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Bautzen ( , until 1868: Budissin; Sorbian-Lusatian Budyšin, PolishPolish polski jezyk polski is the official language of Poland. History Polish has been influenced by contact with foreign languages (foremost Latin, Czech, French, German, Italian, Russian and recently it has been virtually bombarded by English, especiall: ) is a city in the east of Saxony, GermanyThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east, and capital of the same-named district. It is located on the SpreeBerlin at the eastern harbour (Osthafen) with the 'Badeschiff' bath The Spree ( Slavic preva is a river in Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin, Germany. It is a tributary of the Havel river and 403 km in length. The source is located in the Lusatian Hills Laus River. Population 42.391 (2003).

Bautzen may be regarded as the unofficial capital of Upper LusatiaLusatia ( German Lausitz Sorbian Luzica Polish Luzyce Czech and Serbian Luzice , sometimes called Sorbia comprises a region in the southern parts of Brandenburg and eastern parts of Saxony, Germany. Part of the region has been ceded to Poland in 1945., and it is a cultural center of the SorbsSorbian national flag The Sorbs (also Lusatians or Lusatia Serbs) are a relatively small west Slavic people, living as a minority in the region known as Lusatia in the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg (in former GDR territory). They belong to the s, a SlavicThe Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. They speak Slavic languages and reside chiefly in the east of that continent, but are also found in Asia east to the Pacific Ocean. Ethno-cultural subdivisions One c minority.

The first written proof of the city was in 1002. In 1018 the Peace of Bautzen was signed between the German king Henry II and the Polish prince Boleslaus I. The Treaty left Bautzen under the Polish rule. In 1033 the city passed to the Holy Roman Empire, in 1319 to Bohemia and in 1635 to Saxony. During the Middle Ages it was a member of the Six Cities' Alliance of the Upper Lusatian cities of Görlitz, Zittau, Löbau, Kamenz , Lauban and Bautzen.

During the Nazi era there was a subcamp of the Groß-Rosen concentration camp in Bautzen. Ernst Thälmann was imprisoned there before being deported to Buchenwald.

The East German regime kept a prison for opposition members in Bautzen. The prison was called Gelbes Elend ("Yellow Misery") by the people.

In 2002 the city commemorated its thousandth birthday.