty's Stationary Office, 1961, OCLC: 63769283
  • Davies, Norman, and Roger Moorhouse. Microcosm, Portrait of a Central European City. London: Jonathan Cape, 2002, ISBN 0224062433 OCLC 49551193
  • Długajczyk, Edward, Tajny front na granicy cieszyńskiej : wywiad i dywersja w latach 1919-1939, Katowice, Śląsk, 1993, ISBN 8385831037 OCLC 34150911
  • Grau, Karl Friedrich. Silesian Inferno: War Crimes of the Red Army on Its March into Silesia in 1945: A Collection of Documents. Translated from the German by Ernst Schlosser. Valley Forge, PA: Landpost Press, 1992. ISBN 1880881098
  • Medlicott, W.N., Douglas Dakin, and M.E. Lambert. Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939. London: Her Majesty's Stationary Office, 1968, ISBN 0115915591 OCLC 58619553
  • Zahradnik, Stanisław and Marek Ryczkowski. Korzenie Zaolzia. Warszawa: PAI-press, 1992

External links

All links retrieved January 29, 2023.

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