Janek Demelovy Johan Lange * 1825, † , 1892

       He was the son of the district advocate. He completed the gymnasium in Cieszyn in 1842, went to study law at the University of Vienna, then started working as a lawyer at his father’s law practice in Cieszyn in 1847. After the outbreak of the Springtime of Nations he became actively involved in politics and in spite of his youth was elected as a deputy in the Parliament in Frankfurt. He shared the view of the majority of people that one unified German state should be created, incorporating the countries of the Austrian Monarchy also, which was at odds with the official policy of the Viennese court. After the collapse of the Springtime of Nations he initially went underground with an assumed name, then returned to Bielsko and finally to Cieszyn, but remained under police surveillance. After Austria became a constitutional monarchy he was elected mayor of Cieszyn in the first democratic communal elections in 1861 and held that position until his death. Also in 1861 he entered the Silesian Sejm in Opava and the Austrian State Council in Vienna. From 1867 he held the mandate of deputy in the lower house of the Viennese Parliament. He supported the German Liberal party and was its leading activist in Cieszyn Silesia.
His most important work was as the mayor of Cieszyn. During his tenure of office Cieszyn was transformed into a modern town, with a healthy economic situation, all essential social services and utilities, and efficient local government. He maintained and improved roads and railway, bridges and schools, and helped found Cieszyn’s Kasa Oszczędności Savings Bank. In 1866, during the Austro-Prussian War, he managed to protect the bridge on the Olza from destruction for which the Emperor raised him to the peerage, granting him the title von Elswehr. In 1882 he became an honorary citizen of Cieszyn.