The Sorbian languages are the Upper Sorbian language and Lower Sorbian language, two closely related and partially mutually intelligible languages spoken by the Sorbs, a West Slavic ethno-cultural minority in the Lusatia region of Eastern Germany. They are classified under the West Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages and are therefore closely related to the other two West Slavic subgroups: Lechitic and Czech–Slovak. Historically, the languages have also been known as Wendish or Lusatian. Their collective ISO 639-2 code is wen.
Cottbus or Chóśebuz is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital of Potsdam. With around 98,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian settlement area of Lower Lusatia, and is the second-largest city on the River Spree after Berlin, from which it is situated around 125 km (78 mi) upstream. The city is located on the shores of Cottbus Eastern Lake, which will be Germany's largest artificial lake by surface area when flooding is completed.
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Pulsnitz and Black Elster rivers in the west, and is located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Polish voivodeships of Lower Silesia and Lubusz. Lusatia's central rivers are the Spree and the Lusatian Neisse, which constitutes the border between Germany and Poland. The Lusatian Mountains, separate Lusatia from Bohemia in the south. Lusatia is traditionally divided into Upper Lusatia and Lower Lusatia.
Lower Sorbian is a West Slavic minority language spoken in eastern Germany in the historical province of Lower Lusatia, today part of Brandenburg.
The Spree Forest is a large inland delta of the river Spree, and a historical cultural landscape located in the region of (Lower) Lusatia, in the state of Brandenburg, Germany, about 100 km southeast of Berlin and close to the city of Cottbus. The Spree Forest is located within the settlement area of the (Lower) Sorbs, and the region is officially bilingual, German and Lower Sorbian.
Domowina is a political independent league of the Sorbian and Wendish people and umbrella organization of Sorbian societies in Lower and Upper Lusatia, Germany. It represents the interests of Sorbian people and is the continual successor of the previous Domowina League of the Lusatian Sorbs.
Großenhain is a Große Kreisstadt in the district of Meissen, Saxony, Germany. It was originally known as Hayne. The current name simply means "big Hayne"
Lower Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the south, Lower Lusatia is a settlement area of the West Slavic Sorbs whose endangered Lower Sorbian language is related to Upper Sorbian and Polish.
Forst (Lausitz) (German) or Baršć (Łužyca) (Lower Sorbian, pronounced[ˈbarɕtɕˈwuʒɨtsa]) is a town in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. It lies east of Cottbus, on the river Lausitzer Neiße which is also the German-Polish border, the Oder-Neisse line. It is the capital of the Spree-Neiße district. It is known for its rose garden and textile museum. The town's population is 18,651. In Forst, there is a railway bridge across the Neiße belonging to the line Cottbus–Żary which is serviced by regional trains and a EuroCity train between Hamburg and Kraków (2011). There is also a road bridge across the river north of Forst.
The Lusatian Alliance, formerly the Wendish People's Party is a political party founded on 26 March 2005 in Cottbus to represent the Sorb/Wendish ethnic and linguistic minority in the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg in the region of Lusatia. At its third party congress of 26 April 2010 in Cottbus, the party changed its name to the Lusatian Alliance. The party is a full member of the European Free Alliance.
Vetschau/Spreewald is a town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated in the Spreewald, 18 km west of Cottbus.
Altdöbern is a municipality in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in southern Brandenburg, Germany.
Neuhausen/Spree is a municipality in the district of Spree-Neiße, in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany.
Wiesengrund is a municipality in the district of Spree-Neiße, in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany.
Cottbus Hauptbahnhof (German) or Chóśebuz głowne dwórnišćo is one of the main railway stations of the German state of Brandenburg. It was called Cottbus station until 9 December 2018. It is located just south of central Cottbus. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 2 station.
The Großenhain–Cottbus railway is an electrified main railway in the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg. It is double track between Cottbus and Ruhland and elsewhere single-track. It runs from Großenhain via Ruhland and Senftenberg to Cottbus.
Forst (Lausitz)/Baršć (Łužyca) is a border railway station located in Forst (Lausitz), Germany.
Krystijan Bogumił Šwjela was a Wendish/Sorbian Protestant clergyman and ethnic activist in the Lower Lusatia region.
Lower Sorbian Gymnasium Cottbus, is a coeducational gymnasium in Cottbus the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the only high school in Lower Lusatia in which education is organized in Lower Sorbian language and the language is compulsory up to the twelfth grade. While German language is widely used as the first language by many students and professors, in May 2005 and following the 2004 enlargement of the European Union some students recognized education in the school as a good preparation for future participation in economic exchanges with neighboring West Slavic countries of Czech Republic and Poland.
The Sorbischer Rundfunk is the Sorbian language program of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), both of which are regional public broadcaster in Germany. It is the only broadcast in a national minority language in Germany.
