The Ślęża (; german: Zobten or ''Zobtenberg'', later also ''Siling'') is a mountain in the Sudeten Foreland ( pl, Przedgórze Sudeckie) in

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

, from

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

, southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. This nature reserve built mostly of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

is 718 m high and covered with forests. The top of the mountain has a

PTTK ''Polskie Towarzystwo Turystyczno-Krajoznawcze'', PTTK (Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society) is a Polish non-governmental tourist organization with 312 branches across the country. The PTTK is one of the oldest tourist societies in Europe. ...

tourist

mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization ...

, a television and radio mast, church Mary, some poorly-visible ruins of the castle and an

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

. The mountain and its surrounding region form a protected area, Ślęża Landscape Park.

Sacred mountain

Poland mount Sleza - ancient cult figure

During the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

Period and at least as far back as the 7th century BC Mount Ślęża (Zobten) was a holy place of the tribes of the

Lusatian culture The Lusatian culture existed in the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age (1700 BC – 500 BC) in most of what is now Poland and parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, eastern Germany and western Ukraine. It covers the Periods Montelius III (earl ...

. It was then settled by Slavs. The

Silingi The Silings or Silingi ( la, Silingae; grc, Σιλίγγαι – ) were a Germanic tribe, part of the larger Vandal group. The Silingi at one point lived in Silesia, and the names ''Silesia'' and ''Silingi'' may be related.Jerzy Strzelczyk, "Wan ...

, a subpopulation of the

East Germanic tribe The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

known as the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

are the earliest inhabitants of Silesia known by their name, however the greater part of them moved westwards after the 5th century AD and the remainder were slowly replaced in the 6th century by Slavic tribes who assimilated the few remaining East Germanic inhabitants.T. Hunt Tooley "National Identity and Weimar Germany: Upper Silesia and the Eastern Border", 1997 University of Nebraska Press, p.6
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The

were part of the

Przeworsk culture The Przeworsk culture () was an Iron Age material culture in the region of what is now Poland, that dates from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD. It takes its name from the town Przeworsk, near the village where the first Artifact (arch ...

. The name of the territory

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

either derives from the

Ślęza River Ślęza (; german: Lohe) is a 78.6 km river in Lower Silesia, southern Poland, a left tributary of the Oder. It starts in the Niemcza Hills ( pl, Wzgórza Niemczańskie), part of the Sudeten Foreland (''Przedgórze Sudeckie''), and flows n ...

, or from Mount Ślęża, which themselves derive their name from either, according to Germanist authors the

people.Adrian Room "Placenames of the World", McFarland 2004m p.333
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or, according to Slavisist authors, the Ślężanie people. The Slavic Ślężanie tribe settled in the area around the 6th Century AD. In the 10th Century, Mieszko I of the Piast dynasty incorporated Silesia into the Polish state. The etymology of the mountain is highly disputed between a Slavic, Germanic, or other Indo-European origin. The name has been recorded in several forms. As monte Silencii, in 1108, or as monte Slez in 1245. Christianity came first via the Byzantine Church Slavonic missionaries saints Cyril and Methodius and by the

diocese of Regensburg The Diocese of Regensburg ( la, Dioecesis Ratisbonensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory seated in Regensburg, Germany. Its district covers parts of northeastern Bavaria; it is subordinate to the archbishop of Munich and Freising. ...

, then in the 10th century Bohemia received a bishopric,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, which was itself subject to the archbishopric of Mainz. Mount Ślęża was an ancient holy place for local tribes dedicated to a sun deity, and remained a holy place during Christian times as well. In the first half of the 12th century, the owner of the place was the Polish dukes' governor,

Piotr Włostowic Herb ŁabędźPiotr Włostowic ( 1080 – 1153), also known as Peter Wlast or ''Włost'') was a Polish noble, castellan of Wrocław, and a ruler (''możnowładca'') of part of Silesia. From 1117 he was voivode (''palatyn'') of the Duke of Poland ...

, who founded there an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

which was subsequently moved to

in 1153.

Etymology

The

Silesians Silesians ( szl, Ślōnzŏki or Ślůnzoki; Silesian German: ''Schläsinger'' ''or'' ''Schläsier''; german: Schlesier; pl, Ślązacy; cz, Slezané) is a geographical term for the inhabitants of Silesia, a historical region in Central Euro ...

might have been named after the

, as the Silingi were previous inhabitants of this region. Another explanation says that the word is perhaps derived from a Silesian word meaning "wet swampy place", the corresponding verb is "Ślęgnąć" meaning "to become wet".

Ślęża in art and culture

Mount Ślęża has been portrayed in the famous but atypical manner of Polish independent film (in Poland called ''Polskie Kino Niezależne'') Edi800 in the movie ''Ślęża Manekin Project III''.

Transmitter

On Ślęża there is a facility for FM- and TV-transmission, which uses a 136 metre tall free-standing (with additional guying) lattice tower. The current tower which was built in 1972 replaced a 98 metre tall tower built in 1957, which was partially guyed.

References

External links