Ralbitz-Rosenthal (
German) or Ralbicy-Róžant (
Upper Sorbian, ) is a municipality in the
district of Bautzen, in
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Rosenthal is a well known pilgrimage site, dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
and administered by the Order of
Cistercians
The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
.
The municipality belongs to
Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...
and is located in the central
settlement area of the Sorbs. It consists of following villages (names given in German/Upper Sorbian, followed by the number of inhabitants):
* Cunnewitz/Konjecy, 268 inh.
* Gränze/Hrajnca, 54 inh.
* Laske/Łask, 85 inh.
* Naußlitz/Nowoslicy, 121 inh.
* Neu-Schmerlitz/Nowa Smjerdźaca, 1 inh.
* Ralbitz/Ralbicy, 333 inh.
* Rosenthal/Róžant, 265 inh.
* Schmerlitz/Smjerdźaca, 182 inh.
* Schönau/Šunow, 308 inh.
* Zerna/Sernjany, 191 inh.
In 2001, 84.3 per cent of the population spoke
Upper Sorbian.
[Walde, Martin: ''Demographisch-statistische Betrachtungen im Gemeindeverband "Am Klosterwasser"'' in: Lětopis 51 (2004), Heft 1]
References
Populated places in Bautzen (district)
{{Bautzen-geo-stub