Download Raport_na CD.qxd

cities with district rights and 169 communities were
established within its area.
The province is inhabited by 2.879 million people
with the density of 145 people per 1 square kilometre
which constitutes 8.2% of the Polish population in
total. 70.9% of the population live in towns and cities.
The province of Lower Silesia is recognisable with
its diverse landscape and varied physical composition
of the terrain. It results from the fact that several
geographical regions – varying one from another – are
located at its area: Œl¹sko-£u¿ycka Lowlands (in the
northern west), Œrodkowopolska Lowlands (in the
northern east), West Sudety Foothills, Sudety
Highlands and Sudety in the south.
Location of the province in the geologically old range
of mountains causes that various rocks and natural
resources can be found within the region such as:
The province of Lower Silesia is a melting pot of
various cultures, traditions, and customs, the region
with thousand years of history. At the map of Poland
the location of the province of Lower Silesia is
exceptional – at the intersection of three borders:
Poland, Czech Republic and Germany. The advantages
of such location are numerous, among others, fair
chances for direct access to the market – nationwide
and abroad or relatively large concentration of foreign
investments. Additionally, by establishment of euro
regions numerous cross-border operations are
stimulated. Consequently, the province of Lower Silesia
is one of the most dynamically developing regions in
Poland.
The province of Lower Silesia covering 19 848 km2
is the 7th province in Poland in terms of the area (it
covers 6.4% of the Polish territory). 26 districts and 3
Figure 1.1 The administrative division of the province of Lower Silesia
G³ogów
Góra
Milicz
Polkowice
Lubin
Wo³ów
Trzebnica
Boles³awiec
Zgorzelec
Legnica
Lubañ
Lwówek Œl.
Oleœnica
Œroda Œl.
Z³otoryja
Wroc³aw
Jawor
O³awa
Œwidnica
Jelenia Góra
Wa³brzych
Kamienna Góra
Dzier¿oniów
Strzelin
Z¹bkowice Œl.
K³odzko
INFORMATION ABOUT THE REGION
1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE REGION
Photo 1.1. Œnie¿ka (photo by Marek Potocki)
is the one of the warmest areas in Poland. In the Sudety
mountains, depending on the altitude, the climate is
significantly harsher.
Communication network of the province of Lower
Silesia is quite well developed. Road density (92.2 km
per 100 km2) is significantly higher than the national
average. It is similar in the rail network; its density is
equal to 9.3 km per 100 km2 (in Poland 6.6 km). The A4
highway is the main transit route being also the part of
the European passageway connecting Germany with
Ukraine. Wroc³aw is the important railway junction,
which has connections with international routes
towards Warsaw and further to Moscow, Berlin,
Dresden and Prague. Its international airport plays a
significant role and its importance increases in the
course of time. Water communication along the Odra
river has recently lost its importance but there are plans
to restore its magnitude as one of the least expensive
means of transport. The Odra river constitutes the
element of the European transport passage.
Mining industry plays a significant role in the
structure of the economy of the province of Lower
Silesia. Mining of copper and silver ore in the Legnica
-G³ogów Mining Area, lignite in the Worek Turoszowski,
various kinds of road and building stones, fire-resistant
clay (from the Rusko-Jaroszów beds) as well as ground
gas are its primary resources.
The province of Lower Silesia holds the first place in
Poland in terms of both the volume of resources and
the mining process of road and building stones (50%
of all the Polish resources). In the Strzegom-Sobótka
massif there are the largest documented beds of
granite.
Recently, the development of investments has taken
place in the province of Lower Silesia. The largest
financial means were invested into the following
sectors: banking, insurance, motorisation, food
production, industrial machinery production,
electronic, chemical, nonferrous metals, fuel stations,
supermarkets and hypermarkets, hotels and
restaurants.
All these geographical, climatic and socio
-economical conditions affect the quality of the natural
environment and mark the direction of its changes.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE REGION
copper ore, coal (lignite, anthracite), nonferrous metals,
gas, high-value mineral resources. In some of the
regions the mineral springs can be found.
Almost the whole area of the province is located in
the river basin of Odra which runs through its central
part. The main inflows of Odra in the province of Lower
Silesia are: Nysa K³odzka, O³awa, Bystrzyca, Kaczawa,
Barycz, Bóbr, Nysa £u¿ycka. Left inflows, apart from
Œlêza and O³awa, behave like mountain rivers, which
lead to periodical, rapid water rises. On the other hand,
right inflows are very calm lowland rivers.
The province is poor in water reservoirs. Apart from
several natural lakes there are few artificial ones built,
among others, as the countermeasure against floods
(for example the S³up Reservoir at the Nysa river, or the
Reservoir near Pilchowice at the Bóbr river) and
numerous fish ponds (the majority of them are located
near Milicz).
The landscape of the province of Lower Silesia is
greatly diverse. Riches of spatial forms go along with
exceptionally valuable vegetations and rare animal
species. In Sudety there are endemic species and relic
species typical to the north of Europe.
The climate of the province of Lower Silesia is
characterised by its significant changeability and
irregularity of the course of meteorological parameters
resulted from varied topography of the area. The
northern part of the region is located at the crossing of
two climates which are characteristic to the mild zone:
oceanic and continental and the south is affected by
mountainous climate. The lowland part of the province