Silesia

Silesia (-Latin, Polish ?l?sk, German Schlesien, Czech Slezsko) 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 River (Odra) and along the Sudetes mountain range. In the local Silesian language or dialect, the region is called ?lonsk or ?lunsk. The largest city of Silesia is Wroc?aw.

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The Polish portion of Silesia, which forms the larger bulk of the region, is now divided into the following voivodships (provinces):

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• Greater Poland Voivodship
• Lesser Poland Voivodship
• Lower Silesian Voivodship
• Lubusz Voivodship
• Opole Voivodship
• Silesian Voivodship

The Opole and Silesian Voivodships are sometimes called Upper Silesia. The small portion in the Czech Republic is joined with the northern part of Moravia and forms the Moravian-Silesian Region of that country, while the remainder forms a small part of the Olomouc Region. The German area of Silesia consists of the city of G?rlitz and the Lower Silesian Upper Lusatia district in Saxony.

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In the Middle Ages, Silesia was a Piast province, which became a possession of the Bohemian crown under the Holy Roman Empire and passed with that crown to the Austrian Habsburgs in 1526. In 1742, most of Silesia was seized by Frederick the Great of Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession. This part of Silesia constituted the Prussian provinces of Upper and Lower Silesia until 1945, when most of Silesia was annexed by Poland. The portion of Silesia that was retained by Austria is now within the borders of the Czech Republic.

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Silesia: Name of the region ►



 

Latin: Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. The ...

Polish: Polish () may refer to:...

German: German may mean:...




Silesia related Images and Photos (experimental)

Map of Silesia from an Atlas

Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria Hunting to Hounds with the Countess Larisch in Silesia 1882