Upper Silesia | |
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 Location of Upper Silesia on the map of Poland | |
 Contemporary map of Upper Silesia in English | |
| Countries |  Poland Czech Republic |
| Historical capital | Opole |
| Largest city | Katowice |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Highways |        |
Upper Silesia (Polish:Górny Śląsk[ˈɡurnɨˈɕlɔ̃sk]ⓘ ;Silesian:Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk;[1]Czech:Horní Slezsko;German:Oberschlesien[ˈoːbɐˌʃleːzi̯ən]ⓘ ;Silesian German:Oberschläsing;Latin:Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region ofSilesia, located today mostly inPoland, withsmall parts in theCzech Republic. The area is predominantly known for itsheavy industry (mining and metallurgy).
Upper Silesia is situated on the upperOder River, north of theEastern Sudetes mountain range and theMoravian Gate, which form the southern border with the historicMoravia region. Within the adjacentSilesian Beskids to the east, theVistula River rises and turns eastwards, theBiała andPrzemsza tributaries mark the eastern border withLesser Poland. In the north, Upper Silesia borders onGreater Poland, and in the west on theLower Silesian lands (the adjacent region aroundWrocław also referred to asMiddle Silesia).
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It is currently split into a largerPolish and the smallerCzech Silesian part, which is located within theCzech regions ofMoravia-Silesia andOlomouc. The Polish Upper Silesian territory covers most of theOpole Voivodeship, except for the Lower Silesian counties ofBrzeg andNamysłów, and the western half of theSilesian Voivodeship (except for theLesser Polish counties ofBędzin,Bielsko-Biała,Częstochowa with the city ofCzęstochowa,Kłobuck,Myszków,Zawiercie andŻywiec, as well as the cities ofDąbrowa Górnicza,Jaworzno andSosnowiec).
DividedCieszyn Silesia as well as formerAustrian Silesia are historical parts of Upper Silesia.
According to the 9th centuryBavarian Geographer, the West SlavicOpolanie tribe had settled on the upper Oder River since the days of theMigration Period, centered on thegord ofOpole. It is possible that during the times of PrinceSvatopluk I (871–894), Silesia was a part of hisGreat Moravian realm. Upon its dissolution after 906, the region fell under the influence of thePřemyslid rulers ofBohemia, DukeSpytihněv I (894–915) and his brotherVratislaus I (915–921), possibly the founder and name giver of the Silesian capital Wrocław (Czech:Vratislav).
By 990 the newly installedPiast dukeMieszko I of thePolans had conquered large parts of Silesia. From the Middle Silesia fortress ofNiemcza, his son and successorBolesław I the Brave (992–1025), having established theDiocese of Wrocław, subdued the Upper Silesian lands of the pagan Opolanie, which for several hundred years were part ofPoland, though contested by Bohemian dukes likeBretislaus I, who from 1025 invaded Silesia several times. Finally, in 1137, the Polish princeBolesław III Wrymouth (1107–1138) came to terms with DukeSoběslav I of Bohemia, when a peace was made confirming the border along theSudetes.
However, this arrangement fell apart when upon the death of Bolesław III andhis testament the fragmentation of Poland began, which decisively enfeebled its central authority. The newly establishedDuchy of Silesia became the ancestral homeland of theSilesian Piasts, descendants of Bolesław's eldest sonWładysław II the Exile, who nevertheless saw themselves barred from the succession to the Polish throne and only were able to regain their Silesian home territory with the aid of theHoly Roman Emperor.
The failure of theAgnatic seniority principle of inheritance also led to the split-up of the Silesian province itself: in 1172 Władysław's second sonMieszko IV Tanglefoot claimed his rights and received the Upper SilesianDuchy of Racibórz as an allodium from the hands of his elder brother DukeBolesław I the Tall of Silesia. In the struggle around the Polish throne, Mieszko additionally received the formerLesser Polish lands ofBytom,Oświęcim,Zator,Siewierz andPszczyna from the new Polish High DukeCasimir II the Just in 1177. When in 1202 Mieszko Tanglefoot had annexed theDuchy of Opole of his deceased nephewJarosław, he ruled over all Upper Silesia asDuke of Opole and Racibórz.
In the early 13th century the ties of the Silesian Piasts with the neighbouringHoly Roman Empire grew stronger as several dukes married scions of German nobility. Promoted by the Lower Silesian DukeHenry I the Bearded, from 1230 also regent over Upper Silesia for the minor sons of his late cousin DukeCasimir I of Opole, large parts of the Silesian lands were settled withGerman immigrants in the course of theOstsiedlung, establishing numerous cities according toGerman town law. The plans to re-unify Silesia shattered upon thefirst Mongol invasion of Poland and the death of DukeHenry II the Pious at the 1241Battle of Legnica. Upper Silesia further fragmented upon the death of DukeWładysław Opolski in 1281 into the duchies ofBytom, Opole, Racibórz andCieszyn. About 1269 theDuchy of Opava was established on adjacent Moravian territory, ruled by the Přemyslid dukeNicholas I, whose descendants inherited the Duchy of Racibórz in 1336. As they ruled both duchies inpersonal union, Opava grew into the Upper Silesian territory.
In 1327 the Upper Silesian dukes, like most of their Lower Silesian cousins, had sworn allegiance to KingJohn of Bohemia, thereby becoming vassals of theBohemian kingdom. During the re-establishment of Poland under KingCasimir III the Great, all Silesia was specifically excluded as non-Polish land by the 1335Treaty of Trentschin becoming a land of theBohemian Crown and — indirectly — of the Holy Roman Empire. By the mid-14th century, the influx of German settlers into Upper Silesia was stopped by theBlack Death pandemic. Unlike in Lower Silesia, theGermanization process was halted; still a majority of the population spoke Polish andSilesian as their native language, often together with German (Silesian German) as a second language. In the southernmost areas, alsoLach dialects were spoken. While Latin, Czech and German language were used as official languages in towns and cities, only in the 1550s (during theProtestant Reformation) did records with Polish names start to appear.
Upper Silesia was hit by theHussite Wars and in 1469 was conquered by KingMatthias Corvinus ofHungary, while the Duchies of Oświęcim and Zator fell back to the Polish Crown as a part ofLesser Poland. Upon the death of theJagiellonian kingLouis II in 1526, the Bohemian crown lands were inherited by the AustrianHouse of Habsburg. In the 16th century, large parts of Silesia had turnedProtestant, promoted by reformers likeCaspar Schwenckfeld. After the 1620Battle of White Mountain, theCatholic Emperors of the Habsburg dynasty forcibly re-introduced Catholicism, led by theJesuits.[citation needed]
Lower Silesia and most of Upper Silesia were occupied by theKingdom of Prussia in 1742 during theFirst Silesian War and annexed by the terms of theTreaty of Breslau. A small part south of theOpava River remained within the Habsburg-ruled Bohemian Crown as the "Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia", colloquially calledAustrian Silesia. Incorporated into the PrussianSilesia Province from 1815, Upper Silesia became an industrial area taking advantage of its plentifulcoal andiron ore. Prussian Upper Silesia became a part of theGerman Empire in 1871.
The earliest exact census figures onethnolinguistic ornational structure (Nationalverschiedenheit) of the Prussian part of Upper Silesia, come from year 1819. The last pre-WW1 general census figures available, are from 1910 (if not including the 1911 census of school children - Sprachzählung unter den Schulkindern - which revealed a higher percent of Polish-speakers among school children than the 1910 census among the general populace). Figures (Table 1.) show that large demographic changes took place between 1819 and 1910, with the region's total population quadrupling, the percent of German-speakers increasing significantly, and that of Polish-speakers declining considerably. Also, the total land area in which Polish language was spoken, as well as the land area in which it was spoken by the majority, declined between 1790 and 1890.[2] Polish authors before 1918 estimated the number of Poles in Prussian Upper Silesia as slightly higher than according to official German censuses.[3]
| Table 1. Numbers of Polish, German and other inhabitants (Regierungsbezirk Oppeln)[4][5][6] | |||||||||||||||||
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| Year | 1819 | 1828 | 1831 | 1834 | 1837 | 1840 | 1843 | 1846 | 1852 | 1855 | 1858 | 1861 | 1867 | 1890 | 1900 | 1905 | 1910 |
| Polish | 377,100 (67.2%) | 418,837 (61.1%) | 443,084 (62.0%) | 468,691 (62.6%) | 495,362 (62.1%) | 525,395 (58.6%) | 540,402 (58.1%) | 568,582 (58.1%) | 584,293 (58.6%) | 590,248 (58.7%) | 612,849 (57.3%) | 665,865 (59.1%) | 742,153 (59.8%) | 918,728(58.2%) | 1,048,230(56.1%) | 1,158,805(57.0%) | Census, monolingual Polish:1,169,340(53.0%)[7] or up to1,560,000 together with bilinguals[3] |
| German | 162,600 (29.0%) | 255,483 (37.3%) | 257,852 (36.1%) | 266,399 (35.6%) | 290,168 (36.3%) | 330,099 (36.8%) | 348,094 (37.4%) | 364,175 (37.2%) | 363,990 (36.5%) | 366,562 (36.5%) | 406,950 (38.1%) | 409,218 (36.3%) | 457,545 (36.8%) | 566,523(35.9%) | 684,397(36.6%) | 757,200(37.2%) | 884,045(40.0%) |
| Other | 21,503 (3.8%) | 10,904 (1.6%) | 13,254 (1.9%) | 13,120 (1.8%) | 12,679 (1.6%) | 41,570 (4.6%) | 42,292 (4.5%) | 45,736 (4.7%) | 49,445 (4.9%) | 48,270 (4.8%) | 49,037 (4.6%) | 51,187 (4.6%) | 41,611 (3.4%) | 92,480 (5.9%) | 135,519 (7.3%) | 117,651 (5.8%) | Total population: 2,207,981 |
United States Immigration Commission in 1911 classified Polish-speaking Silesians as Poles.[8]
In 1919, afterWorld War I, Polish miners organized large protests inMysłowice.[9] On August 15, 1919, the GermanGrenzschutz opened fire on protesting Polish miners and their families, killing seven miners, two women and a 13-year-old boy.[9] The event, known as the "Mysłowice massacre", sparked theFirst Silesian Uprising against Germany.[9]
Soon afterwards, the eastern part of Upper Silesia (with a majority of ethnic Poles) came under Polish rule as theSilesian Voivodeship, while the mostly German-speaking western part remained part of theWeimar Republic as the newly establishedUpper Silesia Province. In early 1919, thePolish–Czechoslovak War broke out around Cieszyn Silesia, whereafterCzechoslovakia gained theTrans-Olza strip in addition to theHlučín Region.
From 1919 to 1921 threeSilesian Uprisings occurred among the Polish-speaking populace of Upper Silesia; theBattle of Annaberg was fought in the region in 1921. In theUpper Silesia plebiscite of March 1921, a majority of 59.4% voted against merging with Poland and a minority of 40.6% voted for,[10][11] with clear lines dividing Polish and German communities. The plan to divide the region was suggested by the Inter-Allied Commission on Upper Silesia, headed by the French generalHenri Le Rond. The plan was decided by an ambassadors conference in Paris on 20 October 1921. The exact border, the maintenance of cross-border railway traffic and other necessary co-operations, as well as equal rights for all inhabitants in both parts of Upper Silesia, were all fixed by theGerman-Polish Accord on East Silesia,[12] signed in Geneva on 15 May 1922. On 20 June 1922 theWeimar Republic ceded theEast Upper Silesia region to Poland. The area became part of Silesian Voivodeship of theSecond Polish Republic.
The new border only partly followed the results of the referendum. The reason was that closely following the local majority vote would have resulted in a plurality of enclaves and would thus not have been a viable border. Particularly in theUpper Silesian Industrial Region, the border line was often bizarre, cutting right through settlements or through industrial facilities.[13]
| Division of: | Area in 1910 (km2) | Share of territory | Population in 1910 | After WW1 part of: | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Silesia | 27,105 km2[14] | 100% | 3,017,981 | Divided between: | |
| toPoland | 526 km2[15][16] | 2% | 1% | Poznań Voivodeship (Niederschlesiens Ostmark[17]) | [Note 1] |
| toGermany | 26,579 km2 | 98% | 99% | Province of Lower Silesia | |
| Upper Silesia | 13,230 km2[14] | 100% | 2,207,981 | Divided between: | |
| toPoland | 3,225 km2[18] | 25% | 41%[18] | Silesian Voivodeship | [Note 2] |
| toCzechoslovakia | 325 km2[18] | 2% | 2%[18] | Hlučín Region | |
| toGermany | 9,680 km2[18] | 73% | 57%[18] | Province of Upper Silesia |
During the Germaninvasion of Poland, which startedWorld War II in September 1939, German troops committed numerous massacres of Polish civilians in the region, including atGostyń,Łaziska Górne,Jankowice,Zgoń,Lędziny,Świętochłowice,Katowice,Pasternik,Pszczyna,Siemianowice Śląskie andWyry.[20] Afterwards, Polish Silesiawas annexed to theNazi German Reich as part of theGau ofSilesia. The Polish population was subjected tofurther persecution and crimes. A network ofPolenlagerforced labour camps was established in the region, and multiplesubcamp of theAuschwitz concentration camp.[21] The Germans operated theStalag VIII-B,Stalag VIII-D andStalag VIII-Fprisoner-of-war camps for Polish,French, Belgian, British, Serbian and otherAllied POWs, with numerous forced labour subcamps, in the region.[22] In 1941 Upper and Lower Silesia were split into separateGaue.
After 1945, almost all of Upper Silesia that was not ceded to Poland in 1922 was placed under the administration of theRepublic of Poland. German civilians, as well as Nazi criminals, were interned in labor camps such as theZgoda labour camp. The majority of the German-speaking population that had not fledwas expelled, an activity that was euphemized as "transfers [to] be effected in an orderly and humane manner" in accordance with the decision of the victoriousAllied powers at their 1945 meeting atPotsdam. The German expellees were transported to the present-day Germany (including the formerEast Germany), and Polish migrants, a sizeable part of whom were themselves expelleés from former Polish provinces taken over by the USSR in the east, settled in Upper Silesia. A good many German-speaking Upper Silesians were relocated inBavaria. A small part of Upper Silesia stayed as part ofCzechoslovakia asCzech Silesia.
The expulsions of German-speakers did not totally eliminate the presence of a population that considered itself German. In contrast to the situation inLower Silesia, where almost the totality of the pre-war population that was expelled was exclusively German-speaking (only about 50-60% of the population of Upper Silesia was displaced to Germany, while over 95-97% of population of Lower Silesia was displaced), the pre-war population of Upper Silesia was in considerable number Roman Catholic mixed bilingual that spoke both German and Polish dialects, and their Polish linguistic skills were considered solid enough for them to be kept in the area (Aleksandra Kunce,Being at Home in a Place: The Philosophy of Localness, pp. 41–112[23]). Firstly, after the war, Poles displaced from Polish territories incorporated into the USSR settled in Upper Silesia, but also Polish settlers from other overpopulated parts of Poland. And later, in the years 1945-1989, a large number of Poles from various parts of Poland settled in Upper Silesia, who received work, e.g. in the mines.
The area formally became part of the Republic of Poland by virtue of the German-Polish border treaty of 14 November 1990. With the fall of communism and Poland's joining the European Union, there were enough of these remaining in Upper Silesia to allow for the recognition of theGerman minority in Poland by the Polish government.
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The historical capital of Upper Silesia isOpole, nevertheless the largest towns of the region, includingKatowice, are located in theUpper Silesian Industrial Region, the total population of which is about 2,500,000.
As of 2022, the following cities and towns have over 20,000 inhabitants:
Upper Silesian cuisine belongs toCentral European cuisines and is therefore characterized by high calorific value of dishes. For centuries, Polish, Czech and German cuisine was mixed here. Typical Upper Silesian dishes are consumed here, as well as dishes that are also present inLesser Poland andGreater Poland at the same time. In the second half of the twentieth century, dishes from the Polish borderland cuisine (potato pancakes, dumplings with cheese, redborscht,bigos) gained popularity in Upper Silesia.
Silesian women's clothes vary depending on the region and even the individual towns and villages they come from. The ways of dressing intertwined with the movement of people in the 19th and 20th century. The inhabitants of Silesia also started to adapt their outfits to the urban fashion, which changed the appearance of the outfit even more.
The men's outfit consists of a shacket, a shirt (vest), a white shirt, a silk shirt (silk scarf) or a dressing gown (ribbons), galot (trousers) or bizoków (trousers ironed to the edge) and szczewików (shoes). The man's costume is now called anancug, this name is mainly associated with a suit.
In Upper Silesia, metallurgy, mining and other heavy industry branches are developed.
Agriculture plays a secondary role, developed mainly in Opole Silesia.
On the territory of Upper Silesia,TVP Info broadcasts the regional channelsTVP Opole andTVP Katowice of the public Polish Television. In addition, the private television stationTVS is aimed at viewers in the Silesian Voivodeship. Another channel is TVT.
Regionally oriented radio stations arePolskie Radio Opole and Polskie Radio Katowice of the state radio station. A private Upper Silesian station is Radio Piekary.
Radio Mittendrin is a German-Polish Internet radio station of the German minority.
Football,ice hockey andvolleyball teams from Upper Silesia enjoyed great success either historically or recently.
Football enjoys a strong following in the region withGórnik Zabrze andRuch Chorzów among the most accomplished teams in Poland, and other notable teams includingGKS Katowice,Odra Opole,Piast Gliwice,Polonia Bytom.
Top volleyball teams, multiple times Polish champions, areJastrzębski Węgiel andZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, with the latter also winning three consecutiveCEV Champions League titles in 2021–2023.
Top ice hockey teams, multiple times Polish champions, areGKS Katowice,GKS Tychy,Polonia Bytom.
Theautonomy movement is relatively young and was only founded in 1990 by Rudolf Kolodziejczyk inRybnik. It is supposed to continue the traditions of the German period, but also ofSilesia under theSecond Polish Republic. The current head of the movement isJerzy Gorzelik. Its main aim is to improve the self-government of the Upper Silesian provinces of Opolskie and Slaskie.
In 2010, RAS (Ruch Autonomii Śląska) had 8.49% of the votes in theSilesian Regional Assembly, i.e. 122,781 votes and three mandates. In 2018 they failed to get any mandates with 3.10%.
Nationalverschiedenheit 1819: Polen - 377,100; Deutsche - 162,600; Mährer - 12,000; Juden - 8,000; Tschechen - 1,600; Gesamtbevölkerung: 561,203
Media related toUpper Silesia at Wikimedia Commons
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