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Province of Lower SilesiaProvinz Niederschlesien (German)
Province of Prussia
1919–1938 1941–1945
Flag Coat of arms
Province of Lower Silesia (red) within the Free State of Prussia.
Capital	Breslau (Wrocław)
Area
• Coordinates	51°6′39.0″N 17°2′51.4″E / 51.110833°N 17.047611°E / 51.110833; 17.047611
• 1925	26,616 km (10,276 sq mi)
Population
• 1925	3,132,135
History
• Established	1919
• Merged into Province of Silesia	1938–1941
• Disestablished	1945
Preceded by Succeeded by Province of Silesia State of Brandenburg State of Saxony District of Lower Silesia
Today part of	Germany Poland

The Province of Lower Silesia (German: Provinz Niederschlesien; Silesian German: Provinz Niederschläsing; Polish: Prowincja Dolny Śląsk; Silesian: Prowincyjŏ Dolny Ślōnsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. Between 1938 and 1941 it was reunited with Upper Silesia as the Province of Silesia. The capital of Lower Silesia was Breslau (now Wrocław in Poland). The province was further divided into two administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke), Breslau and Liegnitz.

The province was not congruent with the historical region of Lower Silesia, which now lies mainly in Poland. It additionally comprised the Upper Lusatian districts of Görlitz, Rothenburg and Hoyerswerda in the west, that until 1815 had belonged to the Kingdom of Saxony, as well as the former County of Kladsko in the southeast.

The province was disestablished at the end of World War II and with the implementation of the Oder–Neisse line in 1945, the area east of the Neisse river fell to the Republic of Poland. The smaller western part was incorporated into the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg.

Administrative regions

Regierungsbezirk Breslau

Urban districts / Stadtkreise

1. City of Breslau
2. City of Brieg
3. City of Schweidnitz
4. City of Waldenburg

Rural districts / Landkreise

1. Landkreis Breslau
2. Landkreis Brieg
3. Landkreis Frankenstein
4. Landkreis Glatz
5. Landkreis Groß Wartenberg
6. Landkreis Guhrau
7. Landkreis Habelschwerdt
8. Landkreis Militsch
9. Landkreis Namslau
10. Landkreis Neumarkt
11. Landkreis Oels
12. Landkreis Ohlau
13. Landkreis Reichenbach (im Eulengebirge)
14. Landkreis Schweidnitz
15. Landkreis Strehlen
16. Landkreis Trebnitz
17. Landkreis Waldenburg
18. Landkreis Wohlau

Regierungsbezirk Liegnitz

Urban districts / Stadtkreise

1. City of Glogau
2. City of Görlitz
3. City of Hirschberg im Riesengebirge
4. City of Liegnitz

Rural districts / Landkreise

1. Landkreis Bunzlau
2. Landkreis Fraustadt
3. Landkreis Freystadt i. Niederschles.
4. Landkreis Glogau
5. Landkreis Görlitz
6. Landkreis Goldberg
7. Landkreis Grünberg
8. Landkreis Hirschberg
9. Landkreis Hoyerswerda
10. Landkreis Jauer
11. Landkreis Landeshut
12. Landkreis Lauban
13. Landkreis Liegnitz
14. Landkreis Löwenberg
15. Landkreis Lüben
16. Landkreis Rothenburg (Ob. Laus.)
17. Landkreis Sprottau

Post-1945 population

During the Polish post-war census of December 1950, data about the pre-war places of residence of the inhabitants as of August 1939 was collected. In case of children born between September 1939 and December 1950, their origin was reported based on the pre-war places of residence of their mothers. Thanks to this data it is possible to reconstruct the pre-war geographical origin of the post-war population. The same area corresponding to pre-1938 Province of Lower Silesia east of the Oder-Neisse line (which became Polish in 1945) was inhabited in December 1950 by:

Over 90% of the 1950 inhabitants were new to the region, with less than 10% residing in the province already back in August 1939 (so called autochthons, who had German citizenship before World War II and were granted Polish citizenship after 1945). The largest group among new inhabitants were Poles expelled from areas of Eastern Poland annexed by the USSR. The second largest group came from Southern Poland (from Kraków, Rzeszów, Lublin, Kielce and Katowice regions in total 28%) followed by Greater Poland. Many Poles from Bosnia settled around Bolesławiec.

See also

• Lower Silesian Voivodeship
• Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis
• Territorial Association of Silesia

References

1. Division of Silesia Province
2. Administrative divisions of Lower and Upper Silesia (in German)
3. Kosiński, Leszek (1960). "Pochodzenie terytorialne ludności Ziem Zachodnich w 1950 r. [Territorial origins of inhabitants of the Western Lands in year 1950]" (PDF). Dokumentacja Geograficzna (in Polish). 2. Warsaw: PAN (Polish Academy of Sciences), Institute of Geography: Tabela 1 (data by county) – via Repozytorium Cyfrowe Instytutów Naukowych.

v t e Silesia topics
History Offensives Uprisings Wars (First, Second, Third) 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite Treaty of Dresden Treaty of Teschen Book of Henryków Battle of Legnica Battle of Leuthen more...
Geography Areas Jelenia Góra valley Kłodzko Valley Lower Silesian Wilderness Obniżenie Milicko-Głogowskie Ostrava Valley Oświęcim Basin Przedgórze Sudeckie Silesian Walls Silesian Foothills Silesian Lowlands Silesian Przesieka Silesian Upland Silesian-Lusatian Lowlands Silesian-Moravian Foothills Wał Trzebnicki Zielona Góra Acclivity Lakes Jezioro Goczałkowickie Jezioro Otmuchowskie Jezioro Sławskie Nyskie Slezská Harta Reservoir Mountains Carpathian Silesian Beskids Moravian-Silesian Beskids Sudetes Eastern Central Western Rivers Elbe Divoká Orlice Jizera Úpa Oder Barycz Bóbr Kaczawa Kłodnica Kwisa Liswarta Mała Panew Nysa Kłodzka Olza Ślęza Vistula Biała Brynica Gostynia Przemsza Pszczynka Rawa
Politics Subdivisions Former Duchies Piasts dukes Silesian Voivodeship (1920–39) parliament politicians treasury State country Silesia Province Upper Silesia Lower Silesia Sudetenland New Silesia Austrian Silesia Eastern Silesia Current Jeseník District Moravian–Silesian Region Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis / Görlitz Voivodeships Lower Silesian Lubusz Voivodeships Opole Silesian EP constituencies Lower Silesian and Opole Silesian
Economy Socioeconomics Katowice urban area Metropolis GZM Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area Industry Bielski Okręg Przemysłowy Legnicko-Głogowski Okręg Miedziowy Lower Silesian Coal Basin Upper Silesian Coal Basin Industrial Region Ostrava-Karviná / Rybnik Coal Areas Tourism Tourism
Society Culture Architecture Familŏk Regional costume Upper Silesian Museum Silesian Museum (Opava) Silesian Museum (Katowice) Cuisine Black noodles Bryja Panczkraut (ciapkapusta) Klōzki Galert Hauskyjza Karminadle Kołŏcz Kopalnioki Kreple Krupniok Makōwki Moczka Modrŏ kapusta Siymiyniotka Szałŏt Wodziōnka Żur Religion Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland Roman Catholic Church Pentecostal Church in Poland Sport Football Association Moravian–Silesian Football League National football team Silesian Stadium Languages Czech German Silesian German (Lower Silesian) Lach dialects Silesian Moravian Polish Symbols Coats of arms Flags Unofficial anthems Schlesien Unvergessene Heimat Schlesierlied Slezská hymna Other topics Demographics Landsmannschaft Schlesien Silesian Autonomy Movement Marsz Autōnōmije Silesians
Category

• States and territories established in 1919
• States and territories disestablished in 1945
• Province of Lower Silesia
• History of Silesia
• Provinces of Prussia
• 1919 establishments in Germany
• 1945 disestablishments in Germany
• Former eastern territories of Germany