For your first games, we recommend using the side of the town tiles that has the number on a white background. For later games, you can try the yellow side.
Either the white sides or the yellow sides produce a balanced selection of resources. By combining white and yellow sides in the same game, you can create economies with different amounts of resources. However, this is not recommended for your first games.
Lusatia
A land on the present-day borders of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. In Antiquity it was inhabited by Germanic tribes and later by Slavs (the Sorbs). Its Slavic heritage is still celebrated today.
Lusatia can be divided into Upper Lusatia - near the Czech border - and Lower Lusatia. From 1368 to 1635, both Lusatias were held by the Czech (Bohemian) crown. In 1635 they were granted as a fief to the Saxon Prince-Elector.
League of Six
A confederation of six towns in Upper Lusatia - Gorlitz, Bautzen, Lobau, Kamenz, Lauban, and Zittau - founded in 1346 to protect the towns from thieving knights errant.
In the 14th century, thief catchers were very active in the region because it lay along the trade route between Leipzig and Krakow. Throughout its existence, the League of Six was one of the major powers in Lusatia.
During the Hussite wars, the region remained Catholic and stood against the Hussites. Until 1429, the League of Six helped organize campaigns against the Hussites in Bohemia. Beginning in 1429, the League became the target of attacks by the Hussite military, which lay siege several times to individual towns, and in some cases took them.
The influence of the League of Six declined once the League and other towns under the Czech crown lost privileges and property as punishment for insufficient support of Ferdinand I during the Schmalkaldic Wars in 1547. The League disbanded in 1815 when most of Lusatia was incorporated into Prussia.
Bautzen
The historical center of Upper Lusatia, located on the Spree River. The earliest written mention of the town dates back to 1002.
During the time of the League of Six, Bautzen was the leader of the League's activity.
The old town can still be seen today, notable for its numerous towers.
Kamenz
The western-most town in the League of Six, located in Upper Lusatia.
Kamenz was built on the site of a castle constructed at the end of the 12th century to guard a trade route.
The current appearance of Kamenz was influenced by a great fire in the old town in 1707.
Zittau
A town located in the southeast part of Upper Lusatia. The name comes from the Slavic word for rye. The earliest mention of Zittau is from the year 1238.
The town was part of the Czech kingdom until 1635. During the Thirty Years' War, it became an important center for Czech Protestants, who had to flee after the battle of Bílý Hora.
The face of the town was drastically changed during the Seven Years' war when Austrian units started a fire that destroyed all the houses.
Gorlitz
The eastern-most town in present-day Germany, located in Upper Lusatia on the Neisse (Nysa) River. It was built on an important cross-roads of trade routes. The first mention of the town comes from the year 1071.
After World War II, Gorlitz was divided into a western part in East Germany and an eastern part in Poland. The town escaped the war nearly unscathed, and so it boasts a historical center with numerous examples of medieval, renaissance, and baroque architecture.
Lobau
A town in the center of Upper Lusatia. The town was founded as part of a colonization effort by the Czech king Premysl Otakar I.
The first written mention of Lobau comes from the year 1221.
The town has suffered much throughout its history, including damage by several fires, the Hussite Wars, and the Thirty Years' War.
Lauban
The eastern-most town of the League of Six, located in Upper Lusatia.
The town was founded around 1220 and chartered before 1250. During the Hussite Wars it was taken twice.
In later years, the town was damaged by fires and devastated in the time of the Napoleonic Wars. It lies in present- day Poland.
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