The Sorbian settlement area (Lower Sorbian: Serbski sedleński rum [ˈsɛrpskʲi ˈsɛdlɛnʲskʲi ˈrum], Upper Sorbian: Serbski sydlenski rum [ˈsɛʁpskʲi ˈsɨdlɛnskʲi ˈʁum], German: Sorbisches Siedlungsgebiet; in Brandenburg officially Siedlungsgebiet der Sorben/Wenden) commonly makes reference to the area in the east of Saxony and the South of Brandenburg in which the West Slavic people of the Sorbs (in Brandenburg also called "Wends") live autochthonously.

The officially recognized settlement area, so called "angestammtes Siedlungsgebiet" in German, is defined in laws and regulations of the States of Saxony and Brandenburg.

The Gesetz über die Ausgestaltung der Rechte der Sorben/Wenden im Land Brandenburg (Law on the definition of the rights of Sorbs/Wends in the State of Brandenburg) required municipalities considering themselves part of the settlement area to prove the continuation of linguistic and cultural presence of Sorbian (Wendish) tradition.

Additionally, they protested that, due to the stricter assimilation politics and oppression of the Sorbs in Prussia, the continuing linguistical and cultural tradition is hard to attest.

Since the New Law on Sorbs and Wends came into operation in Brandenburg in 2014, all municipalities in the settlement area officially have German-Lower Sorbian double name.

In the 6th century CE, West Slavic tribes, called Lusatian Serbians, settled in the modern day region of Saxony and Southern Brandenburg.

One example comes from Martin Luther in early 16th century, who expressed negative opinions about the Sorbian population of the villages environing Wittenberg.

While Smoler was more interested in collecting folkloric tales, Muka travelled to the municipalities to receive first-hand information about the use of the Sorbian language.