Samo's EmpireSamo's Empire (also known as Samo's Kingdom or Samo's State) is the historiographical name for the West Slavic tribal union established by King ("Rex") Samo, which existed between 623/631 and 658 in Central Europe. The extension of Samo's power, before and after 631 is disputable. The centre of the union was most likely in Moravia and Nitravia (Nitra), additionally the union included Czech tribes, Sorbian tribes (under Dervan) and other West Slavic tribes along the river Danube (present Lower Austria).
HoyerswerdaHoyerswerda (hɔʏɐsˈvɛʁda) or Wojerecy (ˈβɔjɛʀɛtsɪ) is a major district town in the district of Bautzen in the German state of Saxony. It is located in the Sorbian settlement area of Upper Lusatia, in which the Upper Sorbian language is spoken in addition to German. Hoyerswerda is divided into the Old Town and the New Town, surrounded by village areas. The Old Town is the historical centre with many old houses and sight-seeing attractions, the New Town is more modern and varicoloured.
KamenzKamenz (ˈkaːmɛnt͡s) or Kamjenc (Sorbian) is a town (Große Kreisstadt) in the district of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany. Until 2008 it was the administrative seat of Kamenz District. The town is known as the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Bruno Hauptmann, convicted kidnapper of the Lindbergh baby. It lies north-east of the major city of Dresden. This small town is located in the west of the Upper Lusatia historic region (West Lusatia), about northeast of Dresden and about northwest of Bautzen.
MargraveMargrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empire and the title came to be borne by rulers of some Imperial principalities until the abolition of the Empire in 1806 (e.g., Margrave of Brandenburg, Margrave of Baden).
MilceniThe Milceni or Milzeni (Milčané; Milzener; Milczanie) were a West Slavic tribe, who settled in the present-day Upper Lusatia region. They were first mentioned in the middle of the 9th century AD by the Bavarian Geographer, who wrote of 30 civitates which possibly had fortifications. They were gradually conquered by Germans during the 10th century. Modern descendants of the Milceni are the Sorbs of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. The Milceni travelled to Upper Lusatia in the 7th century during the Migration Period.
LubańLubań 'lubań (Lauban; Lubáň), sometimes called Lubań Śląski (Silesian Lubań; Lubań Šlešćina); is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in southwest Poland. It is the administrative seat of Lubań County and also of the smaller Gmina Lubań (although it is not part of the territory of the latter, as the town is a separate urban gmina in its own right). Situated north of the Jizera Mountains on the western shore of the Kwisa River, Lubań is considered part of the historic Upper Lusatia region, although it was more closely associated with Lower Silesia in the early 14th century and from 1815.
Saxon WarsThe Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the thirty-three years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of tribesmen was defeated. In all, 18 campaigns were fought, primarily in what is now northern Germany. They resulted in the incorporation of Saxony into the Frankish realm and their forcible conversion from Germanic paganism to Christianity. The Saxons were divided into four subgroups in four regions.
VogtlandVogtland (ˈfoːktlant; Fojtsko) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former leadership by the Vögte ("advocates" or "lords protector") of Weida, Gera and Plauen. The landscape of the Vogtland is sometimes described as idyllic, thanks to its fields, meadows and wooded hilltops.