Silesia, known as Schlesien in German and Slask in Polish, is a region of Central Europe that is located in present-day Poland. The region was historically located in the Austrian Empire and Germany, with Silesia being conquered by Prussia during the Seven Years' War and being under German control until it was granted to Poland in 1945 at the end of World War II. Its traditional capital was Breslau, now the city of Wroclaw in Poland. In 1861, Silesia had a population of 616,260 people, with 67.8% being northern Germans, 29.8% Poles, and 2.5% Czechs (in Czech Silesia). 57.6% of the population was Protestant, while the remaining 41.8% adhered to Catholicism.
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Population in 1870