Silesian Przesieka

Preseka ( German also Hag, Polish Przesieka Śląska, also Osek; Czech Preseka, also Hvozd; Latin Indago ) was a broad frontier forest belt, which served the defense of Old Slavonic tribal areas.

History

The investment of the designated " Preseka " border forest took place in the early days. First mentioned in a document he is in a report by the Heinrich Auer founding book dating from around 1270. There it is, the forest border had " all the land of Silesia " surrounded.

The border forest whose clearance was forbidden, was built by a Gebück of trees that their branches were scored in a man's height, and bent down and entangled with each other. Additionally grew between the trees a thorn bushes, so that penetration of the forest was hardly possible. The leading through the brush outwards mule tracks were closed in danger times through several gates. One of the few passes or mountain paths, on the border forest could be exceeded, was the Landeshuter Pass landscape. She used the Polish duke Bolesław III. Wrymouth in 1110 for a raid into Bohemia. For the maintenance and defense of the Verhaus Polish farmers were required. The obligation was also named Preseka.

After the Preseka had been cleared in some areas under the medieval Ostsiedlung from the outside, they gradually lost their importance. In the northeast Bohemian area was on the outside of the border forest colonization of vast areas by the Benedictine Politz. The contract for this project gave King Ottokar I in the early 13th century, with the donation of the Politzer parish to the monastery Břevnov. To avoid losses of territory therefore carried out by the Silesian Dukes a counter- colonization on the inner side of the border wall. On the settlement area thus gained a belt of forest hides villages, towns and castles was reinforced. The first counter- colonization led Duke Henry I. a 1225 in the area of ​​Naumburg am Queis. Through the marriage of his son Henry II with Otakar I Přemysls daughter Anna in 1217 is also improved political relations between Silesia and Bohemia.

For the 13th century, the Preseka for the following areas is documentary evidence of:

  • At Konstadt
  • East of the Neisse
  • In Kamenz in the area of the village Schonwalde ( Budzów )
  • South of Altreichenau and
  • West of Lowenberg

The system of border security also included the three trenches at Sagan. Other areas of the Wroclaw duchy were confirmed by flow limits.

Waldhufendorf Henry I the Bearded Henry II the Pious
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