Where is silesia today
By staying on it, you agree to the use of cookies. Is 10 year hunt for missing WWII airmen finally over? Katowice revival In our continuing series on the changing faces of Polish cities, this week we take a look at the Silesian capital of Katowice.
Opposition warns new coal licences will deprive Silesia of EU funds The head of Poland's main opposition party has attacked the government for issuing new coal mining licences and warned that this could deprive Silesia province of billions of EU funds.
Gov't, unions seal social contract for mining Government and union delegates in Katowice, southern Poland on Friday sealed a social contract for the Polish mining sector as Poland enters an EU-imposed energy transformation procedure aimed at eliminating coal from the European energy mix. In the past it was located within the borders of various countries, becoming part of Poland in , after the end of World War II.
In principle, Silesia has played an important role since the beginnings of statehood in this area: German, Czech and Polish. It is no secret that Silesia is also a huge coal-rich region, although not as strongly as in the past.
Although it still plays an important role in the Polish economy and energy sector, Silesia definitely goes beyond that. In recent times it has become a popular destination for tourists and students from both Poland and abroad. This is not surprising when you consider that there are many reputable universities located here that attract young people looking for quality education. It should be emphasised that there is not really one Silesia.
The division of Silesia into Upper and Lower Silesia obviously has its roots in history. There is also the Opolskie Voivodeship, located between the two and constituting the western part of Upper Silesia.
The search for the distinguishing features of these areas is a task for a separate study. In any case, one of the main differences between Upper and Lower Silesia is the language — in Upper Silesia many people speak the characteristic Silesian dialect.
The former is the capital of Lower Silesia and the latter of Upper Silesia. It is one of the largest cities in Poland and also a thriving university centre.
It regularly ranks in the top in rankings of the best cities to live in the world. Katowice, in turn, having almost , inhabitants, is one of the main centres of the Upper Silesian Industrial Area. For a larger map, click here. Silesia Schliesien. Preussen, Schliesien. Use the Kartenmeister Gazetteer to determine the Polish name and Voivodeship of your formerly German town. Most of the information you need to identify you ancestors and their families will be found in two major record groups: civil registration and church records.
To locate these records, follow the instructions in these Wiki articles. Records were kept on the local level. You must know the town where your ancestor lived. If your ancestor was a United States Immigrant, use the information in the Wiki article Germany Finding Town of Origin to find evidence of the name of the town where your ancestors lived in Germany.
Also, see:. Your ancestor's town might have been too small to have its own parish church or civil registration office. Find the location of the Catholic or Lutheran Evangelical parish that served your ancestor's locality. Find the name of the civil registration office Standesamt that serves your ancestor's locality.
Germany was first unified as a nation in An important gazetteer, Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-lexikon des deutschen Reichs , "Meyer's Gazetter" for short , details the place names of villages, towns, counties kreise , and higher jurisdictions used at that time.
At the end of both World Wars, the boundaries of the states were changed dramatically, as areas of Germany were distributed among the Allied nations. Eventually, after re-unification in , the states of Germany settled into what they are today. It is also necessary to understand Germany by this system, as it affects the locations of civil registration offices, archives, and mailing addresses used in correspondence searches.
If Kartenmeister is having temporary technical difficulties, check back later. For the provinces of East Prussia Ostpreussen , Posen, Pomerania Pommern , Silesia Schlesien , parts of Brandenburg, and West Prussia Westpreussen , areas which no longer belong to Germany, the online gazetteer Kartenmeister most efficiently tells you parish information:.
To use Kartenmeister, simply enter the German name of the town in the search field.