The Sorbian Institute is a research institution with a focus on the language, history and culture of the Lusatian Sorbs/Wends, as well as on comparative minority studies. It combines research, documentation and outreach.
The Sorbian Institute / Serbski institut (SI), headquartered in Bautzen with two branches in Cottbus, conducts research on the language, history, and culture of the Sorbs/Wends in Upper and Lower Lusatia, both past and present. It collects and archives the necessary materials, prepares them for research, and makes them accessible to the public. In addition, the SI’s interdisciplinary research focuses on the current situation, the specific characteristics, and the comparison of small languages and cultures in Europe. Through their work, the staff members specifically contribute to the preservation and development of the Sorbian language and culture.
The SI’s research activities, which span a wide range of disciplines, are organized into two cross-campus departments—“Cultural Studies” and “Linguistics”—as well as the “Regional Development and Minority Protection” department, which was established in 2022 and is funded by external grants. Each department approaches its specific field of work from an interdisciplinary perspective and through diverse forms of cooperation. The SI collaborates with academic institutions both in Germany and abroad. The researchers hold teaching positions at universities and colleges, primarily in Saxony and Brandenburg.
The SI’s research activities, which span a wide range of disciplines, are organized into two cross-campus departments—“Cultural Studies” and “Linguistics”—as well as the “Regional Development and Minority Protection” department, which was established in 2022 and is funded by external grants. Each department approaches its specific field of work from an interdisciplinary perspective and through diverse forms of cooperation. The SI collaborates with academic institutions both in Germany and abroad. The researchers hold teaching positions at universities and colleges, primarily in Saxony and Brandenburg.
The institute comprises the Sorbian Central Library and the Sorbian Cultural Archive, both of which perform research and service functions. The library collects—much like a national library—all Sorbian-language publications and works on Sorbian studies, while the archive preserves and catalogs key documents on the development of Sorbian culture spanning nearly 500 years. With currently (2025) approximately 110,000 media items, around 685 linear meters of archival records, about 80,000 image documents, and over 2,200 audiovisual media, they constitute the largest specialized collections of Sorbian and Sorabist library and archival materials. Both collections are open to the public. In addition, a digitization center has been under construction at the SI since 2024.
The SI publishes several series. They appear both in print and online (now entirely in open access):
The SI publishes several series. They appear both in print and online (now entirely in open access):
- Publications of the Sorbian Institute / Spisy Serbskeho instituta
- Small Series of the Sorbian Institute / Mały rjad Serbskeho instituta
- Lětopis. Journal of Sorbian Studies and Comparative Minority Research
- Sorbian Studies Working Papers / Sorabistiske źěłowe papjery
In addition, the SI operates several online portals:
- sorabicon.de, a resource for historical and cultural studies
- niedersorbisch.de, a resource for the Lower Sorbian language
- obersorbisch.de, a resource for the Upper Sorbian language
- lausitz.hypotheses.org as an academic blog
The SI regularly organizes academic conferences and lecture series. Every two years, it hosts an international summer course on Sorbian language and culture.
With its focus on broad-based research in Sorbian studies and cultural studies, and the practical impact this has on promoting the Sorbian language and culture, the SI’s approach—firmly embedded in the German academic landscape—is unique in Germany. The Institute not only contributes to research in theory and methodology, but also supports volunteers in Sorbian associations as well as those active in politics, education, cultural institutions, and the media in their efforts to preserve and develop the Sorbian language and culture in Lusatia.
With its focus on broad-based research in Sorbian studies and cultural studies, and the practical impact this has on promoting the Sorbian language and culture, the SI’s approach—firmly embedded in the German academic landscape—is unique in Germany. The Institute not only contributes to research in theory and methodology, but also supports volunteers in Sorbian associations as well as those active in politics, education, cultural institutions, and the media in their efforts to preserve and develop the Sorbian language and culture in Lusatia.
History
The SI traces its origins to the Institute for Sorbian Ethnology (Institut für sorbische Volksforschung / Institut za serbski ludospyt), founded in Bautzen in 1951. Until the dissolution of the federal states in the GDR, it was under the jurisdiction of the Saxon Ministry of Education; from August 1, 1952, it was affiliated with the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin (renamed the Academy of Sciences of the GDR in 1972). Under its auspices, it developed into a recognized research institution with a total of 24 research staff members at its peak (1989). Following the dissolution of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR, the Institute for Sorbian Ethnology was transferred to the Sorbian Institute / Serbski institut on January 1, 1992, upon the recommendation of the Science Council—with a new legal form, new leadership, a revised departmental structure, and a newly established branch office in Cottbus, Brandenburg. Since 1993, the SI has been institutionally funded as a cross-state, non-university research institution by the Foundation for the Sorbian People / Załožba za serbski lud, which receives annual grants from the federal government, the Free State of Saxony, and the State of Brandenburg. With continuous research activity spanning more than seven decades, the SI is today one of the oldest institutions in the field of Sorbian studies and interdisciplinary minority research in Germany.