About Saxony & Bohemia

Free State of Saxony

German: "Freistaat Sachsen" Sorbian: "Swobodny stat Sakska"

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State capital: Dresden
Population: 4.08 million
Land area: 18.450 km²
Foundation: 10th November 1918 and 3rd October 1990 (reestablishment)
Languages: German and Upper Sorbian of the Slavic ethnic group
Administrative structure:10 counties and 3 independent cities

The Free State of Saxony (German: "Freistaat Sachsen" and in Upper Sorbian "Swobodny stat Sakska") is a country in the east of the Federal Republic of Germany. The state capital and the largest metropolitan area is Dresden, the most populous city is Leipzig, the third city is Chemnitz. The Free State of Saxony emerged in 1918 as the successor to the Kingdom of Saxony and was founded again in 1990. Even if no German federal state is ruled by a king anymore, Saxony calls itself a free state in the state constitution, as it was in the Weimar Republic. Saxony is one of 16 German federal states and neighboring countries are Bavaria, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg as well as the Republic of Poland and the Czech Republic.

Due to its central location, Saxony was shaped by different peoples for thousands of years. As early as 5500 BC The vast floodplains of the Elbe, Mulde and Spree in the foothills of the mountains were populated. The early Saxons were Germanic tribes on the North Sea, named after their sword, the "Sax". Some Anglo-Saxon tribes crossed to England in the 5th century. Some Americans, Canadians and Australians refer to themselves as “Saxons” to indicate their English ancestry. Other tribes moved up the Elbe via Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. - Not as far as today's Saxony, however. From the 7th to the 10th century, new settlements were created here by Slavic peoples from the east. The Margraviate of Meissen gained power in the 10th century. In the 15th century, the Roman-German king transferred the title "Elector of Saxony" to a Margrave of Meissen, and so the name "Electorate of Saxony" was created. This was followed by a German settlement by hired Frankish farmers to the east.

The Slavic castles and settlements were taken over and many well-known names of places and waters have a Slavic origin, including Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. The Slavic culture of the Sorbs is particularly alive in East Saxony. Due to the rich silver finds in the Ore Mountains in the 15th century. and through trading e.g. an economic boom developed with salt near Leipzig. Because Bohemia has no salt deposits, the first trade routes between Leipzig and Prague emerged very early. Many traders, scholars and other miners moved to Saxony. They brought new knowledge and inventions, craft experience, art and entrepreneurship with them to their new home.

There are very different landscapes to discover in Saxony:

- The Leipzig lowland bay (New Lakeland - from open pit to local recreation area)
- The Saxon Elbland (the north-easternmost wine-growing regions in Europe)
- The Central Saxon Hill Country (Saxon Land of Castles)
- The Upper Lusatia with
... the Lusatian Lakeland (Europe's largest artificial lake district)
... the Muskauer Heide (Fürst-Pückler-Park Bad Muskau - UNESCO World Heritage Site)
... the Lusatian Mountains (part of the Sudeten Mountains)
... the Zittau Mountains (Zittau Mountains Nature Park)
- Elbe Sandstone Mountains (Saxon Switzerland National Park)
- Ore Mountains (UNESCO World Heritage Ore Mountains / Krušnohoří Mining Region)
- Vogtland (Ore Mountains / Vogtland Nature Park)

Bohemia

(Czech: "Čechy", German: "Böhmen", Latin: "Bohemia")

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State capital: Prague
Population: about 6 million (entire Czech Republic over 10 million)
Land area: over 52.000 km² (entire Czech Republic over 78.800 km²)
Foundation: 28th October 1918 Czechoslovakia and 1st January 1993 Czech Republic
Languages: Czech and Slovak
Administrative structure: 14 counties, 77 districts, 3 historical regions Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia

The Kingdom of Bohemia consisted of the large Bohemian part. Moravia and parts of Silesia were incorporated very early on. These three regions now form the territory of the Czech Republic. The historical capital of Bohemia was Prague, since 1918 it became the capital of Czechoslovakia and now the Czech Republic.

Bohemia was one of the countries of the Bohemian Crown. As the former Kingdom of Bohemia, it forms the territory of today's Czech Republic with Moravia and the Czech part of Silesia, but is no longer an independent administrative unit. The historical capital of Bohemia is Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia since 1918 and today the Czech Republic. The name derives from the Celtic tribe of the Boiers (Boiohaemum = "home of the Boiers", late Latin: Bohemia).

The name "Bohemia" refers to the Celtic tribe of the Boier (Boiohaemum = home of the Boier, late Latin: Bohemia), which settled into the 1st century. After that, Germanic peoples lived in this region for centuries until the Slavic Czechs, named after their mythical tribal father, Czech, settled in the 6th century. In the 9th and 10th centuries, Bohemia, Moravia, but also Saxony, Bavaria and other areas of the Holy Roman Empire were attacked several times by the warlike cavalry people of Hungary. The Czech rule extended at times to Austria, Slovenia and northern Italy. The Kingdom of Bohemia came into being around 1200 and its power gave it a special position in the Holy Roman Empire. In the 12th century, the Czech rulers recruited German merchants, craftsmen, miners, clergymen and farmers intensively. In the 14th century the Czech king also became Roman-German emperor. He founded Charles University in Prague - one of the first universities in the world. But then various religious conflicts destroyed the prosperity and progress achieved for a long time. Bohemia became part of the Austrian Empire in the 18th century and later the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Bohemia had a productive agriculture and then grew into one of the most important industrial countries in Europe. By 1900 Bohemia had the densest rail network in all of Austria-Hungary.

The first Czechoslovak Republic was founded in 1918 and shortly thereafter received the right to free access to the sea. The own Czech port in Hamburg was particularly important for the ČSSR and inspired the typical Czech greeting "Ahoj". Between the world wars it was one of the most progressive countries in Europe and, even under socialism, it was at times the largest economy in the Eastern bloc.

Bohemia is essentially limited by its four mountains along the outer borders:

- Bohemian Forest (Czech: "Šumava", German: "Böhmerwald") along the southwestern border to the Austrian Mühlviertel and Bavaria
- Ore Mountains (Czech: "Krušné hory", German: "Erzgebirge") along the northwestern border with Saxony)
- Sudeten (Czech: "Sudety", German: "Sudeten") along the northern and northeastern border to Upper Lusatia and Silesia
- Bohemian-Moravian Highlands (Czech: "Českomoravská vysočina", German: "Böhmisch-Mährische Höhe") along the eastern border to Moravia and southern to the Waldviertel)