Lost past Lusatia: The ignored history of the Sorbian castle walls

Sorbian castle walls in Lusatia are not nice decorations in the landscape, but vulnerable centers of power of an early medieval society that are quietly decaying today. Anyone who lets them expire accepts that a whole chapter of regional history and Sorbian identity disappears into the field, in the forest path or under the bulldozer.

Old power centers, cleared away

These ring walls were formed as Sorbian groups organized their villages around fortified central towns, with a lord of the castle, a warrior class and several associated settlements. They were a place of refuge, the administrative center and symbol of political order and thus the backbone of a Slavic dominion between the Elbe, Spree and Neisse. Instead of these plants as rareTreating material witnesses of these structures of domination, many of them are now treated like any waves of terrain that can be plowed, leveled or furrowed with forest machines. The respect for the historical function of these places is practically no longer recognizable in everyday land use.

Acker, Forest, Erosion – The Slow Destruction

In Lower and Upper Lusatia, there are probably only a few dozen to just over a hundred verifiable castle walls, and this estimate alone shows how much has long since disappeared. Year after year, agricultural use with heavy technology eats into the ramparts, embankments are removed, and lanes intersect deep into the structure. It hardly sees in the forestsBetter off: back lanes, afforestation and road construction cut through archaeological substance as if the ground were empty. Each of these interventions layer by layer destroys the archaeological information that would allow conclusions to be drawn about construction phases, use and social hierarchies.

Archeology in tiny savings mode

While millions of prestigious major projects and marketing campaigns in the region flow, the systematic research of the castle walls is on the edge of narrow budgets and thinly occupied specialist institutions. Comprehensive prospects, modern surveys or larger excavations remain the exception because there is a lack of money, personnel and political priority. So many stayPlants only superficially recorded: a point on the map, a rough dating, hardly any scientific analysis, hardly any networked research. Meanwhile, under erosion and use, exactly those findings that could provide answers to questions about social order, Christianization or contacts with neighboring regions disappear.

Invisible: Public and Education

In most communities, castle walls appear, if at all, in the side notes of a folder or on small signs. They are not anchored in local schools as a natural place to learn, nor are they enforced as central stations in museums and visitor programs. Instead of offering a clear narrative – here were Sorbian power centers, here about taxes,Justice and Defense decided – the Sorbian story behind general phrases about “Slavic settlers” or neutral regional folklore disappears. The result is a collective look away: what is not explained, signposted and offensively conveyed, practically does not exist in the consciousness of the population.

Paper protection without teeth

Of course, monument protection laws and formal protection lists exist, and on paper many ramparts enjoy a special status. In practice, this status too often only means: An entry in a database, maybe a reference in a planning document, but no active maintenance, no regular checks, no consistently enforced conditions. When interventions take placethey are often justified with “superordinate interests”, and the Burgwall has lost a bit again without there being any noticeable consequences. Protection that crumbles in every collision with short-term economic interests is de facto not protection, but a fig leaf.

Sorbian identity on energy saving mode

These castle walls are not only archaeological objects, but also hubs of a long Sorbian history that still shapes Lusatia today. When they fall, the Sorbian community loses visible places where history, language and narratives are anchored in space. Instead of using them as an opportunity for self-confident presentation of Sorbian history, they are hardly inCultural programs, tourist routes or regional strategies involved. This creates the impression that the Sorbian past is an accessory that you have to mention nicely, but do not have to protect and promote.

What should happen long ago

Anyone who is serious should act immediately: comprehensive inventory of the castle walls, clear lists of priorities, consistent blocking of destructive uses and targeted care programs, not financed with residual funds, but with fixed budgets. This includes more specialist departments, long-term research projects and reliable cooperation between archeology, monument protection, communitiesand Sorbian institutions. At the same time, castle walls would have to be visible and naturally integrated into lessons, museums, guided tours and digital offers, with a clear message: Without these places, the history of the Lusatia and the Sorbs cannot be understood. As long as all this is not done, every wall that is decaying remains a silent accusation – against a region thatknows early medieval roots but allows them to disappear into the ground.