Silesia

Silesia (; ; ; ; Schlasian: Schläsing) is a historical region of Germany, Czechia, and Poland. From 1742 to 1945, it was a province in east Prussia and later Germany. In 1945, all of Poland was occupied by the Soviet Red Army. In the following years, the communist poles forcibly chased away all of the remaining owners.

 Geography 
Silesia is along the upper and middle Oder River, upper Vistula River, and along the Sudetes and the Carpathian Mountains.

The highest point of Silesia is the Śnieżka, in the Sudetes.

400px|super|Administrative region of Breslau, 1914

 Cities 
Here is a list of cities in Silesia with a population of over 20,000 in 2015:

 Name Population Area CountryAdministrativeHistoric subregion 1  center|25px  Wrocław  632,067    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 2  center|25px  Katowice 304,362    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 3  center|25px  Ostrava*  287,968    border|22px Moravian-Silesian Region  Czech Silesia/Moravia 4  center|25px  Gliwice 185,450    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 5  center|25px  Zabrze 178,357    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 6  center|48px  Bielsko-Biała* 173,699    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia/Lesser Poland 7  center|25px  Bytom 173,439    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 8  center|25px  Ruda Śląska 141,521    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 9  center|25px  Rybnik  140,173    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 10  center|25px  Tychy 128,799    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 11  center|25px  Opole 120,146    border|22px Opole Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 12  center|25px  Zielona Góra 118,405    border|22px Lubusz Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 13  center|25px  Wałbrzych  117,926    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 14  center|25px  Chorzów 110,761    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 15  center|25px  Legnica 101,992    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 16  center|25px  Jastrzębie-Zdrój 91,235    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 17  center|25px  Jelenia Góra 81,985    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 18  center|25px  Mysłowice 75,129    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 19  center|25px  Lubin 74,053    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 20  center|25px  Havířov  71,200    border|22px Moravian-Silesian Region  Czech Silesia 21  center|25px  Głogów 68,997    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 22  center|25px  Siemianowice Śląskie 68,844    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 23  center|25px  Kędzierzyn-Koźle 63,194    border|22px Opole Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 24  center|25px  Żory 62,038    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 25  center|25px  Tarnowskie Góry 60,957    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 26  center|25px  Świdnica 59,182    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 27  center|25px  Opava  57,676    border|22px Moravian-Silesian Region  Czech Silesia 28  center|25px  Piekary Śląskie 57,148    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 29  center|25px  Frýdek-Místek* 56,450    border|22px Moravian-Silesian Region  Czech Silesia/Moravia 30  center|25px  Racibórz 55,930    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 31  center|25px  Görlitz** 55,255     Free State of Saxony  Historically part of Lusatia, Görlitz was considered part of Lower Silesia in years 1319–1329 and 1815–1945 32  center|25px  Karviná 52,128    border|22px Moravian-Silesian Region  Czech Silesia 33  center|25px  Świętochłowice 51,824    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 34  center|25px  Wodzisław Śląski 48,731    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 35  center|25px  Nysa 44,899    border|22px Opole Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 36  center|25px  Mikołów 39,776    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 37  center|25px  Nowa Sól 39,721    border|22px Lubusz Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 38  center|25px  Bolesławiec 39,603    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 39  center|25px  Knurów 39,090    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 40  center|25px  Oleśnica 37,303    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 41  center|25px  Brzeg 36,980    border|22px Opole Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 42  center|25px  Cieszyn 35,918    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 43  center|25px  Czechowice-Dziedzice 35,684    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 44  center|25px  Třinec 35,002    border|22px Moravian-Silesian Region  Czech Silesia 45  center|25px  Dzierżoniów 34,428    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 46  center|25px  Hoyerswerda/Wojerecy** 33,843     Free State of Saxony  Historically part of Lusatia, Hoyerswerda was considered part of Lower Silesia in years 1825–1945 47  center|25px  Oława 32,240    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 48  center|25px  Zgorzelec** 31,890    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Historically part of Lusatia, Zgorzelec was considered part of Lower Silesia in years 1319–1329 and 1815–1945 49  center|25px  Bielawa 31,186    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 50  center|25px  Kluczbork 24,207    border|22px Opole Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 51  center|25px  Lubliniec 24,105    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 52  center|25px  Krnov 24,079    border|22px Moravian-Silesian Region  Czech Silesia 53  center|25px  Jawor 23,650    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 54  center|25px  Żagań 23,235    border|22px Lubusz Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 55  center|25px  Świebodzice 23,197    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 56  center|25px  Nowa Ruda 22,823    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 57  center|25px  Polkowice 22,535    border|22px Lower Silesian Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 58  center|25px  Łaziska Górne 22,413    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 59  center|25px  Świebodzin 21,963    border|22px Lubusz Voivodeship  Lower Silesia 60  center|25px  Rydułtowy 21,741    border|22px Silesian Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 61  center|25px  Prudnik 21,472    border|22px Opole Voivodeship  Upper Silesia 62  center|25px  Bohumín 21,340    border|22px Moravian-Silesian Region  Czech Silesia* Only partly in Silesia

 Famous people 
There are many famous people who were born in Silesia:

 Writers, poets and playwrights like Andreas Gryphius, Martin Opitz, Fürst von Pückler-Muskau, Carl Hauptmann, Gerhart Hauptmann (Nobel Prize in Literature, 1912), Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, Gustav Freytag
 Members of the German Resistance such as Peter Graf Yorck von Wartenburg, Helmuth James Graf von Moltke
 Military officers like Manfred von Richthofen, Erwin von Witzleben
 Painters like Adolph von Menzel
 Philosophers like Jakob Böhme
 Actors like Dieter Hildebrandt, Victor de Kowa, Ludwig M. Lommel, Wolfgang Neuss, Willy Fritsch, Hanna Schygulla, Georg Thomalla
 Politicians like Paul Löbe (SPD), Klaus Töpfer (CDU), Manfred Kanther (CDU), Ferdinand Lassalle, Erich Mende (FDP)
 Scientists like Hans G. Dehmelt (Nobel Prize in Physics, 1989), Paul Ehrlich (Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1908), Friedrich Bergius (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1931), Max Born (Nobel Prize in Physics, 1954), Fritz Haber (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1918), Reinhard Selten (Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, 1994), Konrad Bloch (Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1964), Bernhard Grzimek, Johannes Winkler, Maria Goeppert-Mayer (Nobel Prize in Physics, 1963), Kurt Alder (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1950), Otto Stern (Nobel Prize in Physics, 1943)
 Builder and architects like Carl Gotthard Langhans
 Musicians like Katja Ebstein, Roy Etzel, Michael Jary

 Gallery 

 Other websites 

 http://www.schlesien-lm.de - official website of the Landsmannschaft Schlesien
 http://www.schlesierbund.de - Schlesierbund from Nürnberg, Germany
 http://www.deutsche-schutzgebiete.de/provinz_schlesien.htm  - Deutsche Schutzgebiete - Provinz Schlesien

Category:Geography of the Czech Republic
Category:Geography of Poland
Category:Geography of Saxony
Category:Regions of Germany
Category:Regions of Poland