The history of the Sorbs/Wends
The Great Migration Period is quite literally well underway. The invading Huns from the east are making their way across the land, brutally driving away entire communities in their path. The Germanic, Vandal and Burgundian tribes living in the area now known as Lusatia move to the west, leaving behind them stretches of land with virtually no soul in sight. In the 6th century, the ancestors of the Sorbs/Wends also start to move. They leave their home to the north of the Carpathian Mountains behind and head to the west via Silesia and Bohemia before creating a new settlement between the Neisse river, Saale river, Saxon Uplands and Fläming Heath. The Slavs remain in the region over the centuries, making it their home and becoming part of European history. Are you intrigued as to what else happened? Find out more below!
Timeline
6th / 7th century
As part of the Great Migration, Slavic tribes settle in the area between the Baltic Sea and the Central Uplands, between the Elbe and Saale rivers in the west and the Oder, Bober and Queis rivers in the west.
631
The Sorbs are first mentioned in writing as the “Surbi” in the Chronicle of Fredegar.
Around 1200
Agricultural improvements are accompanied by population growth and the cultivation of land in both Upper and Lower Lusatia. The immigration of Frankish, Flemish, Thuringian and Saxon farmers to the area east of the Saale river accelerates the assimilation process of the Sorbs, above all in the future West Saxony.
1574
The first Sorbian book is printed: Albin Moller’s “Wendisches Gesangbuch” (Wend Hymnbook) in Lower Sorbian, which also contains Martin Luther’s “Small Catechism”.
1667
Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, orders that all Sorbian literature be destroyed and church services in the Sorbian language be abolished.
1678
Jurij Hawštyn Swětlik starts to translate the Old and New Testament into Sorbian for Catholic Sorbs. He finishes the task in 1707, but the five volumes of hand-written documents remain unprinted.
1835
The Saxon State Parliament passes a new Education Act, which confirms the use of the Sorbian language in several school subjects.
1842
The first Sorbian newspaper starts to appear periodically. Handrij Zejler, the poet behind the Sorbian ‘rebirth’ (in the first half of the 19th century), founds the newspaper “Tydźenska Nowina”, the predecessor to the “Serbske Nowiny”, which is still published today.
1854
The first mass emigration of Sorbs to Texas and Australia reaches its climax.
19th century
The industrialisation of Lusatia leads to a noticeable economic upswing and significant immigration. After the German Empire is founded, a stricter anti-Sorbian approach is present in both Prussia and Saxony.
1904
The Wendish House, funded mostly by donations from the Sorbian people, is officially opened in Bautzen. It becomes a symbol of the will to live and the heart of Sorbian cultural life.
1912
Sorbian associations establish an umbrella organisation with the name “Domowina” (Home) in the German town of Hoyerswerda.
Around 1935
Sorbian associations resist Nazi attempts to achieve totalitarian control and coordination (“Gleichschaltung”) and are punished with arrests, reprisals and bans. The activities of the Domowina and other Sorbian organisations are prohibited, and all linguistic and cultural activities are deemed to be subversive.
1945
On 10th May, the Domowina is reopened in Crostwitz and recognised as a democratic institution by the occupying power.
1948
The Saxon State Government passes the “Law for the Protection of the Rights of the Sorbian Population”. The State of Brandenburg passes a decree in which it adopts this law in 1950. Several implementation regulations are passed on the basis of the Constitution of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the years to come.
Around 1950
A significant amount of state funding is used to establish a multitude of institutions that allow the widespread development of Sorbian culture and science and also function as centres of identity for the Slavic minority (theatre, Sorbian Folk Art Ensemble, research and university institute, college of education and publishing house). At the same time, the organisations are increasingly used to enforce the monopoly of power of the Socialist Unity Party of the GDR among the Sorbs.
1991
The German Federal Government, Free State of Saxony and State of Brandenburg join forces to create the “Foundation for the Sorbian People” with the purpose of maintaining and developing the Sorbian language, culture and science. It is incorporated into the area of responsibility of the Saxon State Chancellery.
1999
When the interstate treaty comes into effect on 1st January, the Foundation for the Sorbian People becomes a legal entity. The Saxon State Government passes the “Law on the Rights of the Sorbs in the Free State of Saxon” on 20th January.
2011
The Sorbian chaplain and martyr Alois Andritzki is beatified in Dresden.
2016
The Third Agreement on the Joint Financing of the Foundation for the Sorbian People is signed by the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal State of Brandenburg and the Free State of Saxony (valid until 2020).
The change in the settlement areas
The area in which the majority of regulations concerning minority and language policy for the protection and promotion of the Sorbs/Wends are implemented is known as the so-called “ancestral settlement area”. This area covers the independent city of Cottbus/Chóśebuz and communities in the districts of Dahme-Spreewald/Dubja-Błota, Oberspreewald-Lausitz/Górne Błota-Łužyca and Spree-Neiße/Sprjewja-Nysa. Evidence of the linguistic and cultural traditions of the Sorbs/Wends can still be found in these areas in the present day.
6th / 7th century
As part of the Great Migration, Slavic tribes settle in the area between the Baltic Sea and the Central Uplands, between the Elbe and Saale rivers in the west and the Oder, Bober and Queis rivers in the east.
631
The Sorbs are first mentioned in writing as the “Surbi” in the Chronicle of Fredegar.
1018
In the “Peace of Bautzen” treaty concluded between Duke Bolesław the Brave of Poland and the German-Roman Emperor Henry II, the territories of the Lutici and Milceni are given to the Polish ruler as an imperial fief (until 1031).
Around 1327
The use of the Sorbian language in court is prohibited in the areas of Altenburg, Zwickau and Leipzig. The closed Sorbian settlement area continues to shrink towards the east.
Around 1650
The devastating impacts of the Thirty Years’ War, plague and other epidemics cause the Sorbian language area to further decrease in size after nearly half of the Sorbian population dies.
1815
The Congress of Vienna resolves upon the territorial restructuring of the Sorbian settlement area; Lower Lusatia and the northeast area of Upper Lusatia are allocated to Prussia. This division forces the Sorbian population to become the minority in virtually all districts. In the years that follow, decrees and the work of German clergymen and teachers in Sorbian areas lead to the further withdrawal of the Sorbian language from public use.
End of the 19th century
The industrialisation of Lusatia leads to a noticeable economic upswing and significant immigration. After the German Empire is founded, a stricter anti-Sorbian approach is present in both Prussia and Saxony.
1999
When the interstate treaty comes into effect on 1st January, the Foundation for the Sorbian People becomes a legal entity. The Saxon State Government passes the “Law on the Rights of the Sorbs in the Free State of Saxon” on 20th January.
2004
The State of Brandenburg holds the first “Sprachenfreundliche Kommune – serbska rěc jo žywa” (Language-Friendly Community) competition. The Free State of Saxony becomes the co-organiser of the competition in 2005.
2014
The Brandenburg State Government amends the “Law on Settling the Rights of the Sorbs/Wends in the State of Brandenburg”. The Sorbian settlement area in both Brandenburg and Saxony is officially named and expanded.