Český Těšín
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| Český Těšín Czeski Cieszyn |
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Czech Republic | ||
| Region | Moravian-Silesian | ||
| District | Karviná | ||
| First mentioned | 1155 | ||
| Town parts |
6
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| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Vít Slováček (KDU-ČSL) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 33.81 km² (13.1 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 270 m (886 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Total | 25,780 | ||
| - Density | 762.5/km² (1,974.9/sq mi) | ||
| Postal code | 737 01 | ||
| Website: http://www.info.tesin.cz/ | |||
Český Těšín ([ˈtʃɛskiː ˈcɛʃiːn] ; Polish: Czeski Cieszyn listen ) is a town in the Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. The town is commonly known in the region as just Těšín (Polish: Cieszyn).[1] It lies on the Olza River, in the heart of the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Until the 1920 division of the region between Poland and Czechoslovakia it was just a western suburb of the town of Teschen, which after the division fell to Poland as Cieszyn.
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[edit] History
Until 1918 the area was called Sachsenberg (local dialect: Sasko Kympa) meaning Saxon Hill and was a small western suburb of the town of Teschen (Polish: Cieszyn, Czech: Těšín) in the Duchy of Teschen, within Cieszyn Silesia of Austria-Hungary.
Following the fall of Austria-Hungary, local Polish and Czech local governments were established. Both of them claimed that the whole Cieszyn Silesia belongs to Czechoslovakia or Poland respectively. To calm down friction which developed, the local governments concluded an interim agreement on division of the area running along ethnic lines. The division line imposed by the interim agreement was seen as unacceptable by the central Czechoslovak government (mainly because the only railway connecting the Czech lands with eastern Slovakia was controlled by Poland and access to that railway was crucial for Czechoslovakia at that time). Despite of the division being interim only, Poland decided to organize polls to Sejm (Polish parliament) in the area. Czechoslovakia claimed that no sovereign rule is to be executed in the disputed area before final solution is found and requested that the polls are not held in the area. Czechoslovak request was rejected by Poland and Czechoslovakia attacked the Polish part of the region on 23 January 1919[2][3] and forced Poland, which was at that time in war also with the West Ukrainian National Republic, to withdraw from the bigger part of the area. After a ceasefire both sides agreed to hold a plebiscite, which never took place, as the atmosphere in the region remained heated and turned violent. The entire area was divided by decision of the Spa Conference from July 1920, thus in practice creating a Zaolzie area, leaving a sizable Polish minority on the Czech side and dividing the town of Cieszyn between the two states.
In 1938, following the Munich agreement condoning a Germany annexation of the Sudetenland as signed by the United Kingdom and France in accordance with their policy of appeasement, Poland coerced Czechoslovakia to surrender the city of Český Těšín, by issuing an ultimatum to that effect on 30 September, which was accepted by Czechoslovakia on the first of October. Following negotiations with Czech authorities, who were given an additional 24 hours to evacuate the area, Polish troops and authorities entered it on 2 October 1938, and the territory was annexed by Poland as Cieszyn Zachodni (West Cieszyn).[4] After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, the entire territory was annexed by Germany. During the World War II it was a part of Nazi Germany.[5] After the war, the 1920 borders were restored.
On 19 July 1970 during heavy floods five Polish firefighters from Cieszyn died when a bridge with them fell into the Olza River.[6]
[edit] Population
In 1849 the western part of Teschen was home to only 14.9% of town's total population, in 1880 24% and in 1910 33.4%.[7]
Teschen was known for its national and cultural diversity, comprising mostly of German, Polish, Jewish and Czech communities.[5]
There was also a small but lively Hungarian community in the town comprised mostly of officers and clerks.[7]
According to the Austrian census of 1910 Teschen had 22,489 inhabitants. Census asked people for their native language, 13,254 (61.5%) were German-speaking, 6,832 (31.7%) were Polish-speaking and 1,437 (6.7%) were Czech-speaking. Jews were not allowed to declare Hebrew or Yiddish, most of them thus declared the German language as their native. Most populous religious groups were Roman Catholics with 15,138 (67.3%), followed by Protestants with 5,174 (23%) and the Jews with 2,112 (9.4%).[8]
In 1938 there was a sizeable Jewish minority in the town, about 1,500 in Cieszyn and 1,300 in Český Těšín.[9] Nearly all of them were killed by Nazi Germany in concentration camps.[10] Most of the synagogues were destroyed. Today only one synagogue still stands in the town, used as a Polish cultural centre.[11] The Jewish cemetery in Český Těšín is abandoned (see the photos below). The sizeable German community fled or were deported to Germany after the war. There are no Jewish nor German communities in the town today.
[edit] The town today
Today the Poles comprise a minority in Český Těšín, as 16.1% of town's population,[12] although the number of people with Polish heritage is considerably higher, and the city retains a strong link with Polish culture. This number is decreasing because of continuing assimilation. Although a border town, there is no longer any real ethnic tension between Czechs and Poles. The town is an important cultural and educational center of the Polish minority in Zaolzie. Alongside several Czech primary schools and one gymnasium the town has both Polish primary school[13][14] and a gymnasium.[15] Těšín Theatre[16][17] has Polish and Czech ensembles. Plays are presented in both the Polish and Czech languages. It is the only professional Polish ensemble outside Poland. Some of the actors in Polish plays are from Poland. The town is a centre of the commerce and paper industry in the area.
[edit] People
- Ludvík Aškenazy - writer
- Henry Bardon - (1921 - 1990) scenic designer
- Jaromír Hanzlík - actor
- Norbert Heller - pianist
- Jaromír Nohavica - musician (lived many years here)
- Jiří Třanovský - Protestant scholar and poet
- Viktor Ullmann - musician
- František Vláčil - film director
[edit] Gallery
 Český Těšín |
 Divided city. Cieszyn (left), Olza (centre) |
 Polish primary school and gymnasium |
 Cemetery |
 Cemetery |
 Forgotten history. Fragment of fallen grave. Abandoned Jewish Cemetery in Český Těšín. |
 Fragment of abandoned Jewish Cemetery in Český Těšín. |
 Memorial dedicated to WWII resistance fighters |
 Railway station |
 Lutheran church |
 Winter in Český Těšín. |
 Winter in Český Těšín. Olza River as seen from its Czech bank. |
[edit] See also
- Svibice, in the past separate village, now one of the town's neighbourhoods
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Hosák et al 1980, 587.
- ^ Długajczyk 1993, 7.
- ^ Zahradnik 1992, 59.
- ^ Nowa Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN 1997, vol. VI, 981.
- ^ a b Wawreczka et al 1999, 13.
- ^ Cicha et al 2000, 20.
- ^ a b Wawreczka et al 1999, 10.
- ^ Ludwig Patryn (ed): Die Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1910 in Schlesien, Troppau 1912.
- ^ Spyra 1999.
- ^ Wawreczka et al 1999, 11.
- ^ Photo
- ^ Czech Statistical Office (2001 census)
- ^ Photo
- ^ Photo
- ^ Photo
- ^ Photo
- ^ Photo
[edit] References
- Cicha, Irena; Kazimierz Jaworski, Bronisław Ondraszek, Barbara Stalmach and Jan Stalmach (2000). Olza od pramene po ujście. Český Těšín: Region Silesia. ISBN 80-238-6081-X.
- Hosák, Ladislav; and Rudolf Šrámek (1980). Místní jména na Moravě a ve Slezsku II, M-Ž. Praha: Academia.
- Spyra, Janusz (1999). Zarys dziejów ludności żydowskiej w Cieszynie i okolicach, Żydowskie zabytki Cieszyna i Czeskiego Cieszyna.
- Wawreczka, Henryk; Janusz Spyra and Mariusz Makowski (1999). Těšín, Český Těšín na starých pohlednicích a fotografiích / Cieszyn, Czeski Cieszyn na starych widokówkach i fotografiach. Nebory, Třinec: Wart. ISBN 80-238-4804-6.
- Wawreczka, Henryk; Irena Adamczyk, Vlasta Byrtusová and Janusz Spyra (2001). Cieszyn wczoraj i dziś / Český Těšín včera a dnes. Český Těšín: Wart. ISBN 80-238-7590-6.
- Zahradnik, Stanisław; and Marek Ryczkowski (1992). Korzenie Zaolzia. Warszawa - Praga - Trzyniec: PAI-press.
- "Zaolzie". Nowa Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN VI. (1997). Warszawa: PWN. ISBN 83-01-11969-1.
[edit] External links
- Official municipal website (English)
- Official website (Czech)
- Documents and photographs about situation in Zaolzie in 1938 (Polish)
- History of Cieszyn during the World War II (Polish)
- History of Český Těšín (Polish)
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