'''?l?skie''' [http://turystyka.silesia-region.pl/index.php ], also '''Silesia''' or '''Silesian Voivodship''', is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voivodeship voivodship], also written voivodeship, in Southern Poland.

Regions

Cities

  • Katowice
  • Bielsko-Bia?a
  • Gliwice
  • B?dzin
  • Cz?stochowa
  • Sosnowiec
  • Chorzow
  • D?browa Gornicza
  • Bytom
  • Siewierz
  • Ruda ?l?ska
  • Czelad?
  • Other destinations

    Spa

  • Ustro? – spa in the Beskids.
  • Understand

    In the early Middle Ages ?l?skie was part of Silesia, which was part of Poland since the 10th century. When in 1138 the Seniorat of Poland was formed, Silesia was one of the Polish duchies and several Silesian duches were Seniors of Poland until the late 13th century. In the 12th and 13th centuries Silesia fall apart into several duchies of which Raciborz, O?wi?cim, Siewierz and Cieszyn as well as Cz?stochowa are in ?l?skie. In the 14th centrury Siewierz and O?wi?cim again became a part of Poland, Cz?stochowa was also Polish, while Cieszyn and Raciborz came under Czech rule. Bohemia was ruled at this time by the German Luxembourg, later the Polish Jagiellonians and finally by the Austrian Habsburg. In 1741 Prussia annexed most of ?l?skie, besides Cieszyn and Cz?stochowa. After the Third Partition of Poland in 1793 Cz?stochowa was also annexed by Prussia, but became independent as part of the Duchy of Warsaw between 1807-1815. After the Congress of Vienna, Cz?stochowa became part of the Kingdom of Poland, ruled by the Russian Tsar. In the 19th century coal mining developed in this region, while the Beskids in the south remained rural and unpolluted. After World War I and the Silsian Uprisings, ?l?skie became largely part of the Second Polish Republic but was occupied by Nazi-Germany between 1939 and 1944. After World War II it again became part of Poland. Nowerdays it is situated quite in the south of the country.

    Talk

    Polish is spoken by all. Depending on who you believe the dialect or language of Silesian is spoken here too. There is also a notable German minority presence in the region with some bi-lingual signage in both languages. As in all of western and northern Poland, place names exist in Polish and German. Many young people study English and German.

    Get in

    By plane

    Some major airlines, Poland's national carriers LOT Polish Airlines [http://www.lot.com], and low cost airline including Centralwings [http://www.centralwings.com] (owned by LOT) fly to Katowice's Pyrzowice Airport [http://www.gtl.com.pl] (KTW). Domestic flights operated by LOT (under Eurolot brand) connect Krakow with i.e. Warsaw's Frederic Chopin Airport [http://www.lotnisko-chopina.pl/?lang=en] (WAW).

    Get around

    See

    Itineraries

    Do

    Eat

    Drink

    Stay safe

    Get out

    '''?l?skie''' borders four other Polish voivodships:

  • Ma?opolskie
  • ?wi?tokrzyskie
  • ?odzkie
  • Opolskie
  • as well as the Czech Republic and Slovakia.