{"id":525,"date":"2020-05-02T00:17:17","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T22:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eurominority.eu\/?page_id=525"},"modified":"2020-05-15T22:01:49","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T20:01:49","slug":"lusatia-sorbs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.eurominority.eu\/index.php\/en\/lusatia-sorbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Lusatia (Sorbs)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sorbia, rebirth after oppression<\/h2>
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The Sorbs, who call themselves Wends, are the last survivors of the Slavs of the east German territory. They occupy a large part of that which is eastern Germany today and western Poland. <\/p>

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The flag of the Sorbs, representing the pan-Slavic colours, is made up of three horizontal bands of blue, red and white. It was used for the first time in 1948. Today, it appears as the flag of the Sorbian community in the laws relating to their protection in Brandeburg and in Saxony. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

The Sorbs live\nin Lusatia, straddling two German states (Brandenburg and Saxony where they are\nrecognised as a minority), near the Czech and Polish borders. Using two\ndistinct language variants, Low Sorbian in Lower Lusatia and High Sorbian in\nUpper Lusatia, the Sorbians have suffered throughout their history because of\nGermanic domination, until they received some recognition after the Second\nWorld War. Estimated at more than 300,000 people today, only a fraction of the\npopulation are registered as being Sorb according to language. Sorbian is\nspoken by 30,000 people mainly in Upper Lusatia.<\/p>

Apart from the\nNazi regime, it was under the yoke of the DDR that the Sorbs have suffered\nmost. While appearing to be protected, the Sorbs actually lost more than 40% of\ntheir territory, which was given over to lignite mines and power plants.<\/p>

After the\ncollapse of the Communist bloc, the Sorbs became aware of the richness of their\nidentity, and enjoyed expressing their culture, notably thanks to the \u201cDomowina<\/em>\u201d\nassociation, forbidden under the Nazi regime. Since 1998, certain nursery\nschools teach Sorbian by \u201cimmersion\u201d. Unfortunately, bilingual teaching is not\nwidespread, which is a risk for the survival of the language.<\/p>

Since 2003, a\npolitical party has formed to defend Sorbian interests. This is the \u201cSerbska\nLudowa Strona \u2013 Wendische Volkspartei\u201d, polling modestly.<\/p>

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Identity card<\/h3>
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Name <\/em> <\/td> Serbja <\/strong>| High Sorbian<\/em>
Serby <\/strong>| Low Sorbian<\/em>
Sorben \/ Wenden<\/em><\/strong> | German <\/em>
(Sorbia) <\/td><\/tr>
Population <\/em><\/td>1,600,000 inhab.<\/strong> (Lusatia, including around 80,000 Sorabians)<\/td><\/tr>
Area<\/em> <\/td>10,800 km\u00b2<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Languages<\/em> <\/td>Serb\u0161\u0107ina\/Serbska<\/strong> | Sorbian<\/em>
Hornjoserbsce<\/strong> | High Sorbian<\/em>
Dolnoserbski<\/strong> | Low Sorbian<\/em> (without official status)
Deutsch <\/em><\/strong>| German<\/em>(official)<\/td><\/tr>
Number of native speakers<\/em> <\/td> 20,000<\/strong> | Sorbian<\/em> (2007)<\/td><\/tr>
State of guardianship<\/em> <\/td> Germany<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Official status<\/em> <\/td> <\/strong> None<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Capital<\/em><\/td>Ch\u00f3\u015bebuz <\/strong>| Low Sorbian<\/em>
Cho\u0107ebuz <\/em><\/strong>| High Sorbian<\/em>
Cottbus <\/em><\/strong>| German <\/em>(Lower Lusatia)
&
Budy\u0161in <\/strong>| High Sorbian<\/em>
Budy\u0161yn <\/em><\/strong>| Low Sorbian<\/em>
Bautzen <\/em><\/strong>| German <\/em>(Upper Lusatia)<\/td><\/tr>
Historic religion<\/em> <\/td> <\/strong> Protestant and Roman Catholic<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Flag<\/em> <\/td>Chorhoj Serbow<\/strong> | High Sorbian<\/em>
(Sorbian Flag) <\/td><\/tr>
Anthem<\/em> <\/td>Rjana \u0141u\u017eica<\/strong> | High Sorbian<\/em>
R\u011bdna \u0141u\u017eyca<\/strong> | Low Sorbian<\/em>
(Magnificent Lusatia) <\/td><\/tr>
Motto<\/em> <\/td> None <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>
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Timeline <\/h3>
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