Editing Lusatia (section)

==Demographics==

===Sorbs===
[[File:Sorben.jpeg|thumb|The bilingual part of Lusatia, where the Sorbs make more than 10% of the population]]
[[File:Stacja barsc luzyce.JPG|thumb|Bilingual station of [[Forst (Lausitz)]]]]
More than 80,000 of the [[Sorbs|Sorbian]] [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] minority continue to live in the region. Historically, their ancestors are West-Slavic-speaking tribes such as the [[Milceni]], who settled in the region between the [[Elbe]] and the [[Saale]]. Many still speak their language (though numbers are dwindling and especially [[Lower Sorbian language|Lower Sorbian]] is considered endangered), and road signs are usually [[bilingual]]. However, the number of all the inhabitants of this part of eastern Saxony is declining rapidly – by 20% in the last 10 to 15 years.{{when|date=March 2018}} Sorbs make efforts to protect their traditional culture manifested in the traditional folk costumes and the style of village houses. The coal industry in the region (like the [[Schwarze Pumpe power station]] needing vast areas of land) destroyed dozens of Lusatian villages in the past and threatens some of them even now. The Sorbian language is taught at many primary and some secondary schools and at two universities (Leipzig and Prague). Project "Witaj" ("welcome!") is a project of eight preschools where Sorbian is currently the main language for a few hundred Lusatian children.

There is a daily newspaper in the Sorbian language (''Serbske Nowiny''); a Sorbian radio station (Serbski Rozhłós) uses local frequencies of two otherwise German-speaking radio stations for several hours a day. There are very limited programmes on television (once a month) in Sorbian on two regional television stations ([[Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg|RBB]] and [[Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk|MDR]] TV).

In 2020, despite the loss of the Sorbian language in most of Lusatia, there are some Sorbian traditions and habits that still live on to this day. In February, many people (mostly people from villages, regardless of German or Sorbian ancestry) will still engage in the Sorbian tradition of ''[[:de:Zampern|Zampern]]'' (a festive procession)''.'' Some Sorbian dishes like boiled potatoes with linseed oil and curd (German: ''Quark mit Leineöl'')<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.saxony.in/en/exotic_traditions/index.php?id=2|title = The world of the Sorbs – Saxony – Germany's finest travel destination}}</ref> are still prevalent and, today, are eaten in other parts of Germany (like Berlin or western Saxony) too. ''Spreewälder Gurken'' (pickled cucumbers potted by using a special mixture of herbs and spices) are often associated with the Sorbs even though the cucumbers themselves were introduced by Dutch migrants, who started to pickle them for higher durability. Soon Sorbs adopted the pickling and might have changed the recipes slightly over time.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/die-erstaunliche-karriere-der-spreewaldgurke-14121188.html|title = Spreewaldgurken: Knack. Schnurps. Knack.|newspaper = Faz.net|last1 = Reimann|first1 = Marieke}}</ref>

The traditional Sorbian costumes are still to be worn in the Spreewald region even though mainly in the tourism industry. Recently, some women started to revive traditional clothes by using them as wedding dresses, even though this practise differs from original traditions.

===Demographics in 1900===
Percentage of [[Sorbs]]:
*[[Cottbus]] (Chóśebuz) ([[Province of Brandenburg]]) 55.8%
*[[Hoyerswerda]] (Wojerecy) ([[Province of Silesia]]) 37.8%
*[[Bautzen]] (Budyšin) ([[Kingdom of Saxony]]) 17.7%
*[[Rothenburg, Oberlausitz]] (Rózbork) (Province of Silesia) 17.2%
*[[Kamenz]] (Kamjenc) (Kingdom of Saxony) 7.1%
Total number: 93,032<ref>All figures from the 1900 census.</ref>

The percentage of [[Sorbs|Serbs (Sorbs)]] in Lusatia has decreased since the 1900 census due to intermarriage, [[germanization]], cultural assimilation related to industrialization and urbanization, Nazi suppression and discrimination, [[ethnocide]] and the settlement of expelled Germans after World War II, mainly from Lower Silesia and northern Bohemia.

=== Largest cities ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! class="unsortable"| !! City (German or Polish) !! Sorbian !! Population (2023) !! class="unsortable" | Country !! Part of Lusatia
|-
| align="right" | 1. || [[Cottbus]] || Chóśebuz || align="right" | 100.010	 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Niederlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 2. || [[Görlitz]] || ''Zhorjelc'' || align="right" | 56.694 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Oberlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 3. || [[Bautzen]] || Budyšin || align="right" | 38.039 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Oberlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 4. || [[Żary]] || Žarow || align="right" | 35.198 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Poland}} || [[File:Flagge Niederlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 5. || [[Hoyerswerda]] || Wojerecy || align="right" | 31.404 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Oberlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 6. || [[Zgorzelec]] || Zhorjelc || align="right" | 29.313 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Poland}} || [[File:Flagge Oberlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 7. || [[Zittau]] || ''Žitawa'' || align="right" | 24.710 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Oberlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 8. || [[Eisenhüttenstadt]] || ''Pśibrjog'' || align="right" | 24.447 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Niederlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 9. || [[Senftenberg]] || Zły Komorow || align="right" | 23.282 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Niederlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 10. || [[Spremberg]] || Grodk || align="right" | 21.497 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Niederlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 11. || [[Lubań]] || Lubań Šlešćina || align="right" | 19.756 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Poland}} || [[File:Flagge Oberlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 12. || [[Forst (Lausitz)|Forst]] || Baršć (Łužyca) || align="right" | 17.721 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Niederlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 13. || [[Kamenz]] || Kamjenc || align="right" | 16.861 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Oberlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 14. || [[Bogatynia]] || Bogatynja || align="right" | 16.245 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Poland}} || [[File:Flagge Oberlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 15. || [[Guben]] || ''Gubin'' || align="right" | 16.210 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Niederlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 16. || [[Gubin, Poland|Gubin]] || Gubin || align="right" | 15.798 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Poland}} || [[File:Flagge Niederlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 17. || [[Finsterwalde]] || ''Grabin'' || align="right" | 15.864 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Niederlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 18. || [[Lübbenau/Spreewald]] || Lubnjow/Błota || align="right" | 15.774 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Niederlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 19. || [[Weißwasser/O.L.]] || Běła Woda || align="right" | 14.992 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Oberlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|-
| align="right" | 20. || [[Löbau]] || ''Lubij'' || align="right" | 14.389 || align="right" | {{flagicon|Germany}} || [[File:Flagge Oberlausitz.svg|25px|center]]
|}