Olza River
Encyclopedia
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 of Bohumín
. The Olza-Oder confluence also forms a border.
It is a symbol of the Zaolzie
(Polish: Trans-Olza River) region, which lies on its west bank, constituting a part of the western half of Cieszyn Silesia
. The unofficial anthem of this region and local Poles
, Płyniesz Olzo po dolinie (You flow Olza, down the valley), written by Jan Kubisz
, is centered around the river.
Olza inspired many other artists. Writers who wrote about the river include Adolf Fierla
, Pola Gojawiczyńska
, Emanuel Grim
, Julian Przyboś
, Vladislav Vančura
, Adam Wawrosz
. Singer Jaromír Nohavica
used the motive of Olza in several of his songs.
found out in 1900 that the name Olza is not Polish, nor Czech but has Old Slavic
origin. This revelation was confirmed by various etymological studies in the 20th century. The form Olza used on this territory is derived from the ancient Oldza. German Olsa is derived from Olza. Local people always used the Olza form, regardless of their national or ethnic origin. Even the Germanized form Olsa reads as Olza. However, central administration in Prague
saw Olza as a Polish name and when most of the river became a part of Czechoslovakia
in 1920 it tried to change its name to the Czech form of Olše. However, till the 1960s still some dualism in the naming existed which was eventually suppressed by the Central State Administration of Geodesy and Cartography. Since then, the only official form in the Czech Republic is Olše, however locals from both sides of the border, from both nationalities, still call it Olza.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in 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 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 right tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Oder River. It flows from the Silesian Beskids
Silesian Beskids
Silesian Beskids is one of the Beskids mountain ranges in Outer Western Carpathians in southern Silesian Voivodeship, Poland and the eastern Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic.Most of the range lies in Poland...
through southern 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...
in 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 Frýdek-Místek
Frýdek-Místek District
Frýdek-Místek District is a district within the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative center is the city of Frýdek-Místek. It was created by 1960 reform of administrative divisions...
and Karviná
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...
districts 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....
, often forming the border with Poland. It flows into the Oder River north of Bohumín
Bohumín
Bohumín is a town in Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic on the border with Poland. The confluence of the Oder and Olza Rivers is situated just north of the town. The town lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia....
. The Olza-Oder confluence also forms a border.
It is a symbol of the 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...
(Polish: Trans-Olza River) region, which lies on its west bank, constituting a part of the western half 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...
. The unofficial anthem of this region and local Poles
Polish minority in the Czech Republic
The Polish minority in the Czech Republic is a Polish national minority living mainly in the Zaolzie region of western Cieszyn Silesia. The Polish community is the only national minority in the Czech Republic that is linked to a specific geographical area. Zaolzie is located in the north-eastern...
, Płyniesz Olzo po dolinie (You flow Olza, down the valley), written by Jan Kubisz
Jan Kubisz
Jan Kubisz was a Polish educator and poet from the region of Cieszyn Silesia. His poem Płyniesz Olzo po dolinie , centered around the Olza River, became unofficial anthem of Cieszyn Silesia, especially Poles in Zaolzie.-Biography:Jan Kubisz was born 24 January 1848 in Końska, Austrian Empire...
, is centered around the river.
Olza inspired many other artists. Writers who wrote about the river include Adolf Fierla
Adolf Fierla
Adolf Fierla was a Polish writer and poet from the region of Cieszyn Silesia.He was born 16 January 1908 in Orlová to a coal miner's family and graduated from the local Juliusz Słowacki Polish Gymnasium. Fierla later studied Polish studies at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and Slavic...
, Pola Gojawiczyńska
Pola Gojawiczyńska
Pola Gojawiczyńska, real name Apolonia Gojawiczyńska, née Koźniewska was a Polish writer.-Early life:...
, Emanuel Grim
Emanuel Grim
Emanuel Grim was a Polish Catholic priest, writer and journalist from the region of Cieszyn Silesia. He was one of the most important figures of the Polish-Catholic political camp in Cieszyn Silesia in the interwar period.He was born in the coal mining town of Karviná to a coal miner's family...
, Julian Przyboś
Julian Przybos
Julian Przyboś was a Polish poet, essayist and translator, one of the most important poets of Kraków Avantgarde....
, Vladislav Vančura
Vladislav Vancura
Vladislav Vančura was one of the most important Bohemian writers of the 20th century...
, Adam Wawrosz
Adam Wawrosz
Adam Wawrosz was a Polish poet, writer, and activist from the Zaolzie region of Cieszyn Silesia. He is considered the most important writer of the folk literature of Cieszyn Silesia....
. Singer Jaromír Nohavica
Jaromír Nohavica
Jaromír 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...
used the motive of Olza in several of his songs.
Name
The first historical mention dates back to 1290, when the river is mentioned as Olza. The river was then mentioned in a written document in 1611 as Oldza. At the end of the 19th century, together with the rise of mass nationalism both Polish and Czech activists claimed the name Olza is too little Polish and Czech, respectively. Some Polish activists proposed the name Olsza, Czech activists Olše. Czech linguist and writer Vincenc PrasekVincenc Prasek
Vincenc Prasek was a Czech educator, linguist and historian active in the region of Silesia...
found out in 1900 that the name Olza is not Polish, nor Czech but has Old Slavic
Proto-Slavic language
Proto-Slavic is the proto-language from which Slavic languages later emerged. It was spoken before the seventh century AD. As with most other proto-languages, no attested writings have been found; the language has been reconstructed by applying the comparative method to all the attested Slavic...
origin. This revelation was confirmed by various etymological studies in the 20th century. The form Olza used on this territory is derived from the ancient Oldza. German Olsa is derived from Olza. Local people always used the Olza form, regardless of their national or ethnic origin. Even the Germanized form Olsa reads as Olza. However, central administration in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
saw Olza as a Polish name and when most of the river became a part of 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...
in 1920 it tried to change its name to the Czech form of Olše. However, till the 1960s still some dualism in the naming existed which was eventually suppressed by the Central State Administration of Geodesy and Cartography. Since then, the only official form in the Czech Republic is Olše, however locals from both sides of the border, from both nationalities, still call it Olza.
Towns and villages on the river
(from source to the mouth)- IstebnaIstebnais a large village and the seat of Gmina Istebna, Cieszyn County in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. The village is situated in the Silesian Beskids mountain range, near to the borders with the Czech Republic and Slovakia, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia...
(PL) - BukovecBukovec (Frýdek-Místek District)is a village in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has 1,356 inhabitants , 33.6% of the population are the Poles and 87.3% are Roman Catholics. It is the easternmost village of the country and the first village in the Czech Republic through which the Olza...
- PísekPísek (Frýdek-Místek District)is a village in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has 1,783 inhabitants , 21% of the population are the Poles. It lies in the Silesian Beskids mountain range, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Olza River flows through the village.Piosek was...
- JablunkovJablunkovJablunkov is a town in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has a population of 5,750 , 23% of the population are Poles. Jablunkov lies between the Silesian and Moravian-Silesian Beskids mountain ranges, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia, and is the...
- NávsíNávsíis a village in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has a population of 3,765 ; 24% of the population are Poles....
- HrádekHrádek (Frýdek-Místek District)is a village in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic, on the Olza River. It has a population of 1,756 , 42.8% of whom are Poles, the highest percentage of all municipalities in the country...
- BystřiceBystrice (Frýdek-Místek District)is a large village in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. It has a population of 5,173 , Poles are 29.7% of the population. It lies between the Silesian and Moravian-Silesian Beskids mountain ranges, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia...
- VendryněVendryneis a village in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic, on the banks of the Olza River. It has a population of 3,842 , 35.3% of the population are Poles. The village lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia....
- LyžbiceLyžbiceis a part of the town of Třinec in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic, on the Olza River. It was a separate municipality but later became administratively a part of the town of Třinec...
- TřinecTrinecTřinec is a town in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It lies on the Olza River, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. The town has 37,405 inhabitants as of 2009, in 2001 17.7% of the population were Poles...
- KonskáKonská (Trinec)is a village in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic, on the Olza River. It was a separate municipality but later became administratively a part of the town of Třinec. It has a population of 1,598...
- RopiceRopiceis a village in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. It has a population of 1,417 , 28.9% of the population are the Poles. Ropičanka River flows into the Olza River in the village. It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia.The village was first mentioned in a...
- Český TěšínCeský TešínČeský Těšín 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...
/ CieszynCieszynCieszyn 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....
(PL)
- ChotěbuzChotebuzis a village in Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It lies on the border with Poland, on the left bank of the Olza River, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia...
- PogwizdówPogwizdów, Silesian VoivodeshipPogwizdów is a village in Gmina Hażlach, Cieszyn County in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the border with the Czech Republic. It lies on the Olza River, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. It has a population of 3,539 ....
(PL) - Louky nad Olší
- KaczyceKaczyce, Silesian Voivodeshipis a village in Gmina Zebrzydowice, Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the border with the Czech Republic. It has a population of 3,008 . It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia, on the Olza River....
(PL) - DarkovDarkovis a village in Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic, now administratively a part of the city of Karviná. Till 1948 it was a separate municipality. It lies on the Olza River, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia...
- FryštátFryštátis a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic, now administratively a part of the city of Karviná. Until 1948 it was a separate town. It lies on the Olza River, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia....
- KarvináKarvináKarviná is a city in Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic, on the Olza River. It is administrative center of Karviná District. Karviná lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia and is one of the most important coal mining centers in the Czech Republic. Together with neighboring...
- DětmaroviceDetmaroviceis a village in the Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic, on the Olza River. It lies near the border with Poland, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Near the right bank of the Olza lies a complex of 15 ponds....
- ZávadaZávada (Petrovice u Karviné)is a village in Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. It was a separate municipality but became administratively a part of Petrovice u Karviné in 1952....
- GodówGodów, Silesian VoivodeshipGodów is a village and the seat of Gmina Godów, Wodzisław County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It lies near the border with the Czech Republic...
(PL) - VěřňoviceVernoviceis a village in Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. It was a separate municipality but became administratively a part of Dolní Lutyně in 1975. It lies on the border with Poland, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia....
- Kopytov
- OlzaOlza, Silesian Voivodeshipis a village in Gmina Gorzyce, Wodzisław County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. It has a population of 1,694. The village lies on the Olza River, on the border with the Czech Republic. It is the last settlement located on the Olza River before its confluence with the Odra River.- External links :...
(PL)