Sorbs feel closer to Lusatia than other residents

Sorbs feel closer to Lusatia than other residents

A current survey carried out as part of the “Lausitz Monitor” 2025 shows a clear trend: the Sorbian population has a significantly closer connection to their home region of Lausitz than the other residents. 83 percent of respondents with Sorbian origins feel strongly connected to Lusatia, while this figure is only 62 percent for the remaining respondents. The has this information Borken newspaper provided.

Interestingly, 58 percent of Sorbs regularly think about the future of Lusatia and are actively involved in shaping it. For comparison: For the other respondents it is only 36 and 12 percent respectively. The study refers to 1,028 online respondents who were surveyed between March and April 2023, focusing on the perspectives of the Sorbian population for the first time.

Identity and culture in transition

The study also sheds light on the cultural identity of the Sorbs, who make up over 14 percent of Lusatians. Special features of the regional identity are the high recognition of the Sorbian culture and the Sorbian language, which 83 percent of those surveyed recognize as an essential part of the identity. The language itself is actively spoken by only one percent of the participants, but almost half of those surveyed see the Sorbian greeting “Witaj” as typical for the region. Dawid Statnik, the chairman of Domowina, counts these results as a positive sign of the importance of Sorbian for the region.

Over a third of Sorbs rate how Lusatia has developed in the last five years as better or much better. In comparison, only a quarter of people without Sorbian origin see the situation as positively. This perception could be influenced, among other things, by the challenges of structural change and the efforts to preserve the Sorbian identity, such as bpb.de reported.

A look into the future

Lusatia has gone through numerous economic structural change processes in the past. These developments, which have been ongoing since the 19th century, include not only the modernization of agriculture, but also the emergence of new industries and the expansion of tourism. In view of these changes, the question of the further shaping and preservation of the Sorbian identity is of utmost importance.

The Foundation for the Sorbian People plays a central role in this. It was founded in 1991 to promote cultural infrastructure and preserve the Sorbian language. In addition, the foundation offers a platform on which events relating to Sorbian culture can be registered free of charge, whereby compliance with certain principles is checked. Details at: calendar.sorben.com.

In a constantly changing world in which cultural diversity and multilingualism are becoming increasingly important, Lusatia shows itself to be a region with potential. Through the message of Sorbian identity and the commitment of the population, it could serve as a model region for European minority policy and further expand its social, intercultural skills.