West Lusatia
The term Westlausitz was coined in the 1950s for the Hoyerswerda , Kamenz and Bischofswerda districts (today in the north and west of the Bautzen district ) - essentially to make the Westlausitz Museum a center. In terms of cultural history, West Lusatia corresponds to western Upper Lusatia , including part of the Brandenburg district of Oberspreewald-Lausitz (east of Tettau and Ruhland ), between the Pulsnitz and Black Elster rivers .
The north of West Lusatia is characterized by the flat, undulating to almost flat heathland landscape of the Königsbrück-Ruhlander Heiden natural area , interrupted by ponds and smaller rivers that drain the once marshy terrain - in the west and south mainly via the Pulsnitz and its tributaries Haselbach and Otterbach , as well as in the North to the Black Elster . The Königsbrücker Heide in the northeast was used intensively as a military training area in the 20th century . Since then, it has been an extensive nature reserve , which, due to the fact that there are still ammunition remains, can only be entered outside the cleared paths if accompanied by a guide.
In the south, West Lusatia is hilly to mountainous with wooded peaks. The highest mountains, such as the Keulenberg , which can be seen from afar , are over 400 meters high and have the character of a low mountain range. Almost the entire West Lusatia is designated as a landscape protection area or nature reserve.
The name "West Lusatia" was transferred to an area that is now largely in the district of Meißen and only to a small extent in the historic Upper Lusatia for the natural area of the West Lusatian hills and mountains , bordering the south-west and extending to the Dresden Elbe valley .
Important cities and communities in West Lusatia are Hoyerswerda , Kamenz , Königsbrück , Ohorn , Großröhrsdorf , Pulsnitz , Schwepnitz , Bernsdorf , Ruhland , Oßling , Haselbachtal , Elstra and Bischofswerda .
The Museum of West Lusatia Kamenz offers extensive information on the geology, nature, history and society of this region.
literature
- Friedrich Bernhard Störzner : What the homeland tells . Arwed Strauch publishing house, Leipzig 1904.
- Olaf Bastian: West Lusatia: borders and natural spaces . In: Reports of the Natural Research Society of Upper Lusatia , Volume 14, 2007.
