Zgorzelec

From Free net encyclopedia

Zgorzelec (Polish, Lusatian: Zhorjelc, Czech: Zhořelec) is a town in southwestern Poland with 36,800 inhabitants (1995). Situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodship since 1999, Zgorzelec was previously in the Jelenia Góra Voivodship from 1975-1998. The city is located on the Lusatian Neisse river, the Polish-German border close to the German city of Görlitz, of which it was once the eastern part.

Zhorjelc (i.e., Görlitz and Zgorzelec together) used to be the capital of Old Lusatia (Sorbian Łužica) that covered most of what is now the German state of Saxony and some of today’s German state of Brandenburg, mostly the combined area of what are now the Polish and German parts of Lower Silesia (Polish Dolnośląskie, German Niederschlesien). In the 17th century, the Sorbian language began to become extinct among locals, mostly under pressure, including Sorbs’ “voluntary” declaration banning their own ancestral language from church services.

In the 1950s a large number of Greek immigrants, mainly communist partisans defeated in the Greek Civil War, were settled there.

Since the fall of communism in 1989, Zgorzelec and the German city of Görlitz have developed a close political relationship.

Sports

• Turów Zgorzelec, men's basketball team promoted to play in Era Basket Liga in the 2004/05 season. Victor P was born there.

For history of the town before 1945 see: Görlitz.

External link

• www.zgorzelec2010.pl Zgorzelec-Goerlitz Kulture Capital 2010 (in Polish)
• Zgorzelec Internet Portal (in Polish)

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