History of Silesia

The Silingi were also part of this federation, and most likely a Vandalic people (Germanic) that lived south of the Baltic Sea in the Laba, later Elbe, Oder and Vistula river areas.

The Trebouane (Tryebovians; Trzebowianie), mentioned by the Prague Document (which describes the situation as of year 973 or earlier),[16] occupied areas near modern Legnica and could number some 25–30,000 individuals.

In 990 in the Polish-Bohemian War Mieszko annexed Middle Silesia and its main township Niemcza with the help of the Holy Roman Empire, which supported Poland in order to weaken Bohemia.

In 1202 Bolesław's son, Henry I, and Mieszko moreover specified to rule out the right of succession among their branches, an arrangement which was largely responsible for the special position of what would become Upper Silesia.

The Ostsiedlung probably started with the arrival of German monks in the entourage of Bolesław I, who spent part of his life in Thuringia, when he returned from exile in the Holy Roman Empire.

Border security was Henry I's primary goal, which led him to locate the earliest German settlements in the area of the Preseka, built by colonists from Middle Germany.

Every village built its own church (at the end of the 13th century numbering 1,200)[33] the network of parishes also became much more dense, and the diocese was split into the archdeaconries of Breslau, Glogau, Opole and Liegnitz.

In the second half of the 13th century, Henry II's grandson, Henryk IV Probus of Silesia, made an attempt to gain the Polish crown, but he died in 1290 before realizing his goal.

Despite formal papal consent for the coronation, Wladyslaw's right to the crown was disputed by successors of Wenceslaus III (a king of both Bohemia and Poland) on the Bohemian throne.

According to the wishes of the House of Luxembourg Breslau, Silesia's main emporium, established new contacts with Budapest and Venice to the south, Toruń and Gdańsk to the north and became a member of the Hanseatic League.

The economic prosperity supported the development of a rich municipal culture,[47] which found its expression in important religious and secular buildings as well as the attendance of many Silesians at the surrounding universities of Kraków, Leipzig and Prague (the most popular until the 1409 decree of Kutná Hora).

With the death of Charles IV in 1378 and the following disputes in the house of Luxemburg, Bohemia's protection of Silesia ended; strife spread and robber barons devastated the country.

Moravia joined the Hussite movement, isolating Silesia and Lusatia in the Bohemian lands, which regions became the foremost objects of hate for the radical Taborites.

After 1427 the Hussites—supported by some Polish lords (Dobiesław Puchała, Sigismund Korybut) and Silesian dukes (Bolko V the Hussite)—invaded Silesia many times, destroyed more than 30 towns and ravaged the country.

Sigismund became king of Bohemia and united Silesia (except lands of Bolko V) by a public peace and the appointment of bishop Konrad, duke of Oels, as senior governor (German: Oberlandeshauptmann ).

[49] After Wladislaus died in 1444, Bohemia's interim regent George of Poděbrady was elected king in 1458 and enfeoffed his two sons with the Silesian duchies of Münsterberg (Ziębice) and Opava (Troppau), and Bohemian territory Kladsko (Glatz), which thereby became closer to Silesia.

In the western part of Silesia the Polish language survived only in the region around Zielona Góra (Grünberg) and Otyń (Deutsch Wartenberg) and in the agricultural plain to the left of the Oder in a triangle between Wrocław (Breslau), Kąty Wrocławskie (Kanth), Strzelin (Strehlen) and Oława (Ohlau).

This school closed three years later due to economic difficulties and theological disputes between Lutherans and followers of Caspar Schwenckfeld, a sectarian and confidant of Frederick II whose ideas became popular.

When Rudolf tried to withdraw from these agreements in 1611, the estates of Bohemia and Silesia declared allegiance to Matthias, who already owned the Archduchy of Austria, the Margraviate of Moravia and the Kingdom of Hungary.

Losing the Battle of White Mountain forced Frederick to flee to Breslau where he failed to gather new troops and advised the Silesians to contact Saxony, which occupied Lusatia, and as an imperial ally was authorized to negotiate.

The subsequent Dresden accord spared Silesia for the next few years and affirmed the earlier privileges, however the Silesian Estates had to pay 300.000 gulden and accept Ferdinand II as their suzerain.

After the loss of the Swedish throne, the Polish branch of the House of Vasa desperately needed to strengthen their position in Poland, where they were only elected monarchs while in Sweden they had been hereditary rulers.

[59] During the reign of John II Casimir, the king, accompanied by his wife Marie Louise Gonzaga and the royal court, resided in the Duchy, after Poland was invaded by the Swedes in 1655.

Frederick II supported the reconstruction of the cities, sometimes by donation from his privy purse, but more by measures to stimulate the economy, such as the ban on wool exports to Saxony or Austria and the increase of customs duties.

After the adoption of the reforms of Stein and Hardenberg between 1807 and 1812 Silesia was fully incorporated into Prussia, the Catholic Church properties were secularized and the social and economic conditions improved.

This uprising, on the eve of the revolution of 1848, was closely observed by German society and treated by several artists, among them Gerhart Hauptmann (with his 1892 play The Weavers) and Heinrich Heine (poem Die schlesischen Weber).

Figures (see 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.

[73] The Kulturkampf set Catholics in opposition to the government and sparked a Polish revival, much of it fostered by Poles from outside of Germany, in the Upper Silesian parts of the province.

For administrative purposes Silesia was divided into 9 districts and 3 towns with autonomous municipalities: Opava (Troppau), the capital, Bielsko-Biała (Bielitz) and Frýdek-Místek (Friedeck).

[91] Silesian industry, particularly in Upper Silesia, suffered comparatively little damage due to its relative inaccessibility to Allied bombing, a Soviet Army enveloping maneuver in January 1945,[92] and perhaps Albert Speer's reluctance or refusal to implement the scorched earth policy.