Lower Silesian Voivodeship

The history of the region dates back over a thousand years and Lower Silesia was once part of Medieval Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, Germany and modern Poland after 1945. At its foundation the territory was under the rule of the Piast dynasty and became a duchy. It was divided into small realms reigned by Piast princes after the testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1138. During this time, cultural and ethnic Germanic influence prospered due to immigrants from the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire. Lower Silesia was also a leading Polish cultural center. The Book of Henryków, which contains the earliest known sentence written in the Polish language, as well as a document which contains the oldest printed text in Polish, were both created here. Złotoryja, Poland's first town, was granted municipal privileges according to German Magdeburg rights by Henry the Bearded. Over the next centuries, Lower Silesia has experienced epochal events such as the Protestant Reformation, the Silesian Wars, industrialisation and the two World Wars, suffering a nearly total loss of its German population and Polish new settlement after 1945.

Although much of the region is relatively low-lying it also includes Sudeten Foreland and part of the Sudetes mountain range running along the Polish/Czech border. Popular ski resorts in Lower Silesian Voivodeship include Karpacz and Szklarska Poręba in the Karkonosze mountains. Other important tourist destinations in the voivodeship include the chief city, Wrocław, as well as the towns of Jelenia Góra and Legnica. The town of Boleslawiec is famed for its pottery.

The voivodeship has the largest number of spa towns in Poland: Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój, Długopole-Zdrój, Duszniki-Zdrój, Jedlina-Zdrój, Kudowa-Zdrój, Lądek-Zdrój, Polanica-Zdrój, Przerzeczyn-Zdrój, Szczawno-Zdrój, and Świeradów-Zdrój.

Lower Silesian Voivodeship is bordered by Lubusz Voivodeship to the north-west, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the north-east, Opole Voivodeship to the south-east, the Czech Republic (Hradec Králové Region, Liberec Region, Olomouc Region and Pardubice Region) to the south, and Germany (Saxony) to the west.

The Copernicus Airport Wrocław serves as an international and domestic airport.

Wrocław Główny is the largest railway station in Poland (21.2 million passengers annually), offering domestic and international connections of various carriers.

The A4 motorway, A8 motorway, A18 motorway and S3 Expressway, S5 Expressway, S8 Expressway run through the Voivodeship.

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  Wrocław Główny railway station is a major railway hub in the region
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  Koleje Dolnośląskie train at Wrocław Główny
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  Copernicus Airport Wrocław
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  A4 motorway in Jędrzychowice
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  The viaduct in Lewin Kłodzki, on the railway line No. 309

Wrocław Town Hall

Śnieżka

Lower Silesian Voivodeship is one of the most visited voivodeships in Poland. It is famous for a large number of castles (99) and palaces (hundreds), inter alia: Książ Castle, Bolków Castle, Czocha Castle, Chojnik Castle, Cisy Castle, Grodno Castle, Grodziec Castle, Gorzanów Castle, Kamieniec Ząbkowicki Palace, Kliczków Castle, Niesytno Castle, Świny Castle. There is also a lot in the Jelenia Góra valley.

The voivodship's most widely visited city is Wrocław with many sights and attractions, inter alia Ostrów Tumski, Market Square, open all year round Aquapark, Wrocław SPA Center and famous Wrocław's dwarfs.

The annual international Chopin Festival is held in the Fryderyk Chopin Theatre in Duszniki-Zdrój, established at the site of the first concert played by the Polish virtuoso pianist outside of the Russian Partition of Poland. Other major attraction of the town is the Museum of Papermaking, established in a 17th-century paper mill.

The Festival of Good Beer is held every year, on the second weekend of June.

Śnieżka is one of the first European peaks visited by tourists, it is also the highest peak of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship and the whole of the Sudetes.

Other highlights include: Kłodzko Fortress, Fort Srebrna Góra, Wambierzyce, Legnickie Pole, Henryków, Lubiąż Abbey, Krzeszów Abbey, Oleśnica Mała, Vang Stave Church, Churches of Peace, Sokołowsko, Cave Bear, Museum of Gold Mining and Metallurgy in Złoty Stok, Coal Mine in Nowa Ruda, Museum of Industry and Railway in Jaworzyna Śląska, Skull Chapel in Czermna, Mount Ślęża, Table Mountains, Owl Mountains, Karkonosze, The Main Trail Sudetes, Barycz Valley Landscape Park and connected with the history of World War II – complex tunnels Project Riese, a German Gross-Rosen concentration camp, German War Cemetery and Park Peace in the Nadolice Wielkie.

• Castles and palaces (examples)
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  Książ Castle in Wałbrzych
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  Piast Castle in Legnica
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  Czocha Castle
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  Oleśnica Castle
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  Krobielowice Palace
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  Radomierzyce Palace
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  Jedlinka Palace in Jedlina-Zdrój
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  Wojanów Palace
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  Kamieniec Ząbkowicki Palace

• Burial sites of Polish monarchs and consorts
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  Sanctuary of St. Jadwiga, Trzebnica
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  Cathedral of St. Vincent and St. James, Wrocław
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  Holy Cross Church, Wrocław
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  Church of St. Clare and Hedwig church, Wrocław

Protected areas

Mount Ślęża

"Hell" on Szczeliniec Wielki (Table Mountains National Park)

Snowy Pits

Bear's Cave

Project Riese, Owl Mountains

Protected areas in Lower Silesian Voivodeship:

• 2 National Parks
  • Karkonosze National Park (part of a UNESCO trans-border biosphere reserve)
  • Table Mountains National Park
• 12 Landscape Parks
  • Barycz Valley Landscape Park (partly in Greater Poland Voivodeship)
  • Bóbr Valley Landscape Park
  • Bystrzyca Valley Landscape Park
  • Chełmy Landscape Park
  • Jezierzyca Valley Landscape Park
  • Książ Landscape Park
  • Owl Mountains Landscape Park
  • Przemków Landscape Park
  • Rudawy Landscape Park
  • Ślęża Landscape Park
  • Śnieżnik Landscape Park
  • Sudety Wałbrzyskie Landscape Park
• 67 Nature reserves
• 20 protected landscape areas
• 3100 Natural monuments
• 114 Ecological usages
• 15 Teams nature and landscape

and many areas of Natura 2000 network.

Aleja Bielany - the largest shopping center in Poland

Lower Silesia is one of the richest regions in Poland. The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 41.1 billion € in 2018, accounting for 8.3% of the Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 23,400 € or 78% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 85% of the EU average. Lower Silesia Voivodship is the province with the second highest GDP per capita in Poland.[6]

Since 2005, the voivodeship recorded the highest in the country economic growth rate (around 10% per annum).

Many global companies have their headquarters and plants in Lower Silesia, incl. Amazon, Microsoft, Google, IBM, LG Electronics, Toyota, Volvo, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia Networks, Siemens, Whirlpool Corporation, Qatar Airways.

GDP per capita in Lower Silesia Voivodeship: GDP in Poland:

The southwest part of the Voivodeship is considered part of the so-called Black Triangle, an area of heavily industrialization and environmental damage on the three-way border of Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic.[7]

Wrocław

Jelenia Góra

Głogów

Kłodzko

The voivodeship contains 91 cities and towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (as of 2019):[1]

Map of the powiats (counties)

The Skull Chapel in Kudowa

The Church of Peace in Świdnica is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Lower Silesian Voivodeship is divided into 30 counties (powiats), four of which are city counties. These are further divided into 169 gminas.

Cistercian Lubiąż Abbey

Lower Silesia is divided into three districts administracyji province government, the capital of Wrocław (administrative region):[8]

800-year old Vang Stave Church in Karpacz

Abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict in Krzeszów

Sobieski Castle in Oława

• 1 one district Wałbrzyski
• Powiats in the district

Świdnica, Kłodzko, Ząbkowice Śląskie, Dzierżoniów

• 2 second district Legnicki
• Powiats in the district

Glogów, Jawor, Lubin, Polkowice, Złotoryja

• 3 third district Jeleniogórski
• Powiats in the district

Boleslawiec, Kamienna Góra, Luban, Lwówek Śląski, Zgorzelec.

The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).

• Princess Marianne of the Netherlands
• Tourism in Poland

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Dolnośląskie.

• Województwo Dolnośląskie Official website
• Website of the government of Lower Silesia