Place:Dolnoślaskie, Poland

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NameDolnoślaskie
Alt namesLower Silesia
Dolnośl̜askiesource: Getty Vocabulary Program
Dolnośl̜askie voivodshipsource: Getty Vocabulary Program
Dolny Śląsksource: Wikipedia
Niederschlesiensource: Wikipedia
Silesia Inferiorsource: Wikipedia
TypeModern Voivodship
Coordinates51.0°N 16.5°E
Located inPoland     (1999 - )
See alsoWrocław, PolandParent
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Lower Silesian Voivodeship, or Lower Silesia Province (Polish: województwo dolnośląskie ) in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Wrocław, Legnica, Wałbrzych and Jelenia Góra Voivodeships, following the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. It covers an area of , and has a total population of 2,899,986.

It is one of the richest provinces in Poland as it has valuable natural resources such as copper, brown coal and rock materials, which are exploited by the biggest enterprises. Its well developed and varied industries attract both domestic and foreign investors.

Its capital and largest city is Wrocław, situated on the Oder River. It is one of Poland's largest and most dynamic cities with a rapidly growing international profile, and is regarded as one of the most important commercial, educational and tourist sites in the whole country. Burial sites of some Polish monarchs and consorts are located in Wrocław and Trzebnica. Furthermore, the voivodeship is known for its many castles and palaces and is one of Poland's most visited regions by tourists.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The history of the region dates back over a thousand years; it was once part of Great Moravia, Medieval Poland, Crown of Bohemia, Habsburg monarchy (Austria), Prussia, German Empire and modern Poland after 1945.

Silesian tribes settled the lands at the end of the first millennium after the Migration Period. During the period of Germania Slavica, the region became part of Great Moravia under Svatopluk I of Moravia. Mieszko I brought the various existing Silesian duchies under the rule of the Piast dynasty and they became the Duchy of Silesia. It was again divided into small realms reigned by Silesian branches of Piast princes after the testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1138. With the Ostsiedlung, the cultural and ethnic Germanic influence grew with an influx of immigrants from the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, of which Silesia was a direct part until the 1330s when it was subjugated to the Kingdom of Bohemia, then together with it became part of the Habsburg monarchy (1526), then the Kingdom of Prussia (1742/44), and subsequently the German Empire (1871). In 1945, Lower Silesia was made part of Poland as agreed at the post-war Potsdam Conference. As a consequence, Lower Silesia suffered a nearly total loss of its pre-war population between 1945 and 1950. Polish citizens dispossessed by the Soviets were then settled in the now emptied lands.

Lower Silesia was during early medieval era one of Polish cultural centers. The Book of Henryków (1273), which contains the earliest known sentence written in the Polish language, as well as a document which contains the oldest printed text in Polish, were both created here. Złotoryja, Poland's first town, was granted municipal privileges according to German Magdeburg rights by Henry the Bearded. Over the centuries, Lower Silesia experienced epochal events such as the Protestant Reformation, the Silesian Wars, industrialisation and the two World Wars.

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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Dolny Śląsk Voivodship. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.