Lusatia

===Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape===

===Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape===

[[File:Logo Biosphärenreservat Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft.svg|upright=0.6|thumb|left|Logo of the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape Biosphere Reserve]]

[[File:Logo Biosphärenreservat Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft.svg|upright=0.6|thumb|Logo of the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape Biosphere Reserve]]

The Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape (German: ''Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft'', Upper Sorbian: ''Hornjołužiska hola a hatowa krajina'') is the region richest in ponds in Germany, and together with the Lower Lusatian Pond Landscape forms the biggest pond landscape in Central Europe.

The Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape (German: ''Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft'', Upper Sorbian: ''Hornjołužiska hola a hatowa krajina'') is the region richest in ponds in Germany, and together with the Lower Lusatian Pond Landscape forms the biggest pond landscape in Central Europe.

=== Bohemian rule ===

=== Bohemian rule ===

[[File:Bautzen-nach1620-Merian.jpg|thumb|The siege and capture of [[Bautzen]] by [[John George I, Elector of Saxony]], in September 1620]]

As Margrave [[Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen|Egbert II of Meissen]] supported [[anti-king]] [[Rudolf of Rheinfelden]] during the [[Investiture Controversy]], King [[Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry IV of Germany]] in 1076 awarded the Milceni lands of Upper Lusatia as a fief to the [[Bohemia]]n duke [[Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Vratislav II]]. After Emperor [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick Barbarossa]] had elevated Duke [[Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia|Vladislaus II]] to the rank of a King of Bohemia in 1158, the Upper Lusatian lands around Bautzen evolved into a [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown|Bohemian crown land]]. Around 1200, large numbers of German settlers came to Lusatia in the course of the ''[[Ostsiedlung]]'', settling in the forested areas yet not inhabited by the Slavs. For centuries, from as early as the Middle Ages, trade flourished, and several important trade routes ran through Lusatia, connecting German states in the west, Poland in the east and Bohemia in the south.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pieradzka|first=Krystyna|year=1949|title=Związki handlowe Łużyc ze Śląskiem w dawnych wiekach|journal=Sobótka|language=pl|location=Wrocław|volume=IV|issue=4|pages=89–91}}</ref> In 1319, the region was divided between the [[Kingdom of Bohemia]] and the [[Duchy of Jawor]], the southwesternmost duchy of fragmented [[Piast dynasty|Piast]]-ruled Poland, while northernmost parts also passed to the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]] in the following years.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bogusławski|first=Wilhelm|title=Rys dziejów serbo-łużyckich|year=1861|location=Petersburg|page=142|language=pl}}</ref> From 1368, it was entirely part of the Bohemian Crown.

As Margrave [[Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen|Egbert II of Meissen]] supported [[anti-king]] [[Rudolf of Rheinfelden]] during the [[Investiture Controversy]], King [[Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry IV of Germany]] in 1076 awarded the Milceni lands of Upper Lusatia as a fief to the [[Bohemia]]n duke [[Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Vratislav II]]. After Emperor [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick Barbarossa]] had elevated Duke [[Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia|Vladislaus II]] to the rank of a King of Bohemia in 1158, the Upper Lusatian lands around Bautzen evolved into a [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown|Bohemian crown land]]. Around 1200, large numbers of German settlers came to Lusatia in the course of the ''[[Ostsiedlung]]'', settling in the forested areas yet not inhabited by the Slavs. For centuries, from as early as the Middle Ages, trade flourished, and several important trade routes ran through Lusatia, connecting German states in the west, Poland in the east and Bohemia in the south.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pieradzka|first=Krystyna|year=1949|title=Związki handlowe Łużyc ze Śląskiem w dawnych wiekach|journal=Sobótka|language=pl|location=Wrocław|volume=IV|issue=4|pages=89–91}}</ref> In 1319, the region was divided between the [[Kingdom of Bohemia]] and the [[Duchy of Jawor]], the southwesternmost duchy of fragmented [[Piast dynasty|Piast]]-ruled Poland, while northernmost parts also passed to the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]] in the following years.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bogusławski|first=Wilhelm|title=Rys dziejów serbo-łużyckich|year=1861|location=Petersburg|page=142|language=pl}}</ref> From 1368, it was entirely part of the Bohemian Crown.

Following the [[Lutheran]] Reformation, the greater part of Lusatia became [[Protestantism|Protestant]] except for the area between Bautzen, Kamenz and Hoyerswerda. The Lusatias remained under Bohemian rule – from 1526 onwards under the rule of the [[House of Habsburg]] – until the [[Thirty Years' War]].

Following the [[Lutheran]] Reformation, the greater part of Lusatia became [[Protestantism|Protestant]] except for the area between Bautzen, Kamenz and Hoyerswerda. The Lusatias remained under Bohemian rule – from 1526 onwards under the rule of the [[House of Habsburg]] – until the [[Thirty Years' War]].

[[File:Bautzen-nach1620-Merian.jpg|thumb|The siege and capture of [[Bautzen]] by [[John George I, Elector of Saxony]], in September 1620]]

=== Saxon rule ===

=== Saxon rule ===

[[File:Lausitz map 18thC.jpg|thumb|Map of the Lusatias by [[Johann Homann|J.B. Homann]], about 1715]]

According to the 1635 [[Peace of Prague (1635)|Peace of Prague]], most of Lusatia became a province of the [[Electorate of Saxony]], except for the region around Cottbus possessed by Brandenburg. After the Saxon elector [[Augustus II the Strong|Augustus the Strong]] was elected king of [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Poland]] in 1697, Lusatia became strategically important as the elector-kings sought to create a land connection between their Saxon homelands and the Polish territories. Two main routes connecting [[Warsaw]] and [[Dresden]] ran through the region in the 18th century and Kings [[Augustus II the Strong]] and [[Augustus III of Poland]] often traveled the routes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dresden-warszawa.eu/pl/prolog/informacja-historyczna/|title=Informacja historyczna|website=Dresden-Warszawa|access-date=22 October 2023|language=pl}}</ref> Numerous Polish dignitaries also traveled through Lusatia on several occasions, and some [[Szlachta|Polish nobles]] owned estates in Lusatia.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Matyniak|first=Alojzy S.|year=1968|title=Kontakty kulturalne polsko-serbołużyckie w XVIII w.|journal=Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka|publisher=[[Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich]]|location=Wrocław|language=pl|volume=XXIII|issue=2|page=243}}</ref> A distinct remnant of the region's ties to Poland are the 18th-century [[milepost]]s decorated with the [[coat of arms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] located in various towns in the region. Polish-Sorbian contacts increased in that period. With the [[Age of Enlightenment]], the Sorbian national revival began and resistance to Germanization emerged.<ref>Matyniak, p. 241</ref>

According to the 1635 [[Peace of Prague (1635)|Peace of Prague]], most of Lusatia became a province of the [[Electorate of Saxony]], except for the region around Cottbus possessed by Brandenburg. After the Saxon elector [[Augustus II the Strong|Augustus the Strong]] was elected king of [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Poland]] in 1697, Lusatia became strategically important as the elector-kings sought to create a land connection between their Saxon homelands and the Polish territories. Two main routes connecting [[Warsaw]] and [[Dresden]] ran through the region in the 18th century and Kings [[Augustus II the Strong]] and [[Augustus III of Poland]] often traveled the routes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dresden-warszawa.eu/pl/prolog/informacja-historyczna/|title=Informacja historyczna|website=Dresden-Warszawa|access-date=22 October 2023|language=pl}}</ref> Numerous Polish dignitaries also traveled through Lusatia on several occasions, and some [[Szlachta|Polish nobles]] owned estates in Lusatia.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Matyniak|first=Alojzy S.|year=1968|title=Kontakty kulturalne polsko-serbołużyckie w XVIII w.|journal=Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka|publisher=[[Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich]]|location=Wrocław|language=pl|volume=XXIII|issue=2|page=243}}</ref> A distinct remnant of the region's ties to Poland are the 18th-century [[milepost]]s decorated with the [[coat of arms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] located in various towns in the region. Polish-Sorbian contacts increased in that period. With the [[Age of Enlightenment]], the Sorbian national revival began and resistance to Germanization emerged.<ref>Matyniak, p. 241</ref>

[[File:Lausitz map 18thC.jpg|thumb|Map of the Lusatias by [[Johann Homann|J.B. Homann]], about 1715]]

[[Herrnhut]], between [[Löbau]] and [[Zittau]], founded in 1722 by religious refugees from [[Moravia]] on the estate of Count [[Nicolaus Zinzendorf]] became the starting point of the organized [[Protestant]] [[missionary]] movement in 1732 and missionaries went out from the [[Moravian Church]] in Herrnhut to all corners of the world to share the Gospel.

[[Herrnhut]], between [[Löbau]] and [[Zittau]], founded in 1722 by religious refugees from [[Moravia]] on the estate of Count [[Nicolaus Zinzendorf]] became the starting point of the organized [[Protestant]] [[missionary]] movement in 1732 and missionaries went out from the [[Moravian Church]] in Herrnhut to all corners of the world to share the Gospel.

One of the main escape routes for insurgents of the unsuccessful Polish [[November Uprising]] from partitioned Poland to the [[Great Emigration]] led through [[Lübben (Spreewald)|Lübben]] and [[Luckau]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Umiński|first=Janusz|year=1998|title=Losy internowanych na Pomorzu żołnierzy powstania listopadowego|magazine=Jantarowe Szlaki|volume=4 |language=pl|issue=250|page=16}}</ref>

One of the main escape routes for insurgents of the unsuccessful Polish [[November Uprising]] from partitioned Poland to the [[Great Emigration]] led through [[Lübben (Spreewald)|Lübben]] and [[Luckau]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Umiński|first=Janusz|year=1998|title=Losy internowanych na Pomorzu żołnierzy powstania listopadowego|magazine=Jantarowe Szlaki|volume=4 |language=pl|issue=250|page=16}}</ref>

[[File:Bramborski Serbski Casnik.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|First issue of the ''Bramborski Serbski Casnik'' Sorbian newspaper, 1848]]

The 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed an era of cultural revival for Sorbs. The modern languages of Upper and Lower Lusatian (or Sorbian) emerged, national literature flourished, and many national organizations such as [[Maćica Serbska]] and [[Domowina]] were founded. There were also notable Polish communities in Lusatia, such as [[Klettwitz]] ({{langx|hsb|link=no|Klěśišća}}, {{langx|pl|link=no|Kletwice}}), inhabited in the 1930s by some 550 Poles.<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Leksykon Polactwa w Niemczech|year=1939|language=pl|publisher=Związek Polaków w Niemczech|location=Opole|page=364}}</ref>

The 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed an era of cultural revival for Sorbs. The modern languages of Upper and Lower Lusatian (or Sorbian) emerged, national literature flourished, and many national organizations such as [[Maćica Serbska]] and [[Domowina]] were founded. There were also notable Polish communities in Lusatia, such as [[Klettwitz]] ({{langx|hsb|link=no|Klěśišća}}, {{langx|pl|link=no|Kletwice}}), inhabited in the 1930s by some 550 Poles.<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Leksykon Polactwa w Niemczech|year=1939|language=pl|publisher=Związek Polaków w Niemczech|location=Opole|page=364}}</ref>

During [[World War I]], Germany operated two [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War I|prisoner-of-war camps]] and a detention center for Russian, French, British, Belgian, Serbian, Romanian, Italian, Portuguese and Australian POWs in Cottbus ({{lang|dsb|Chóśebuz}}).<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Stanek|first=Piotr|year=2011|title=Obozy jenieckie i obozy internowania w Chociebużu|magazine=Pro Lusatia|location=Opole|language=pl|volume=10|pages=74–75, 77}}</ref>

During [[World War I]], Germany operated two [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War I|prisoner-of-war camps]] and a detention center for Russian, French, British, Belgian, Serbian, Romanian, Italian, Portuguese and Australian POWs in Cottbus ({{lang|dsb|Chóśebuz}}).<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Stanek|first=Piotr|year=2011|title=Obozy jenieckie i obozy internowania w Chociebużu|magazine=Pro Lusatia|location=Opole|language=pl|volume=10|pages=74–75, 77}}</ref> After the war, until 1923, the former POW camp was used as a concentration camp for some 1,200 to 1,500 Polish activists, civilians and insurgents (including women with children) of the [[Silesian Uprisings]] of 1919–1921, who were often subjected to harassment, beatings and tortures.<ref>Stanek, pp. 84–85, 91–94, 100</ref>

In the interbellum, the German government carried out a massive campaign of changing of place names in Lusatia in order to erase traces of Slavic origin, and while most of the historic names were restored after [[World War II]], some were retained.

In the interbellum, the German government carried out a massive campaign of changing of place names in Lusatia in order to erase traces of Slavic origin, and while most of the historic names were restored after [[World War II]], some were retained.

This era came to an end during the [[Nazism|Nazi]] regime in Germany, when all Sorbian organizations were abolished and forbidden, newspapers and magazines closed, and any use of the Sorbian languages was prohibited. During World War II, some Sorbian activists were arrested, executed, exiled or sent as [[political prisoner]]s to [[concentration camps]]. From 1942 to 1944 the underground [[Lusatian National Committee]] was formed and was active in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|German-occupied]] [[Warsaw]].

This era came to an end during the [[Nazism|Nazi]] regime in Germany, when all Sorbian organizations were abolished and forbidden, newspapers and magazines closed, and any use of the Sorbian languages was prohibited.

===World War II===

During World War II, some Sorbian activists were arrested, executed, exiled or sent as [[political prisoner]]s to [[concentration camps]]. From 1942 to 1944 the underground [[Lusatian National Committee]] was formed and was active in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|German-occupied]] [[Warsaw]].

During the war, the Germans established and operated several [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|prisoner-of-war camps]], including [[Oflag III-C]], [[Oflag IV-D]], Oflag 8, Stalag III-B, [[Stalag IV-A]] and [[Stalag VIII-A]], with multiple [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] subcamps in the region. Prisoners included Polish POWs and civilians, and [[French prisoners of war in World War II|French]], Belgian, British, Australian, New Zealander, Canadian, South African, Dutch, [[Italian Military Internees|Italian]], Soviet, Serbian, Slovak and American POWs.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Megargee|first1=Geoffrey P.|last2=Overmans|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Vogt|first3=Wolfgang|year=2022|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|pages=211–212, 235, 240, 405–406, 413, 443–444|isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}}</ref> There were also several Nazi prisons with multiple forced labour subcamps, including in [[Görlitz]], [[Luckau]], [[Zittau]], and a prison solely for women in [[Cottbus]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1557|title=Gefängnis Görlitz|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=25 November 2023|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=2576|title=Zuchthaus Luckau|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=25 November 2023|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100001395|title=Gerichtsgefängnis Zittau|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=25 November 2023|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=985|title=Frauenzuchthaus Cottbus|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=25 November 2023|language=de}}</ref> and multiple [[List of subcamps of Gross-Rosen|subcamps]] of the [[Gross-Rosen concentration camp]], the prisoners of which were mostly Jews, Poles and Russians, but also Frenchmen, Italians, Yugoslavs, Czechs, Belgians, etc.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.gross-rosen.eu/historia-kl-gross-rosen/filie-obozu-gross-rosen/|title=Subcamps of KL Gross- Rosen|website=Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoźnica|access-date=25 November 2023}}</ref>

During the war, the Germans established and operated several [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|prisoner-of-war camps]], including [[Oflag III-C]], [[Oflag IV-D]], Oflag 8, Stalag III-B, [[Stalag IV-A]] and [[Stalag VIII-A]], with multiple [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] subcamps in the region. Prisoners included Polish POWs and civilians, and [[French prisoners of war in World War II|French]], Belgian, British, Australian, New Zealander, Canadian, South African, Dutch, [[Italian Military Internees|Italian]], Soviet, Serbian, Slovak and American POWs.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Megargee|first1=Geoffrey P.|last2=Overmans|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Vogt|first3=Wolfgang|year=2022|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|pages=211–212, 235, 240, 405–406, 413, 443–444|isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}}</ref> There were also several Nazi prisons with multiple forced labour subcamps, including in [[Görlitz]], [[Luckau]], [[Zittau]], and a prison solely for women in [[Cottbus]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1557|title=Gefängnis Görlitz|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=25 November 2023|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=2576|title=Zuchthaus Luckau|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=25 November 2023|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100001395|title=Gerichtsgefängnis Zittau|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=25 November 2023|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=985|title=Frauenzuchthaus Cottbus|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=25 November 2023|language=de}}</ref> and multiple [[List of subcamps of Gross-Rosen|subcamps]] of the [[Gross-Rosen concentration camp]], the prisoners of which were mostly Jews, Poles and Russians, but also Frenchmen, Italians, Yugoslavs, Czechs, Belgians, etc.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.gross-rosen.eu/historia-kl-gross-rosen/filie-obozu-gross-rosen/|title=Subcamps of KL Gross- Rosen|website=Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoźnica|access-date=25 November 2023}}</ref>