Figure 1.1 is the7 1. INFORMATION ABOUTTHEREGION covers 6.4% of the Polish territory). 26districtsand3 covers 6.4%ofthePolishterritory). . is oneofthemostdynamicallydevelopingregionsin stimulated. Consequently, theprovinceofLowerSilesia regions numerouscross-borderoperationsare investments. Additionally, byestablishmentofeuro and abroadorrelativelylargeconcentrationofforeign chances fordirectaccesstothemarket–nationwide of suchlocationarenumerous,amongothers,fair Poland, CzechRepublicandGermany. Theadvantages exceptional –attheintersectionofthreeborders: the locationofprovinceLowerSilesiais with thousandyearsofhistory. AtthemapofPoland various cultures,traditions,andcustoms,theregion The provinceofLowerSilesiacovering19848km The provinceofLowerSilesiaisameltingpot th Zgorzelec province inPolandtermsofthearea(it The administrativedivisionoftheprovinceLowerSilesia Lubañ wwkŒl. Lwówek Boles³awiec eei Góra Jelenia ainaGóra Kamienna Z³otoryja Polkowice G³ogów Wa³brzych Jawor 2 Lubin resources canbefoundwithintheregionsuchas: of mountainscausesthatvariousrocksandnatural Highlands andSudetyinthesouth. northern east),West SudetyFoothills, northern west),ŒrodkowopolskaLowlands(inthe located atitsarea:Œl¹sko-£u¿yckaLowlands(inthe onefromanother–are geographical regions–varying of theterrain.Itresultsfromfactthatseveral its diverselandscapeandvariedphysicalcomposition total. 70.9%ofthepopulationliveintownsandcities. which constitutes8.2%ofthePolishpopulationin with thedensityof145peopleper1squarekilometre established withinitsarea. cities withdistrictrightsand169communitieswere Œwidnica Location oftheprovinceingeologicallyoldrange The provinceofLowerSilesiaisrecognisablewith The provinceisinhabitedby2.879millionpeople K³odzko Góra Dzier¿oniów rd Œl. Œroda Wo³ów ¹kwc Œl. Z¹bkowice Wroc³aw Trzebnica Strzelin O³awa Oleœnica

INFORMATION ABOUT THE REGION mountainous climate.Thelowlandpartoftheprovince oceanic andcontinentalthesouthisaffectedby two climateswhicharecharacteristictothemildzone: northern partoftheregionislocatedatcrossing resulted fromvariedtopographyofthearea.The irregularity ofthecoursemeteorologicalparameters characterised byitssignificantchangeabilityand species typicaltothenorthofEurope. species. InSudetythereareendemicspeciesandrelic exceptionally valuablevegetationsandrareanimal greatly diverse.Richesofspatialformsgoalongwith near Milicz). numerous fishponds(themajorityofthemarelocated nearPilchowiceattheBóbrriver)and Reservoir attheNysariver,(for exampletheS³upReservoir orthe among others,asthecountermeasureagainstfloods several naturallakestherearefewartificialonesbuilt, calmlowlandrivers. right inflowsarevery lead toperiodical,rapidwaterrises.Ontheotherhand, Œlêza andO³awa,behavelikemountainrivers,which Bóbr,, Nysa£u¿ycka.Leftinflows,apartfrom , are:NysaK³odzka,O³awa,, part. ThemaininflowsofOdraintheprovinceLower the riverbasinofOdrawhichrunsthroughitscentral regions themineralspringscanbefound. gas, high-valuemineralresources. Insomeofthe copper ore,coal(lignite,anthracite),nonferrousmetals, Photo 1.1. The climateoftheprovinceLowerSilesiais The landscapeoftheprovinceLowerSilesiais Apartfrom The provinceispoorinwaterreservoirs. Almost thewholeareaofprovinceislocatedin Œnie¿ka (photo byMarekPotocki) per 100km Silesia isquitewelldeveloped.Roaddensity(92.2km significantly harsher. mountains, dependingonthealtitude,climateis is theoneofwarmestareasinPoland.InSudety element oftheEuropeantransportpassage. means oftransport.TheOdrariverconstitutesthe to restoreitsmagnitudeasoneoftheleastexpensive river hasrecentlylostitsimportancebutthereareplans course oftime.Water communicationalongtheOdra significant roleanditsimportanceincreasesinthe Dresden andPrague.Itsinternationalairportplaysa towards Warsaw andfurthertoMoscow, Berlin, which hasconnectionswithinternationalroutes Ukraine. Wroc³awistheimportantrailwayjunction, the EuropeanpassagewayconnectingGermanywith highway isthemaintransitroutebeingalsopartof equal to9.3kmper100 average. Itissimilarintherailnetwork;itsdensity environment andmarkthedirectionofitschanges. -economical conditionsaffectthequalityofnatural restaurants. supermarkets andhypermarkets,hotels electronic, chemical,nonferrousmetals,fuelstations, production, production, industrialmachinery sectors: banking,insurance,motorisation,food financial meanswereinvestedintothefollowing place intheprovinceofLowerSilesia.Thelargest granite. massif therearethelargestdocumentedbedsof of allthePolishresources). IntheStrzegom-Sobótka the miningprocessofroadandbuildingstones(50% Poland intermsofboththevolumeresources and resources.gas areitsprimary clay (fromtheRusko-Jaroszówbeds)aswellground various kindsofroadandbuildingstones,fire-resistant -G³ogów MiningArea,ligniteintheWorek Turoszowski, Silesia. MiningofcopperandsilveroreintheLegnica structure oftheeconomyprovinceLower Communication networkoftheprovinceLower All thesegeographical,climaticandsocio Recently, thedevelopmentofinvestmentshastaken The provinceofLowerSilesiaholdsthefirstplacein playsasignificantroleinthe Mining industry 2 ) issignificantlyhigherthanthenational 2 (in Poland6.6km).TheA4

INFORMATION ABOUT THE REGION