Silesia (Pol., Ślask; German, Schlesien; Czech Slezsko), historic region of central Europe, mostly in what is now south-west Poland, comprising the provinces of Opolskie, Śląskie, Dolnośląskie, and part of Lubuskie. Silesia also included sections of the present-day Severomoravský (North Moravia) region of the Czech Republic and of the states of Brandenburg and Saxony in eastern Germany. In the Middle Ages, Silesia was settled by a mixed German and Polish population. It became part of the kingdom of Poland in the 11th century and was acquired by Bohemia in the 14th century. The region was ruled by the Austrian Habsburgs from 1526 to 1742, when most of it was annexed by Prussia. In the 19th century it became a centre for the textile and coal-mining industries. After World War II, almost all of Prussian Silesia reverted to Poland, and the German population was expelled. The region bears testimony to its rich political and cultural past; in 2001, Lutheran churches in Jawor and Świdnica, the largest timber-framed religious buildings in Europe, constructed in the 17th century following the Peace of Westphalia, were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.