Lower Silesia (Voivodeship) - Niederschlesien (Woiwodschaft)

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Lower Silesia (Voivodeship)
CapitalWroclaw
Residents
2.915.245 (2012)
surface
19,948 km²
no tourist info on Wikidata: Add tourist information
location
DenmarkRussiaLithuaniaWeissrusslandUkraineSlovakiaCzech RepublicGermanyWestpommernPommernErmland-MasurenPodlachienLublinKarpatenvorlandLebusNiederschlesienOppelnSchlesienLesser PolandGroßpolenKujawien-PommernŁódźHeiligkreuzMasowienDolnoslaskie in Poland.svg
Map of Lower Silesia (Voivodeship)

The Lower Silesian Voivodeship(Polish: Województwo dolnośląskie) is in the southwest Poland and borders on the voivodeships in the north Greater Poland and Lebus, in the east to the voivodeship Opole, in the south Czech Republic and in the west Germany. Lower Silesia is one of the most culturally rich regions in Europe, where different cultures have mixed over the centuries. Lower Silesia is through the Silesian Plain on the Or in the north as well as through the mountain and hill country of the Sudeten marked in the south. The university city is the capital and largest city Wroclaw in the northeast of the voivodeship. Apart from the capital, there are two other large cities, Wałbrzych and Legnica.

In this region you will find numerous brick Gothic and Baroque churches, defense towers and castles and beautiful pond landscapes. There are good opportunities for water sports (kayaking, swimming, sailing, diving) at the reservoirs Militsch lakes as well as the numerous mountain rivers. The kayak route along the Glatzer Neisse is very varied. in the Giant Mountains, which is in the voivodeship with the Schneekoppe Reached an altitude of over 1,600 meters, hikers and winter sports enthusiasts get their money's worth. The other mountain ranges too Sudeten are interesting hiking and winter sports areas. The hilly Sudetenvorland, for example that Zobten Mountains, has its own charm. The provincial capital, Wroclaw, in particular, offers an interesting cultural program. The Hirschberg Valley With its numerous castles and palaces, it is considered a unique cultural landscape in Europe.

Regions

Giant Mountains
Heuscheuergebirge
Owl Mountains
Warthagebirge

The name possibly comes from the prehistorically important cult mountain Ślęża (Latin: Silensi, German: Zobtenberg). According to other theories, they were Slavic Slensans or the Germanic Silingen eponymous. The name Lower Silesia is initially confusing, because the area has with the Sudeten higher peaks than Upper Silesia with the West Beskids. In fact, however, Lower Silesia is from the perspective of Upper Silesia Or-down. The designation Lower Silesia is therefore justified, even if southern Lower Silesia is significantly higher than the Silesian Plateau in Upper Silesia.

Most of the region is made up of historical Lower Silesia, the capital of which was originally Wroclaw. Small parts of the West also belong to the Upper Lusatia to the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Parts of the north are in the historical Greater Poland and the Glatzer Ländchen in the south was part of historical Bohemia. Instead, parts of historical Lower Silesia are now in the voivodships Opole, Lebus and to a small extent too Greater Poland, Saxony and Czech Republic.

  • The voivodeship has a stake in the northeast Militsch lakes.
  • Most of the Lower Silesian Heath is located in the northwest of the voivodeship.
  • Most of the Silesian Plain do that Odertal that runs through the voivodeship in the north and north-east.
  • The hilly one joins the Oder valley to the south Sudeten Foreland on, that until after Opole enough.
  • The voivodeship has a share in the south Sudetenthat is popular with winter sports enthusiasts and hikers, especially on the Sudeten main hiking trail (in the Giant Mountains part of the On the way of Polish-Czech friendship), are very popular. On the Polish side of the Sudetes there are these mountain regions in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship:

places

Milicz
Kliczków
Oleśnica
Wroclaw
Oława
Bolesławiec
Świdnica
Czocha
Karpacz
Legnickie Pole
Jelenia Góra
Kowary
Krzeszów
Wałbrzych
Wambierzyce
Kłodzko
Bystrzyca Kłodzka
Lądek-Zdrój

Militsch lakes

  • 1 ŻmigródWebsite of this institutionŻmigród in der Enzyklopädie WikipediaŻmigród im Medienverzeichnis Wikimedia CommonsŻmigród (Q393138) in der Datenbank Wikidata
  • 2 MiliczWebsite of this institutionMilicz in der Enzyklopädie WikipediaMilicz im Medienverzeichnis Wikimedia CommonsMilicz (Q717933) in der Datenbank Wikidata
  • 3 TwardogóraWebsite of this institutionTwardogóra in der Enzyklopädie WikipediaTwardogóra im Medienverzeichnis Wikimedia CommonsTwardogóra (Q1005419) in der Datenbank Wikidata

Upper Lusatia

Lower Silesian Heath

Silesian Plain

Odertal

Bober Valley

Sudeten Foreland

Zobten Mountains

Jizera Mountains

Giant Mountains

Bober-Katzbach Mountains

Landeshuter ridge

Raven Mountains

Waldenburger Bergland

Owl Mountains

Heuscheuergebirge

Eagle Mountains

Habelschwerdter Mountains

Warthagebirge

Reichensteiner Gebirge / Bielengebirge

Glatzer snow mountains

Other goals

Kayak and houseboat trails

Bober
Wölfel
Pink

Lakes

Mettkau reservoir

Other goals

Schneekoppe in the Giant Mountains
Rock labyrinth in the hay barn

background

They are in the south Sudeten with the mountain ranges of the Giant Mountains, the Jizera Mountains, the Heuscheuergebirge and the Glatzer Mountains. In the north lies the Oder valley.

The Lower Silesian Voivodeship was part of it at the time of the Great Moravian Empire. From approx. 990 it belonged to Poland and from 1138 it was part of the Polish seniorate as part of the Principality of Silesia. In the 14th century almost all areas of Lower Silesia, which were further from the Silesian Piasts were ruled under Bohemian fiefdom and in the 16th century to the Habsburgs. After the Silesian Wars, Lower Silesia became Prussian.

In the area of ​​today's Lower Silesian Voivodeship, German-speaking populations predominantly settled before the First World War, emerging from the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and the time as the Prussian province of Lower Silesia. After the Lower Silesian part of the former German eastern territories remained part of the German Reich even after the First World War, it went under Polish administration after the Second World War as part of Poland's shift to the west. The population historically settled there fled from the Red Army or was expelled and mainly replaced by Poles, who in turn were expelled from the Polish eastern regions. Today's Lower Silesian Voivodeship was founded in 1999 from the areas of four old voivodeships.

language

Polish is the official and colloquial language.

A mixed dialect is spoken in Lower Silesia, which has developed from various Eastern Polish dialects. The younger Poles speak English at the same level as the Germans or Austrians. German, French, Spanish and Italian are spoken sporadically.

getting there

Wroclaw Airport
Wroclaw Central Railway Station
ZOB Wroclaw
A8 motorway

By plane

In Wroclaw lies the international 1 Wroclaw AirportWebsite of this institutionFlughafen Breslau in der Enzyklopädie WikipediaFlughafen Breslau im Medienverzeichnis Wikimedia CommonsFlughafen Breslau (Q1107152) in der Datenbank Wikidata(IATA: WRO), including connections from Germany and Switzerland.

Also for Poznan Lawica AirportWebsite of this institutionPoznan Ławica Airport in the Wikipedia encyclopediaPoznan Ławica Airport in the Wikimedia Commons media directoryPoznan Ławica Airport (Q1361639) in the Wikidata database(IATA: POZ) at Poses in the voivodeship Greater Poland there are connections from Germany.

The closest airport in Germany is in Dresden.

By train

Three continuous Trilex trains run from Dresden every day Gorlitz and Legnica to Wroclaw. More on this ...

From Berlin there are connections with a change in Poses from the EC to other trains to Wroclaw.

A local transport line of the KD to Jelenia Góra starts at the Zgorzelec train station.

The state railway company PKP provides two information services on the web: one Travel information as intercity.pl to book your own long-distance transport offers. Both pages are also available in German, English and Russian.

One operator of local trains in Lower Silesia is Koleje Dolnośląskie (KD). The company is 100% owned by the voivodeship. The KD website provides information on local rail transport, timetables and prices. The site is also available in German, English and Czech. According to this page, tickets can be purchased on the train from the conductor, but only in cash in złoty. Stationary ticket machines usually also accept credit cards.

The eastern part of the voivodeship is part of the Neisse Euroregion; this cooperation between the local authorities results in joint transport, tariff and information offers in local transport. Information on this can be found on the website of the East Saxon Transport Association ZVON listed. The ENT day ticket, valid on selected routes in three countries "im Eck", costs € 13 for one person (as of 06/17).

By bus

Numerous bus companies offer long-distance connections via Wroclaw.

In the street

The journey from Germany is recommended via Dresden on the autobahn A4 or via Berlin over on the A18 motorway, which is east of Bolesławiec meets the A4. The north-west bypass of Wroclaw is called the A8 motorway.

mobility

The road network is one of the densest in Poland. This also applies to train connections. The motorways are very well developed. There are numerous expressways.

Tourist Attractions

Friedenskirche Yes
Friedenskirche Świdnica
monastery Henryków

Lower Silesia is one of the most beautiful cultural landscapes in Europe. The many medieval and baroque towns and castles as well as the mountains of the Sudetes are particularly worth seeing. There are also natural beauties in the mountains and in the Militsch lakes at Milicz.

  • Wroclaw is the capital of Lower Silesia and one of the most beautiful cities in Central Europe. The Centennial Hall is World Heritage.
  • Wałbrzych is the second largest city in the region, characterized by mining and industry, is known for its porcelain and the castles and palaces near the city.
  • Legnica is the largest city in the northern part of Lower Silesia with a lovely old town, a beautiful city park and an elegant residential area.
  • Jelenia Góra is the medieval gateway to Giant Mountains. This includes the nearby spa town of Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój and the mountain village Jagniątków.
  • Bolesławiec is famous for the Bunzlau ceramics and has a medieval old town.
  • Głogów was once the capital of the princely tower of the same name and is now an industrial city on the Oder with a lovingly built old town.
  • Yes owns a World Heritage with the Friedenskirche.
  • Świdnica also owns one World Heritage with the Peace Church and one of the tallest Gothic cathedrals in Poland.
  • Karpacz, Kowary and Szklarska Poreba are the most important winter sports resorts in the Giant Mountains.
  • Kłodzko is beautifully located in a basin of the Glatzer Ländchens.
  • Lubin is located north of Legnica and has a large copper mine and a large football stadium.
  • Hirschberg Valley in the “Valley of Castles and Gardens” with the castles Fischbach (Karpniki), Lomnitz (Łomnica) and Schildau (Wojanów).
  • Trzebnica owns the most important monastery in Silesia.
  • In Henryków is one of the most beautiful baroque churches in the style of the Silesian baroque.
  • The monastery Krzeszów is known for its baroque frescoes.
  • Also Lubiąż has wonderful monastery complexes in the style of the Silesian baroque.
  • Legnickie Pole has a Silesian-Baroque monastery complex at the site of the Mongol battle.
  • Lwówek Śląski a medieval old town has been preserved.

activities

Hiking in Giant Mountains
Ski arena Aimiec

The Sudetes invite you to go hiking and winter sports.

kitchen

The regional cuisine of the Sudetes is characterized by the mountains, forests, alpine pastures and rivers. Cheese, game, forest fruits, mushrooms and fish are part of it. Regional beer brands include Spiż, Piast and Świdnickie. For Polish cuisine, see the relevant section in the article Poland.

nightlife

Schweidnitzer cellar Wroclaw

There are many clubs, bars and restaurants in Lower Silesia. This is especially true for the university and nightlife city of Wroclaw. There are some quaint restaurants in the mountain towns.

security

It is actually quite safe, but in large crowds, e.g. in large markets or train stations - as everywhere in the world - the necessary care should not be neglected.

climate

The climate is a transitional climate from temperate to continental. The summers are generally warm to hot with mean temperatures between 16 ° C and 21 ° C and the winters are cold, with mean temperatures around -5 ° C. Precipitation falls mainly in spring and autumn.

literature

See article too Poland.

Web links

PolandFlag of Poland
Poland - Voivodeships
Voivodeships:Warmia-Masuria • Greater Poland • Holy Cross • Subcarpathian • Lesser Poland • Kuyavian Pomeranian • Lebus • Łódź • Lublin • Mazovia • Lower Silesia • Opole • Podlaskie • Pomerania • Silesia • West Pomerania
Great landscapes: Polish Baltic coast • Polish Lake Districts • Sudeten • Carpathians
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