Lusatia - Wikipedia

Lusatia - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Etymology 2 Geography Toggle Geography subsection 2.1 Upper Lusatia 2.2 Lower Lusatia 2.3 Lusatian capitals 2.4 Lusatian Lake District 2.5 Muskau Morainic Arch 2.6 Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape 3 History Toggle History subsection 3.1 Early history 3.2 Bohemian rule 3.3 Saxon rule 3.4 Prussian rule 3.5 World War II 3.6 Since 1945 4 Demographics Toggle Demographics subsection 4.1 Sorbs 4.2 Demographics in 1900 4.3 Largest cities 5 Culture Toggle Culture subsection 5.1 Sights 5.1.1 UNESCO world heritage sites 6 Gallery 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 Sources 11 Further reading 12 External links Toggle the table of contents Lusatia 60 languages Afrikaans العربية Беларуская (тарашкевіца) Беларуская Български Bosanski Català Čeština Словѣньскъ / ⰔⰎⰑⰂⰡⰐⰠⰔⰍⰟ Dansk Deutsch Dolnoserbski Ελληνικά Esperanto Español Eesti Euskara فارسی Suomi Français Frysk Galego Hrvatski Hornjoserbsce Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Medžuslovjansky Italiano 日本語 ქართული 한국어 Latina Lombard Lietuvių Latviešu Македонски Nederlands Norsk nynorsk Norsk bokmål Occitan Ирон Polski Português Română Русский Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Seeltersk Svenska Ślůnski ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Vèneto 吴语 ייִדיש 中文 Edit links Article Talk English Read Edit View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Switch to legacy parser Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide Coordinates: 51°32′42″N 14°43′34″E / 51.5450653°N 14.72614°E / 51.5450653; 14.72614 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Historical region in Germany and Poland "Łużyce" redirects here. For the part of the Polish village of Dziecinów, Otwock County, see Łużyce, Otwock County. "Sorbia" redirects here. Not to be confused with Serbia. For the genus, see Sorbia (beetle). {{llang|dsb|Łužyca}} {{llang|de|Lausitz}} {{llang|pl|Łużyce}} {{llang|cs|Lužice}}}}"},"settlement_type":{"wt":"[[Historical region]]"},"image_map":{"wt":"Location LUS2.svg"},"mapsize":{"wt":"270px"},"image_flag":{"wt":""},"subdivision_type":{"wt":"Countries"},"subdivision_name":{"wt":"{{flag|Germany}} {{flag|Poland}}"},"seat_type":{"wt":"Largest towns"},"seat":{"wt":"[[Cottbus|Cottbus-Chóśebuz]] [[Görlitz]]/[[Zgorzelec]] [[Bautzen|Bautzen-Budyšin]] [[Żary]]"},"timezone":{"wt":"[[Central European Time|CET]]"},"utc_offset":{"wt":"+1"},"timezone_DST":{"wt":"[[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]"},"utc_offset_DST":{"wt":"+2"},"coordinates":{"wt":"{{Coord|format=dms|display=it}}"},"image_shield":{"wt":"File:Lusatia COA.svg"},"blank_name_sec2":{"wt":"Highways"},"blank_info_sec2":{"wt":"[[File:A4-PL.svg|32px|link=A4 autostrada (Poland)]] [[File:A18-PL.svg|32px|link=A18 autostrada (Poland)]] [[File:Bundesautobahn 4 number.svg|32px|link=Bundesautobahn 4]] [[File:Bundesautobahn 13 number.svg|32px|link=Bundesautobahn 13]] [[File:Bundesautobahn 15 number.svg|32px|link=Bundesautobahn 15]]"},"anthem":{"wt":""}},"i":0}}]}'>Historical region Lusatia Łužica (Upper Sorbian) Łužyca (Lower Sorbian) Lausitz (German) Łużyce (Polish) Lužice (Czech) Historical region Coat of arms Coordinates: 51°32′42″N 14°43′34″E / 51.5450653°N 14.72614°E / 51.5450653; 14.72614[[Geographic coordinate system|Coordinates]]: {{#parsoid\u0000fragment:7}}[https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Lusatia&params=51.5450653_N_14.72614_E_type:city_region:PL 51°32′42″N 14°43′34″E / 51.5450653°N 14.72614°E / 51.5450653; 14.72614][[Category:Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas]]"}}'/> Countries Germany Poland Largest towns Cottbus-Chóśebuz Görlitz/Zgorzelec Bautzen-Budyšin Żary Time zone UTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST) Highways Lusatia,[a] otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, territorially split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Pulsnitz and Black Elster rivers in the west, and is located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg and the Polish voivodeships of Lower Silesia and Lubusz. Major rivers of Lusatia are the Spree and the Lusatian Neisse, which defines the border between Germany and Poland. The Lusatian Mountains of the Western Sudetes separate Lusatia from Bohemia (Czech Republic) in the south. Lusatia is traditionally divided into Upper Lusatia, the hilly southern part, and Lower Lusatia, the flat northern part. The areas east and west along the Spree in the German part of Lusatia are home to the Slavic Sorbs, one of Germany's four officially recognized indigenous ethnic minorities. The Upper Sorbs inhabit Saxon Upper Lusatia, and the Lower Sorbs Brandenburgian Lower Lusatia. Upper and Lower Sorbian are spoken in the German parts of Upper and Lower Lusatia respectively, and the signage there is mostly bilingual. Tacitus states that this entire region was part of Germania and that in and before the second century was populated by Germanic tribes.[1] From the seventh century Slavs began migrating into this region. Subsequently it has been ruled variously by Germany, Poland, Bohemia, and Hungary. The Lusatian Lake District is Europe's largest artificial lake district. The village of Herrnhut (Ochranow) is the seat of the Moravian Church. Muskau Park in Bad Muskau (Mužakow) and Łęknica is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Tropical Islands Resort, a large water park housed in a former airship hangar that is the biggest free-standing hall in the world, is located in the north of Lusatia. The closest international airport to Lusatia is Dresden Airport in Klotzsche (Kłóčow). The largest Lusatian city is Cottbus (Chóśebuz), with nearly 100,000 inhabitants. Other notable towns are the former members of the Lusatian League: the German/Polish twin towns of Görlitz (Zhorjelc) and Zgorzelec, Bautzen (Budyšin), Zittau (Žitawa), Lubań, Kamenz (Kamjenc), and Löbau (Lubij)), as well as Żary, the German/Polish twin towns of Guben (Gubin) and Gubin, Hoyerswerda (Wojerecy), Senftenberg (Zły Komorow), Eisenhüttenstadt (Pśibrjog), and Spremberg (Grodk). Etymology [edit] The name derives from the Sorbian word łužicy meaning "swamps" or "water-hole"[citation needed], Germanized as Lausitz. In early medieval sources, written in Latin, various forms were recorded, designating Slavic Lusatians and their region. Thus, Widukind's Chronicle (10th century) mentions Lusiki,[2] while Thietmar's Chronicle (11th century) mentions Lusici or Lusizi, and also Luzici or Luidizi.[3] In time, various forms, such as Lusatia,[4] and other similar variations became common in Latin, and later entered into the English terminology. Geography [edit] Lusatia comprises two both scenically and historically different parts: a hilly southern "upper" section and a "lower" region, which belongs to the North European Plain. The border between Upper and Lower Lusatia is roughly marked by the course of the Black Elster river at Senftenberg and its eastern continuation toward the Silesian town of Przewóz on the Lusatian Neisse. Neighbouring regions were Silesia in the east, Bohemia in the south, the Margraviate of Meissen, and the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg in the west as well as the Margraviate of Brandenburg (Mittelmark) in the north. A view of the Lusatian Highlands Upper Lusatia [edit] Main article: Upper Lusatia A 20th century map of Lusatia with Sorbian and German names Upper Lusatia (Oberlausitz, Łużyce Górne or Hornja Łužica) is today part of the German states of Saxony (most of its territory) and Brandenburg (Tettau, Lindenau, Bärhaus, Frauendorf, Burkersdorf, Kroppen, Heinersdorf, Ruhland, Arnsdorf, Jannowitz, Hermsdorf, Lipsa, Biehlen, Schwarzbach, Guteborn, Niemtsch, Peickwitz, Hohenbocka, Grünewald, Sella and Hosena); part east of the Neisse River around Lubań now belongs to the Polish Lower Silesian voivodeship. It consists of hilly countryside rising in the South to the Lusatian Highlands near the Czech border, and then even higher to form the Zittau Hills, the small northern part of the Lusatian Mountains (Lužické hory/Lausitzer Gebirge) in the Czech Republic. Upper Lusatia is characterized by fertile soil and undulating hills as well as by historic towns and cities such as Bautzen, Görlitz, Zittau, Löbau, Kamenz, Lubań, Bischofswerda, Herrnhut, Hoyerswerda, and Bad Muskau. Many villages in the very south of Upper Lusatia contain a typical attraction of the region, the so-called Umgebindehäuser, half-timbered-houses representing a combination of Franconian and Slavic style. Among those villages are Niedercunnersdorf, Obercunnersdorf, Wehrsdorf, Jonsdorf, Sohland an der Spree with Taubenheim, Oppach, Varnsdorf or Ebersbach. Lower Lusatia [edit] Main article: Lower Lusatia Most of the area belonging to the German state of Brandenburg today is called Lower Lusatia (Niederlausitz, Łużyce Dolne or Dolna Łužyca) and is characterized by forests and meadows. In the course of much of the 19th and the entire 20th century, it was shaped by the lignite industry and extensive open-pit mining. Important towns include Cottbus, Eisenhüttenstadt, Lübben, Lübbenau, Spremberg, Finsterwalde, Senftenberg (Zły Komorow), and Żary, which is now considered the capital of Polish Lusatia.[5] Between Upper and Lower Lusatia is a region called the Grenzwall, literally meaning "border dyke", although it is in fact a morainic ridge. In the Middle Ages this area had dense forests, so it represented a major obstacle to civilian and military traffic. Some of the region's villages were damaged or destroyed by the open-pit lignite mining industry during the DDR era. Some, now exhausted, former open-pit mines are now being converted into artificial lakes, with the hope of attracting holiday-makers, and the area is now being referred to as the Lusatian Lake District. Lusatian capitals [edit] As Lusatia is not, and never has been, a single administrative unit, Upper and Lower Lusatia have different, but in some respects similar, histories. The city of Cottbus is the largest in the region, and though it is recognized as the cultural capital of Lower Lusatia, it was a Brandenburg exclave since 1445. Historically, the administrative centres of Lower Lusatia were at Luckau and Lübben, while the historical capital of Upper Lusatia is Bautzen. Since 1945, when a small part of Lusatia east of the Oder–Neisse line was incorporated into Poland, Żary has been touted as the capital of Polish Lusatia.[5] Bautzen (Budyšin), capital of Upper Lusatia Cottbus (Chóśebuz), capital of Lower Lusatia Lübben (Spreewald) (Lubin (Błota)), former capital of Lower Lusatia Luckau (Łuków), former capi…