Sorbian settlement area

Sorbian settlement area
German: Sorbisches Siedlungsgebiet
Upper Sorbian: Serbski sydlenski rum
Lower Sorbian: Serbski sedleński rum
Location of Sorbian settlement area
CountryGermany
StateSaxony
StateBrandenburg

The Sorbian settlement area (Lower Sorbian: Serbski sedleński rum [ˈsɛrpskʲi ˈsɛdlɛnʲskʲi ˈrum], Upper Sorbian: Serbski sydlenski rum [ˈsɛʁpskʲi ˈsɨdlɛnskʲi ˈʁum], German: Sorbisches Siedlungsgebiet; in Brandenburg officially Siedlungsgebiet der Sorben/Wenden) commonly makes reference to the area in the east of Saxony and the South of Brandenburg in which the West Slavic people of the Sorbs (in Brandenburg also called "Wends") live autochthonously. In colloquial German, it is called Sorbenland (Land of the Sorbs);[1] before 1945 also – sometimes pejoratively – called Wendei.[2]

This area was reduced constantly during the centuries due to assimilation, Germanization and strip mining lignite. Additionally, the identification as Sorb is free under federal and state law and cannot be verified. Therefore, different approaches on defining who belongs to the Sorbian people exist. Identifying Sorbs are not in the majority in most of the Sorbian settlement area, but rather a – in part very small – minority.

  1. ^
    • For „Sorbenland“ cf.:
    • Schönbach, Miriam (8 August 2016). "Im Sorbenland droht Lehrermangel". www.saechsische.de (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2017.
    • "Frühe Fotografien aus dem Sorbenland". Berlin.de (in German). DPA. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
    • Richter, Torsten (20 July 2012). "Mit der Kamera unterwegs im katholischen Sorbenland" (in German). Lausitzer Rundschau. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
    • Kanis Gretschel, Karl Christian (1841). Geschichte des sächsischen Volkes und Staates [History of the Saxonian people and state]. Vol. 1. Leipzig: Reinhold Beyer. p. 17ff.
    • Carmin Alisch, Cathrin (2003). HochZeit unterm Abendrot der Sorben in der Lausitz. Musik, Magie und Minderheit im Spiegel der Kultursemiotik (in German). Münster: LIT Verlag. pp. 18, 49.
    • Toivanen, Reetta (2001). Minderheitenrechte als Identitätsressource. Die Sorben in Deutschland und die Saamen in Finnland (in German). Hamburg: LIT Verlag. p. 11.
    • Kasper, Martin (2000). Die Lausitzer Sorben in der Wende 1989/1990 (in German). Domowina. p. 125.
  2. ^
    • For Wendei cf.:
    • Andree, Karl, ed. (1862). "Das Ausland". Globus: Illustrierte Zeitschrift für Länder- und Völkerkunde (in German). Vol. 2. Verlag vom Bibliographischen Institut. pp. 245ff.
    • Campe, Th. "Aus der Wendei". Die Gartenlaube (in German). No. 51/1891. pp. 864–867.