Ceský Tešín
Encyclopedia
Český Těšín (ˈtʃɛskiː ˈcɛʃiːn; ) 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 . It lies on the west bank of 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.
: 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, Czech and Polish
local governments were established. Both of them claimed that the whole of Cieszyn Silesia
belonged to Czechoslovakia
or Poland respectively. To calm down the 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 crucial railway connecting the Czech lands with eastern Slovakia was controlled by Poland, and access to that railway was vital for Czechoslovakia at that time. Despite the division being only interim, Poland decided to organize the elections to Sejm
(Polish parliament) in the area. Czechoslovakia claimed that no sovereign rule should be executed in the disputed area before a final solution was found, and requested that the polls not be held in the area. The Czechoslovak request was rejected by Poland and Czechoslovakia attacked the Polish part of the region on 23 January 1919 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 the 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
allowing the German 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 1 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).
After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, the entire territory was annexed by Germany. During World War II it was a part of Nazi Germany
. After the war, the 1920 borders were restored.
Teschen was known for its national and cultural diversity, consisting mostly of German, Polish, Jewish and Czech communities.
There was also a small but lively Hungarian community in the town, mostly officers and administrative workers.
According to the Austrian
census of 1910, Teschen had 22,489 inhabitants, 21,550 of whom had permanent residence there. The census asked people for their native language, 13,254 (61.5%) were German-speaking, 6,832 (31.7%) were Polish-speaking and 1,437 (6.6%) were Czech-speaking. Jews were not allowed to declare Yiddish
, most of them thus declared the German language as their native tongue. The 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%).
In 1938, there was a sizeable Jewish minority in the town, about 1,500 in Cieszyn and 1,300 in Český Těšín. Nearly all of them were killed by Nazi Germany in concentration camps
. Most of the synagogues were destroyed. Today, the only synagogue still stands in the town, used as a Polish cultural centre. The Jewish cemetery in Český Těšín is abandoned. The sizeable German community fled, or were expelled
, to Germany after the war. There are no Jewish or German communities in the town today.
. Although a border town, there is no longer any real ethnic tension between Czechs and Poles. Alongside several Czech primary schools and one gymnasium
the town has both a Polish primary school and a gymnasium. Těšín Theatre
has Czech and Polish ensembles, where plays are presented in both the Czech
and Polish language
s. Together with ensembles in Vilna and Lvov it is one of the few theatres outside Poland which has a professional Polish ensemble. The town is a centre of commerce, including the paper industry.
, 356 (2.4%) Jehovah's Witnesses
and 1,709 (11.5%) others, mainly Lutherans
.
The oldest sacral building in the town is the Empire style chapel from 1848, located near the cemetery. The Neo-Gothic Catholic Heart of Jesus
Church was built in 1894 by Viennese
architect Ludwig Satzky. After the division of the town of Teschen in 1920, there were no Lutheran churches in Český Těšín. In 1927 the local German population built a Lutheran church in the town, and in 1932 the second Lutheran church was built. The church of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren was constructed in 1929. There is also a Kingdom Hall
of Jehovah's Witnesses
, prayer house of the Apostolic Church and several other prayer houses in the town.
There were four synagogues or Jewish prayer houses in Český Těšín before World War II. The oldest one had existed since the beginning of the 20th century. It was run by the Schomre Schabos (Guardians of Shabbat
) society. In 1928-1929 the society built a new synagogue on Breitegasse Street. It is to date the only synagogue in the town which still stands. Nazis did not destroy it due to its proximity to other residential buildings. In 1967 the building was bought by the Polish Cultural and Educational Union
(PZKO). The Maschike Hatora (Upholding the Law) Orthodox
society built its own prayer house on the Felix Dahn
Street shortly after the Schomre Schabos synagogue began operating. In 1931-1933 a prayer house was built on the Friedrich Schiller
Street but was burned down when Nazis entered the town on 1 September 1939.
Karviná District
Karviná District is a district within the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative center is the city of Karviná. It was created by 1960 reform of administrative divisions in the area of former Fryštát District...
, Moravian-Silesian Region
Moravian-Silesian Region
Moravian-Silesian Region , or Moravo-Silesian Region, is one of 14 administrative Regions of the Czech Republic, until May 2001 it was formerly called the Ostrava Region . The region is located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Moravia and in most of the Czech part of the...
of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. The town is commonly known in the region as just Těšín . It lies on the west bank of the Olza River
Olza River
is a river in Poland and the Czech Republic, the right tributary of the Oder River. It flows from the Silesian Beskids through southern Cieszyn Silesia in Poland and Frýdek-Místek and Karviná districts of the Czech Republic, often forming the border with Poland. It flows into the Oder River north...
, in the heart of the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around 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...
. Until the 1920 division of the region between Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
it was just a western suburb of the town of Teschen
Cieszyn
Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín....
, which after the division fell to Poland as Cieszyn.
History
Until 1918 the area was called Sachsenberg (local dialectCieszyn Silesian dialect
Cieszyn Silesian dialect is one of the Silesian dialects. It has its roots mainly in Polish and has also strong Czech and German influences and even Vlachs' and Slovak. It is spoken in Cieszyn Silesia, a region on both sides of the Polish-Czech border. It lacks some official codification and...
: Sasko Kympa) meaning Saxon Hill and was a small western suburb of the town of Teschen
Teschen
Teschen is the German name of a town on the Olza River divided in 1920 into the towns of Cieszyn, Poland and Český Těšín, Czech Republic....
(Polish: Cieszyn, Czech: Těšín) in the Duchy of Teschen, within Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around 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...
of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
.
Following the fall of Austria-Hungary, Czech and Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
local governments were established. Both of them claimed that the whole of Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around 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...
belonged to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
or Poland respectively. To calm down the 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 crucial railway connecting the Czech lands with eastern Slovakia was controlled by Poland, and access to that railway was vital for Czechoslovakia at that time. Despite the division being only interim, Poland decided to organize the elections to Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
(Polish parliament) in the area. Czechoslovakia claimed that no sovereign rule should be executed in the disputed area before a final solution was found, and requested that the polls not be held in the area. The Czechoslovak request was rejected by Poland and Czechoslovakia attacked the Polish part of the region on 23 January 1919 and forced Poland, which was at that time in war also with the West Ukrainian National Republic
West Ukrainian National Republic
The West Ukrainian People's Republic was a short-lived republic that existed in late 1918 and early 1919 in eastern Galicia, that claimed parts of Bukovina and Carpathian Ruthenia and included the cities of Lviv , Przemyśl , Kolomyia , and Stanislaviv...
, 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 the decision of the Spa Conference
Spa Conference
The Spa Conference was a meeting between the Supreme War Council and Weimar Republic in Spa, Belgium on 5–16 July 1920. It was the first post-war conference to include German representatives. The attendees included British and French Prime Ministers Lloyd George and Alexandre Millerand, German...
from July 1920, thus in practice creating a Zaolzie
Zaolzie
Zaolzie is the Polish name for an area now in the Czech Republic which was disputed between interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia. The name means "lands beyond the Olza River"; it is also called Śląsk zaolziański, meaning "trans-Olza Silesia". Equivalent terms in other languages include Zaolší in...
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
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
allowing the German annexation of the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
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 1 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).
After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, the entire territory was annexed by Germany. During World War II it was a part of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. After the war, the 1920 borders were restored.
Population
In 1849, the western part of Teschen was home to only 14.9% of the town's total population: in 1880 24% and in 1910 33.4%.Teschen was known for its national and cultural diversity, consisting mostly of German, Polish, Jewish and Czech communities.
There was also a small but lively Hungarian community in the town, mostly officers and administrative workers.
According to the Austrian
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
census of 1910, Teschen had 22,489 inhabitants, 21,550 of whom had permanent residence there. The census asked people for their native language, 13,254 (61.5%) were German-speaking, 6,832 (31.7%) were Polish-speaking and 1,437 (6.6%) were Czech-speaking. Jews were not allowed to declare Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
, most of them thus declared the German language as their native tongue. The 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%).
In 1938, there was a sizeable Jewish minority in the town, about 1,500 in Cieszyn and 1,300 in Český Těšín. Nearly all of them were killed by Nazi Germany in concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
. Most of the synagogues were destroyed. Today, the only synagogue still stands in the town, used as a Polish cultural centre. The Jewish cemetery in Český Těšín is abandoned. The sizeable German community fled, or were expelled
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
, to Germany after the war. There are no Jewish or German communities in the town today.
The town today
Today the Poles comprise a minority in Český Těšín, as 16.1% of the town's population, although the number of people with Polish heritage is considerably higher. The town is an important cultural and educational center of the Polish minority in Zaolzie. The number of Poles is however decreasing as a result of continuing assimilationCultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
. Although a border town, there is no longer any real ethnic tension between Czechs and Poles. Alongside several Czech primary schools and one gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
the town has both a Polish primary school and a gymnasium. Těšín Theatre
Tešín Theatre
Těšín Theatre is a theatre in the town of Český Těšín , Czech Republic.It is unique, because comprises two ensembles, Czech and Polish, plays are presented in both the Czech and Polish languages. The Polish ensemble serves the Polish minority in the Czech Republic...
has Czech and Polish ensembles, where plays are presented in both the Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
and Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
s. Together with ensembles in Vilna and Lvov it is one of the few theatres outside Poland which has a professional Polish ensemble. The town is a centre of commerce, including the paper industry.
Places of worship
The diversity of the town is not only ethnic, but also religious. Many Christian denominations are present in the town. In the past a large Jewish community lived there. According to the 2001 census there are 14,860 believers in the town (56.2% of the population), out of whom 8,916 (60%) are Roman Catholics, 737 (5%) Czech BrethrenEvangelical Church of Czech Brethren
The Protestant Church of Czech Brethren , was formed in 1918 in Czechoslovakia through the unification of the Protestant churches of the Lutheran and Reformed confessions...
, 356 (2.4%) Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
and 1,709 (11.5%) others, mainly Lutherans
Silesian Evangelical Church of Augsburg Confession
The Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession ) is the biggest Lutheran Church in the Czech Republic. Its congregations are located mainly in the Czech part of Cieszyn Silesia. A significant number of the followers belong to the Polish ethnic minority. There is strong heritage of...
.
The oldest sacral building in the town is the Empire style chapel from 1848, located near the cemetery. The Neo-Gothic Catholic Heart of Jesus
Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....
Church was built in 1894 by Viennese
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
architect Ludwig Satzky. After the division of the town of Teschen in 1920, there were no Lutheran churches in Český Těšín. In 1927 the local German population built a Lutheran church in the town, and in 1932 the second Lutheran church was built. The church of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren was constructed in 1929. There is also a Kingdom Hall
Kingdom Hall
A Kingdom Hall is a place of worship used by Jehovah's Witnesses. The term was first suggested in 1935 by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Society, for a building in Hawaii...
of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, prayer house of the Apostolic Church and several other prayer houses in the town.
There were four synagogues or Jewish prayer houses in Český Těšín before World War II. The oldest one had existed since the beginning of the 20th century. It was run by the Schomre Schabos (Guardians of Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
) society. In 1928-1929 the society built a new synagogue on Breitegasse Street. It is to date the only synagogue in the town which still stands. Nazis did not destroy it due to its proximity to other residential buildings. In 1967 the building was bought by the Polish Cultural and Educational Union
Polish Cultural and Educational Union
Polski Związek Kulturalno-Oświatowy is a Polish organization in the Czech Republic. It represents the Polish minority in the Czech Republic together with the Congress of Poles...
(PZKO). The Maschike Hatora (Upholding the Law) Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
society built its own prayer house on the Felix Dahn
Felix Dahn
Felix Ludwig Julius Dahn was a German lawyer, author and historian.-Biography:Julius Sophus Felix Dahn was born in Hamburg as the oldest son of Friedrich and Constanze Dahn who were notable actors at the city's theatre. The family had both German and French roots...
Street shortly after the Schomre Schabos synagogue began operating. In 1931-1933 a prayer house was built on the Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
Street but was burned down when Nazis entered the town on 1 September 1939.
People
- Ludvík AškenazyLudvík AškenazyLudvík Aškenazy was a Czech writer and journalist. He was born into a Jewish family in Sachsenberg, part of Český Těšín.He studied Slavonic philology in Lviv, which then was a part of Poland....
(1921–1986), a Czech Jewish writer - Henry Bardon (1921–1990), a scenic designer
- Terry Haass (born 1923), French painter
- Jaromír Hanzlík (born 1948), a Czech actor
- Norbert Heller, a pianist
- Dieter Massin (born 1940), sport functionary
- Jaromír NohavicaJaromír NohavicaJaromír Nohavica or Jarek Nohavica is a Czech songwriter, lyricist, and poet.He was born in Ostrava and has played guitar since he was 13. He began studying at the Technical University of Ostrava but eventually left the school. He tried various jobs and eventually ended up working as a freelance...
(born 1953), a Czech musician (lived many years here) - Prokop Siostrzonek
- Jiří TřanovskýJirí TranovskýJiří Třanovský , was a hymnwriter from the Cieszyn Silesia. He was sometimes called the father of Slovak hymnody and the "Luther of the Slavs." His name is sometimes anglicized to George.Třanovský was born in Teschen, and studied at Guben and Kolberg...
(1592–1637), a 17th century Protestant scholar and poet - Bogdan Trojak
- Viktor UllmannViktor UllmannViktor Ullmann was a Silesia-born Austrian, later Czech composer, conductor and pianist of Jewish origin.- Biography :...
(1898–1944), a Jewish musician - František VláčilFrantišek VlácilFrantišek Vláčil was a Czech film director, painter, and graphic artist.Between 1945 and 1950, he studied esthetics and art history at Masaryk University in Brno. Later he worked in various groups and ateliers , but his main area became played film...
(1924–1999), a Czech film director