What is "silesians"

Silesians ( Silesian: Ślůnzoki; Silesian German: Schläsinger; ; ; ) are the inhabitants of Silesia, a historical region divided by the current national boundaries of Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. This central European ethno-linguistic group should not be confused with German Silesians and their descendants who inhabited both Upper and Lower Silesia until their expulsion in 1945-47. Today, Silesians inhabiting Poland are considered to belong to a Polish ethnographic group, and they speak a dialect of Polish. They are of Slavic descent, but because Germany ruled Silesia for a long time, Silesians have been deeply influenced by German culture.

There have been some debates on whether or not the Silesians (historically, Upper Silesians) constitute a distinct nation. In modern history, they have often been pressured to declare themselves to be German, Polish or Czech, and use the language of the nation currently governing them. Nevertheless, 847,000 people declared themselves to be of Silesian nationality in the 2011 Polish national census (including 376,000 who declared it to be their only nationality, 436,000 who declared to be their first nationality, 411,000 who declared to be their second one, and 431,000 who declared joint Silesian and Polish nationality (173,153 in Poland in 2002), maintaining its position as the largest minority group. About 126,000 people declared themselves as members of the German minority (58,000 declared it jointly with Polish nationality), making it the third largest minority group in the country (93% of Germans living in Poland are in the Polish part of Silesia). 12,231 people declared themselves to be of Silesian nationality in the Czech national census of 2011 (44,446 in Czechoslovakia in 1991), and 6,361 people declared joint Silesian and Moravian nationality in the Slovak national census.

During the German occupation of Poland, Nazi authorities conducted a census in East Upper Silesia in 1940. 157,057 people declared Silesian nationality (Slonzaken Volk), and the Silesian language was declared by 288,445 people. However, the Silesian nationality could only be declared in the Cieszyn part of the region. Approximately 400–500,000 respondents from the other areas of East Upper Silesia who declared "Upper Silesian nationality" (Oberschlesier) were assigned to the German nationality category. After World War II in Poland, the 1945 census showed a sizable group of people in Upper Silesia who declared Silesian nationality. According to police reports, 22% of people in Zabrze considered themselves to be Silesians, and that number was around 50% in Strzelce County.

Silesians were a tribe of West Slavs, specifically of the Lechitic/ Polish group, inhabiting territories of Lower Silesia, near Ślęża mountain and Ślęza river, on the both banks of the Oder, up to the area of modern city of Wrocław. They were the first permanent inhabitants of the site of Wrocław where they build a fort on Ostrów Tumski in the 9th century or earlier, which at the time was an island on the Oder.

Their tribal name was derived from the name of the mountain and the river, which most likely came from the old Polish word Ślagwa, meaning "humid", which refers to the climate of the area. The name of the region in turn, Silesia, comes from their language and tribal name. Along with the Opolanie, the Ślężanie comprised one of the two major tribes in Silesia. They bordered the Dziadoszanie to their north. The Biezunczanie's territory lay to the west. Other, more minor, Silesian tribes of the time included the Golęszyce, Trzebowianie (who might have actually been part of the Ślężanie), Bobrzanie (who were probably subjects of the Dziadoszanie) and the Głubczyce, further to the south.

The Bavarian Geographer, which refers to them as the Sleenzane, states that they had 15 settlements, or gróds (civitas), and lists them as one of several tribes located in Silesia. The Prague charter (description of borders of the Prague bishopric) from 1086 refers to them with the alternative name of Zlasane. Thietmar's Chronicle, from the second decade of the 11th century, calls them the Silensi. Their tribal name was known to the Franks and the Byzantines.

The Ślężanie achieved a high degree of social organization and built fortified towns by the 8th century AD, if not earlier. Archeological finds of fortifications built by various Silesian tribes date back to as early as 4th century and evidence of continuous settlement in the area can be traced back to 1st century AD.

A long fortified wall, strengthened by numerous moats, stretched from the present day town of Jelenia Góra to Krosno Odrzańskie, and along both sides of the Bobr river. The existence of these sophisticated defenses suggests that the various Silesian tribes had to cooperate in their construction. Hence, it is possible that in the period between the 7th and 9th centuries, the Ślężanie were united in a loose confederation of Silesian tribes. However, the wall most likely served a solely defensive purpose, most likely as a bulwark against raiding parties of the neighboring Polabian Slavs as none of the Polish tribes yet shared direct borders with Germanic states at the time.

From 990 AD on, after a series of short wars between Mieszko I of the Piast dynasty, first ruler of Poland, and Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia of the Přemyslid dynasty (who was Mieszko's brother in law), Silesia, and the Ślężanie, became part of the Polish state. Over time, the Ślężanie, along with the other Silesian tribes, as well as the Wislanie, Pomorzanie, Ledzianie, Mazowszanie and the Polanie mixed and became part of the Polish state.

The mountain Ślęża, and the neighboring peak of Sępia Góra (Vulture Peak), served as a sacred place where important religious ceremonies where held by the tribe. In fact, the religious importance of the location dates back to the sun-worshipping people of the Lusatian culture, as early as 1300 B.C. It was used as a place of worship by various people who inhabited the area before the Ślężanie, for example, the Silingi (most likely a Vandal tribe). The mountain Ślęża was also a place of pilgrimage for other Slavic tribes of that era. According to legend, the peak was created as a result of a battle between angels and demons, when after a struggle, the angels used the mountain to bury the entrance to hell.