Lower Silesia
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Lower Silesia (Template:Lang-pl; Template:Lang-la; Template:Lang-de; Silesian German: Niederschläsing; Template:Lang-szl); is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast. Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of medieval Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, and Germany. After 1945 the main part of the former Province of Lower Silesia became Polish, a smaller part remained German. A small part of the historical Lower Silesia belongs to the Czech Republic, namely the Jeseník District and Heřmanovice as well as Mnichov and Železná - parts of Vrbno pod Pradědem in Bruntál District. Prior to 1742 those lands formed the south part of the Duchy of Nysa.
The southern border of Lower Silesia is mapped by the mountain ridge of the Sudetes, which are located on the Polish-Czech border. The westernmost point of the former Lower Silesian province can be found as far west as the small village Ortrand (now belonging to Brandenburg, Germany), whereas the Bóbr and Kwisa are considered being the historical western border. To the north Silesia is bordered by the Barycz river and to the east by parts of Greater Poland.
Polish Lower Silesia, the bulk of the historical region, is located mostly along the Oder River and is shared between the Lower Silesian, Lubusz and Opole Voivodeships.
A small part of the former Prussian Province of Lower Silesia on the western side of the Lusatian Neisse is located in Germany. Namely the Landkreis Görlitz, the town of Görlitz and the former Hoyerswerda district within Oberspreewald-Lausitz in eastern Germany. Apart from the small village Pechern (Sorbian: Pěchč), which became Silesian in 1413, that region historically belonged to Saxon Upper Lusatia. After the Napoleonic Wars, the region became part of the Prussian Province of Silesia in 1815 and after its division part of the Province of Lower Silesia in 1919 respectively.
