The district of Spree-Neiße is located in the southeast of the State of Brandenburg. Most of the Sorbs/Wends of Lower Lusatia live here and preserve their own traditions and language, which is why the district also has a Lower Sorbian name – Wokrejs Sprjewja-Nysa – and signs for place names are often bilingual. The landscape is characterised by multiple floodplains, lakes and forests. The Spree and Neiße rivers, which gave the district its name, provide habitats for rare species of plants and animals. One such habitat is the Biotopverbund Spreeaue, an area that is part of the EU-wide Natura 2000 network of nature reserves.