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Cieszyn

Coordinates:49°44′54.37″N18°37′59.56″E/ 49.7484361°N 18.6332111°E/49.7484361; 18.6332111
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other places with the same name, seeCieszyn (disambiguation).
Cieszyn
Cieszyn market square in November 2016
Cieszyn market square in November 2016
Flag of Cieszyn
Flag
Coat of arms of Cieszyn
Coat of arms
Official logo of Cieszyn
Brandmark
Motto(s):
Amore et non dolore
(Latinfor 'by love and not by pain')
Cieszyn is located in Silesian Voivodeship
Cieszyn
Cieszyn
Location of Cieszyn in Poland
Cieszyn is located in Poland
Cieszyn
Cieszyn
Cieszyn (Poland)
Coordinates:49°44′54.37″N18°37′59.56″E/ 49.7484361°N 18.6332111°E/49.7484361; 18.6332111
CountryPoland
VoivodeshipSilesian
CountyCieszyn
First mentioned1155
Government
•MayorGabriela Staszkiewicz
Area
• Total28.69 km2(11.08 sq mi)
Elevation
310 m (1,020 ft)
Population
(31 December 2021[1])
• Total33,500
• Density1,200/km2(3,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+2(CEST)
Postal code
43-400
Area code+48 33
Highways
Voivodeship roads
Websitehttp:// cieszyn.pl/

Cieszyn(/ˈtʃɛʃɪn/CHESH-in,Polish:[ˈt͡ɕɛʂɨn]ⓘ;Czech:Těšín[ˈcɛʃiːn]ⓘ;German:Teschen;Latin:Tessin;Silesian:Ćeszyn) is a border town in southernPolandon the east bank of theOlza River,and the administrative seat ofCieszyn County,Silesian Voivodeship.The town has 33,500 inhabitants (as of December 2021),[1]and lies oppositeČeský Těšínin theCzech Republic.Both towns belong to the historical region ofCieszyn Silesia,and formerly constituted the capital of theDuchy of Cieszynas a single town.

Geography[edit]

Panorama of Cieszyn

The town is situated on theOlzariver, a tributary of theOderRiver, which forms the border with theCzech Republic.It is located within the westernSilesian Foothillsnorth of theSilesian Beskidsand Mt.Czantoria Wielka,a popularski resort.Cieszyn is the heart of the historical region ofCieszyn Silesia,the southeasternmost part ofUpper Silesia.Until the end ofWorld War Iin 1918 it was a seat of theDukes of Cieszyn.

In 1920 Cieszyn Silesia was divided between the two newly created states ofPolandandCzechoslovakia,with the smaller western suburbs of Cieszyn becoming part of Czechoslovakia as a new town calledČeský Těšín.The larger part of the town joined Poland as Cieszyn.[2]Three bridges connect thetwin towns.After Poland and the Czech Republic joined theEuropean Unionand its passport-freeSchengen zone,border controls were abolished and residents of both the Polish and Czech part could move freely across the border. The combined population of Polish and Czech parts of the city is 61,201 inhabitants.[citation needed]Cieszyn is the southern terminus of the PolishNational road 1leading toGdańskon theBalticcoast.

The town combines both Polish andOld–Austrianpeculiarities in the style of its buildings. Because of several major fires and subsequent reconstructions (the last one in the late 18th century), the picturesque old town is sometimes calledLittle Vienna.[citation needed]The only relic of the ancient castle is a square tower, dating from the 14th century and 11th centuryromanesquechapel.[citation needed]

History[edit]

Main article:History of Cieszyn
Copper engraving byMatthäus Merianfromc. 1640depicting the town

The area has been populated byWest Slavicpeoples since at least the 7th century. According to legend, in 810 three sons of a prince – Bolko, Leszko and Cieszko, met here after a long pilgrimage, found a spring, and decided to found a new settlement. They called it Cieszyn, from the wordscieszym się( "We're happy" ). This well can be found atulica Trzech Braci( "Three Brothers Street" ), just west of the town square.[3][4]

TheDistrict Court of Cieszynbuilt in 1905, an ideal example of the town's long prosperous history and its impact on architecture

The area became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century. The town was the capital of theDuchy of Cieszyn,established during the fragmentation of Poland into smaller duchies, since 1290, which was ruled byPiast dynastyuntil 1653 and by theHabsburg Dynastyof Austria until 1918. It was in Teschen thatMaria TheresaandFrederick IIon in May 1779 signed theTeschen Peace Treaty,which put an end to theWar of the Bavarian Succession.In the 19th century Teschen was known for its ethnic, religious and cultural diversity, containing mostly German, Polish, Jewish and Czech communities.[5]There was also a small Vlach community[6]and aHungariancommunity in the town consisting mostly of officers and clerks.[7]

The town was divided in July 1920, by theSpa Conference,a body formed by theVersailles Treaty,leaving a Polish minority on the Czechoslovak side. Its smaller western suburbs became what is now the town ofČeský Těšínin theCzech Republic.During the interwar period two villages were merged into Cieszyn:Błogocicein 1923 andBobrekin 1932. After 1920 many ethnic Germans left the town, while many Poles from the Czechoslovakian part of the region moved in. According to the Polish census of 1921, Cieszyn had 15,268 inhabitants, of whom 9,241 (60.5%) were Poles, 4,777 (31.2%) were Germans, 1014 (6.6%) were Jews, and 195 (1.3%) were Czechs. The census from 1931 indicated 14,707 inhabitants, of whom 12,145 (82.7%) were Poles, while the rest consisted mostly of Germans and Jews (in 1937 estimated to be 12 and 8% respectively).[8]

Cieszyn and Český Těšín were merged again in October 1938 when Poland annexed theTrans-Olzaarea together with Český Těšín. Following the joint German-Sovietinvasion of Poland,which startedWorld War IIin September 1939, Cieszyn wasoccupied by Germanyuntil 1945. In 1939–1940, the Germans carried out mass arrests of local Poles during the genocidalIntelligenzaktioncampaign, and then imprisoned them in a newly established Nazi prison in the town.[9]Many Polish teachers, school principals, priests and activists were deported toconcentration campsand murdered there.[10]The Nazi prison had twoforced laboursubcamps in the town, and two more in nearbyKarvináandKonská.[11]The Germans also established a camp for children up to the age of 2-3, where they were beaten, tortured and subjected tomedical experiments.[12]Almost the entire Jewish community was murdered by the Nazis.

After World War II, the border between Poland and Czechoslovakia was restored to that of 1920. Most Germansfled or were expelledin accordance with thePotsdam Agreementand were replaced with Poles expelled from thePolish areas annexed by the Soviet Union.Signs of the former German presence in the town were removed by a special committee.[13]

On 19 July 1970, five firefighters from Cieszyn died when a bridge they were on fell into the Olza River, due to heavy flooding. In 1977,Boguszowice,Gułdowy,Kalembice,Krasna,Mnisztwo,Pastwiskawere amalgamated with Cieszyn andMarklowice.

Culture[edit]

Adam Mickiewicz Theatre in Cieszyn

Since the 18th century Cieszyn Silesia has been an important centre of PolishProtestantismwhen theJesus Churchwas built as the only one inUpper Silesia.Currently, Cieszyn is also the site of the Cieszyn Summer Film Festival, one of the most influentialfilm festivalsin Poland. There is also an earlier established Czech-Polish-Slovak film festival.

Industry[edit]

Cieszyn is an important centre of the electromechanical industry. It is also the site of theOlza Cieszynsweets factory (where the famousPrince Polowafersare made) and theBrackie Browar,whereŻywiec Porteris brewed. The main source of income for many citizens is trade with the nearbyCzech Republicand retail trade associated with transit across the two bridges over theOlzato Český Těšín. In the past, the city was home to many furniture factories.[14]

Sites of interest[edit]

Przykopa Street, which maintained its 18th and 19th-century appearance
Głęboka Street, one of the main promenades in Cieszyn

Notable people[edit]

See also:Category:People from Cieszyn

Twin towns – sister cities[edit]

See also:List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Cieszyn istwinnedwith:[15]

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Local Data Bank".Statistics Poland.Retrieved2022-07-27.Data for territorial unit 2403011.
  2. ^Edmund Jan Osmańczyk, Anthony Mango (2003).Encyclopedia of the United Nations and international agreements - Volume 1 A-F(2003 ed.).Taylor & Francis.p. 382.ISBN0-415-93921-6.
  3. ^"Cieszyn - Tourism | Tourist Information - Cieszyn, Poland".Staypoland.Retrieved2013-07-16.
  4. ^The legend is inscribed on theWell of the Three Brothers[permanent dead link]in Cieszyn.
  5. ^Wawreczka et al. 1999, 13.
  6. ^Václav Davídek, “Osidlení Tešinska Valahy”, Praha, 1940
  7. ^Wawreczka et al. 1999, 10.
  8. ^Dzieje Cieszyna..., 2010, t. III, p. 323
  9. ^Wardzyńska, Maria (2009).Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion(in Polish). Warszawa:IPN.p. 139.
  10. ^Wardzyńska, pp. 137–141
  11. ^"Strafgefängnis und Stammlager Teschen".Bundesarchiv.de(in German).Retrieved16 October2023.
  12. ^Kostkiewicz, Janina (2020). "Niemiecka polityka eksterminacji i germanizacji polskich dzieci w czasie II wojny światowej". In Kostkiewicz, Janina (ed.).Zbrodnia bez kary... Eksterminacja i cierpienie polskich dzieci pod okupacją niemiecką (1939–1945)(in Polish). Kraków:Uniwersytet Jagielloński,Biblioteka Jagiellońska.p. 58.
  13. ^Dzieje Cieszyna..., 2010, t. III, p. 439–440
  14. ^"Teschen".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 26 (11th ed.). 1911.
  15. ^"Miasta partnerskie".cieszyn.pl(in Polish). Cieszyn.Retrieved2020-03-12.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Media related toCieszynat Wikimedia Commons

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