SILESIA, si-le'shi-a (Ger. Schlesien). The largest of the provinces of Prussia. It occupies the southeastern end of the kingdom, and is hounded by the provinces of Posen and Branden burg on the north. Itussian-Poland and Galicia On the east, Austrian Silesia and Bohemia on the south and southwest, and Saxony on the west (Slap: Prussia, (l 3). Area, 15.568 square miles. The whole southwestern part is very mountain ous. It is traversed by chains of the Sudetic Mountains, the Riesengebirge, and a few other ranges. Its highest summits are the Schnee koppe (5260 feet) and the Grosser Sehneeberg (4665 feet). The extensive coal hearing high lands lie east and west of the Oder, and rise in the Hoehwald, west of the river, to nearly 2790 feet. Silesia is drained chiefly by the Ocler and its numerous tributaries. The Vistula takes in a small part in the north. The Klodnitz Canal is the chief artificial waterway of the province. There are many mineral springs.
The climate is moderate and healthful in the lower parts, hut somewhat raw in the moun tainous regions. Silesia is still preeminently an agricultural country. About 55 per cent. of the total area is arable land, of which about two-thirds is divided into small holdings, while the remainder is made up of large estates. The fertile land is found chiefly between the Oder and the southwestern mountain chains; most. of the land east of the river is unfit for agricul ture. Silesia stands next to Saxony among the grain-producing provinces of Prussia. The chief cereals are rye, oats, wheat, and barley. Pota toes, different kinds of forage plants, beets, and hay are also raised extensively. The forests are very extensive, and cattle-raising is an impor tant branch of agriculture.
Silesia contains the richest coal deposits of Germany, and its coal mines give occupation to over 93,000 persons in 1900. The output of
coal for the same year was nearly 30.000.000 tons, or nearly 0.3 of the total output of Prussia. The zinc deposits of Silesia. found in the plateau of Farnowitz, are among the richest in the world, and yielded an output of over 000 tons in 1900. Iron and lead are also im portant mineral products. The District of Op peln is the centre of the iron industry, which has reached a high degree of development. The other manufacturing industries not connected with mining are also extensive, and the indus trial progress is shown by the fact that the population engaged in industrial pursuits out side of agriculture increased from 1,409,698 in 1882 to 1,742,187 in 1895, while the agricul tural population for the same period show's a decrease from 1,790,934 to 1,628,105. The tex tile industry ranks next in importance to min ing and allied industries, employing nearly 100. people. In weaving and tlax-spinning Si lesia ranks first among the Prussian provinces. The extensive cloth, woolen, and yarn manu factures are centred in the districts of Breslau and Liegnitz. Other important products are china and other earthen and stone wares, and glassware, beet sugar, spirits, woodenware, ap parel, etc. The chief centre of industrial as well as commercial activity is Breslau.
Silesia is divided into the three administra tive districts of Breslau, Liegnitz, and Oppeln, with Breslau as the capital. To the Prussian Landtag Silesia sends 65 Deputies to the Lower House and 55 members to the Upper. To the Reichstag the province returns 35 members. Population, in 1900, 4.668,857, including about 1,000,000 people of Slavic extraction. mostly Poles. About 54 per cent. are Roman Catholics.