The Institute of History at the University in Zielona Gora systematically focuses on research on settlement changes and population development in the Western border region of contemporary Poland, which in the past was settled first by Slavic and later by German populations. This article provides information on the most important studies that represent sources of information on the history of settlement, ethnic structure, and demographic development in this region, dating back to the end of the 18th century, but emphasising more recent work, which mainly targets the Polish parts of Lusatia and Lubusz. and Z polštiny přeložil Eduard Maur.