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Cieszyn Silesia
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Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia (Polish: Śląsk Cieszyński [ˈɕlɔ̃sk tɕɛˈʂɨj̃skʲi] ⓘ; Czech: Těšínské Slezsko [ˈcɛʃiːnskɛː ˈslɛsko] ⓘ or Těšínsko [ˈcɛʃiːnsko] ⓘ; German: Teschener Schlesien or Olsagebiet) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic. It covers an area of about 2,280 square kilometres (880 sq mi) and has about 810,000 inhabitants, of which 1,002 square kilometres (387 sq mi) (44%) is in Poland, while 1,280 square kilometres (494 sq mi) (56%) is in the Czech Republic.
The historical boundaries of the region are roughly the same as those of the former independent Duchy of Cieszyn. Currently, over half of Cieszyn Silesia forms one of the euroregions, the Cieszyn Silesia Euroregion, with the rest of it belonging to Euroregion Beskydy.
From an administrative point of view, the Polish part of Cieszyn Silesia lies within the Silesian Voivodeship and comprises Cieszyn County, the western part of Bielsko County, and the western part of the town of Bielsko-Biała.
The Czech part lies within the Moravian-Silesian Region and comprises the Karviná District, the eastern part of the Frýdek-Místek District, and the eastern parts of the Ostrava-City District and of the city of Ostrava itself.
Cieszyn Silesia covers the area of the former Duchy of Teschen, which existed from 1290 to 1918. Before 1290 the area constituted a castellany, which together with Castellany of Racibórz formed the Duchy of Racibórz in 1172. From 1202 it was a part of the united Duchy of Opole and Racibórz. From 1290 to 1653 the Duchy of Cieszyn/Teschen was ruled by the local branch of the Piast dynasty. In 1327 Casimir I, Duke of Cieszyn, swore homage to the Bohemian king John of Bohemia, and the duchy became an autonomous fiefdom of the Kingdom of Bohemia and later the Bohemian Crown. Piast rule continued until 1653 and the death of the last Piast descendant, Elizabeth Lucretia, Duchess of Cieszyn, after which it lapsed directly to the Kings of Bohemia, at that time from the Habsburg dynasty. From 1722, the dukes of Teschen hailed from the Dukes of Lorraine dynasty, from 1767 to 1822 from the Wettin dynasty, and from 1822 to 1918 from the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty.
Cieszyn Silesia was cemented as a uniform historic, geopolitical, socio-cultural and economic entity during the period of Habsburg rule. It is distinct from the rest of Silesia because after the First Silesian War between the Habsburg Monarchy and Prussia it remained part of Austria, whereas most of Silesia became a part of Prussia.
After the end of World War I, both of the two newly created independent states of Poland and Czechoslovakia claimed the area. Czechoslovakia claimed the area partly on historic and ethnic grounds, but especially on economic and strategic grounds. The area was important for the Czechs, as the crucial railway line connecting Czech Silesia with Slovakia crossed the area (the Košice–Bohumín Railway, which was one of only two railroads that linked the Czech provinces to Slovakia at that time). The western area of Cieszyn Silesia is also very rich in coal. Many important coal mines, facilities and metallurgy factories are located there. The Polish side based its claim to the area on ethnic criteria: a majority of the area's population was Polish according to the last (1910) Austrian census.
Two local self-government councils, Polish and Czech, were created. Initially, both national councils claimed the whole of Cieszyn Silesia for themselves, the Polish Rada Narodowa Księstwa Cieszyńskiego in its declaration "Ludu śląski!" of 30 October 1918 and the Czech Národní výbor pro Slezsko in its declaration of 1 November 1918. On 31 October 1918, in the wake of World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, most of the area was taken over by local Polish authorities. The short-lived interim agreement of 2 November 1918 reflected the inability of the two national councils to come to final delimitation, and on 5 November 1918 the area was divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia by another interim agreement. In 1919 the councils were absorbed by the newly created and independent central governments in Prague and Warsaw.
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Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia (Polish: Śląsk Cieszyński [ˈɕlɔ̃sk tɕɛˈʂɨj̃skʲi] ⓘ; Czech: Těšínské Slezsko [ˈcɛʃiːnskɛː ˈslɛsko] ⓘ or Těšínsko [ˈcɛʃiːnsko] ⓘ; German: Teschener Schlesien or Olsagebiet) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic. It covers an area of about 2,280 square kilometres (880 sq mi) and has about 810,000 inhabitants, of which 1,002 square kilometres (387 sq mi) (44%) is in Poland, while 1,280 square kilometres (494 sq mi) (56%) is in the Czech Republic.
The historical boundaries of the region are roughly the same as those of the former independent Duchy of Cieszyn. Currently, over half of Cieszyn Silesia forms one of the euroregions, the Cieszyn Silesia Euroregion, with the rest of it belonging to Euroregion Beskydy.
From an administrative point of view, the Polish part of Cieszyn Silesia lies within the Silesian Voivodeship and comprises Cieszyn County, the western part of Bielsko County, and the western part of the town of Bielsko-Biała.
The Czech part lies within the Moravian-Silesian Region and comprises the Karviná District, the eastern part of the Frýdek-Místek District, and the eastern parts of the Ostrava-City District and of the city of Ostrava itself.
Cieszyn Silesia covers the area of the former Duchy of Teschen, which existed from 1290 to 1918. Before 1290 the area constituted a castellany, which together with Castellany of Racibórz formed the Duchy of Racibórz in 1172. From 1202 it was a part of the united Duchy of Opole and Racibórz. From 1290 to 1653 the Duchy of Cieszyn/Teschen was ruled by the local branch of the Piast dynasty. In 1327 Casimir I, Duke of Cieszyn, swore homage to the Bohemian king John of Bohemia, and the duchy became an autonomous fiefdom of the Kingdom of Bohemia and later the Bohemian Crown. Piast rule continued until 1653 and the death of the last Piast descendant, Elizabeth Lucretia, Duchess of Cieszyn, after which it lapsed directly to the Kings of Bohemia, at that time from the Habsburg dynasty. From 1722, the dukes of Teschen hailed from the Dukes of Lorraine dynasty, from 1767 to 1822 from the Wettin dynasty, and from 1822 to 1918 from the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty.
Cieszyn Silesia was cemented as a uniform historic, geopolitical, socio-cultural and economic entity during the period of Habsburg rule. It is distinct from the rest of Silesia because after the First Silesian War between the Habsburg Monarchy and Prussia it remained part of Austria, whereas most of Silesia became a part of Prussia.
After the end of World War I, both of the two newly created independent states of Poland and Czechoslovakia claimed the area. Czechoslovakia claimed the area partly on historic and ethnic grounds, but especially on economic and strategic grounds. The area was important for the Czechs, as the crucial railway line connecting Czech Silesia with Slovakia crossed the area (the Košice–Bohumín Railway, which was one of only two railroads that linked the Czech provinces to Slovakia at that time). The western area of Cieszyn Silesia is also very rich in coal. Many important coal mines, facilities and metallurgy factories are located there. The Polish side based its claim to the area on ethnic criteria: a majority of the area's population was Polish according to the last (1910) Austrian census.
Two local self-government councils, Polish and Czech, were created. Initially, both national councils claimed the whole of Cieszyn Silesia for themselves, the Polish Rada Narodowa Księstwa Cieszyńskiego in its declaration "Ludu śląski!" of 30 October 1918 and the Czech Národní výbor pro Slezsko in its declaration of 1 November 1918. On 31 October 1918, in the wake of World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, most of the area was taken over by local Polish authorities. The short-lived interim agreement of 2 November 1918 reflected the inability of the two national councils to come to final delimitation, and on 5 November 1918 the area was divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia by another interim agreement. In 1919 the councils were absorbed by the newly created and independent central governments in Prague and Warsaw.
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