ZittauZittau (Žitawa; Žytawa; Żytawa; Žitava; Upper Lusatian dialect: Sitte) is the southeasternmost city in the German state of Saxony, and is located in the district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost district. It has a population of around 25,000, and is one of the most important cities in the region of Lusatia (Upper Lusatia). The inner city of Zittau still shows its original beauty with many houses from several architectural periods: the famous town hall built in an Italian style, the church of St John and the stables (Salzhaus) with its medieval heritage.
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.
Province of Lower SilesiaThe Province of Lower Silesia (Provinz Niederschlesien; Silesian German: Provinz Niederschläsing; Prowincja Dolny Śląsk; 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.
SudetesThe Sudetes (suːˈdiːtiːz ), commonly known as the Sudeten Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince in Central Europe, shared by Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. They consist mainly of mountain ranges and are the highest part of Bohemian Massif. They stretch from the Saxon capital of Dresden in the northwest across to the region of Lower Silesia in Poland and to the Moravian Gate in the Czech Republic in the east. Geographically the Sudetes are a Mittelgebirge with some characteristics typical of high mountains.
GörlitzGörlitz (ˈɡœʁlɪts; Zgorzelec, Zhorjelc, Gorlice, Zhořelec, East Lusatian dialect: Gerlz, Gerltz, Gerltsch) is a town in the German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia as well as the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia, after Cottbus. Görlitz is the easternmost town in Germany (the easternmost village is Zentendorf (Šćeńc)), and lies opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was the eastern part of Görlitz until 1945.
LegnicaLegnica (Polish: AUDPl-Legnica.oggleg'ńica; Liegnitz, ˈliːɡnɪts; Ligńica; Lehnice; Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 and 1998 Legnica was the capital of the Legnica Voivodeship. It is the seat of the county and since 1992 the city has been the seat of a Diocese. Legnica had a population of 97,300 inhabitants.
BautzenBautzen (ˈbaʊ̯t͡sn̩) or Budyšin (ˈbudɨʃin), until 1868 Budissin, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river, is the eighth most populous town in Saxony, and is the seat of Saxony's largest district. Bautzen lies in the bilingual Sorbian settlement area (Serbski sydlenski rum) of Lusatia, and is Lusatia's third-largest town after Cottbus and Görlitz, as well as the second-largest town in Upper Lusatia.
SilesiaSilesia (saɪˈliːʒə,saɪˈliːʃiə, also UK-iːziə, US-iːʒiə,-iːʃə,_sɪˈ-; see below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split into two main subregions, Lower Silesia in the west and Upper Silesia in the east. Silesia has a diverse culture, including architecture, costumes, cuisine, traditions, and the Silesian language (minority in Upper Silesia).
German reunificationGerman reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single full sovereign state, which took place between 9 November 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the "Unification Treaty" entered into force dissolving the German Democratic Republic (GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR, or East Germany) and integrating its recently re-established constituent federated states into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; Bundesrepublik Deutschland, BRD, or West Germany) to form present-day Germany, has been chosen as the customary German Unity Day (Tag der deutschen Einheit) and has thereafter been celebrated each year as a national holiday in Germany since 1991.