Town history
Cieszyn, a town on the borders of Poland and the Czech Republic, can pride itself on a long and complex history. Legend has it that the town was founded in 810 by the three sons of Leszko III, King of Poland. In actual fact, Cieszyn came into being in the 10th century as a stronghold built to defend Poland’s southern marches. An independent town grew up from the borough which arose at the foot of the stronghold. From around 1290 Cieszyn was the capital of the autonomous Duchy of Cieszyn, the region which later became Cieszyn Silesia. It has been a town of religious diversity and multi-ethnic character since the Reformation. Apart from Poles, its residents have been Germans, Czechs and Jews, and at the turn of the 20th century there was a small, but conspicuous Hungarian minority. The dispute over the territorial status of Cieszyn Silesia led to the town being divided up in 1920. What were previously Cieszyn’s outskirts on the left bank of the River Olza were incorporated into Czechoslovakia and became a new town. From then on the hitherto single town began to grow as two border towns; Cieszyn and Český Těąín – divided by the River Olza
Prehistory
The present knowledge of primaeval and mediaeval settlements in the Cieszyn region is still relatively modest. It concerns both the ground survey as well as the degree to which the hitherto registered locations have been examined.
Archaeological works
Accidental discoveries of palaeontological and archaeological relics in the area of Cieszyn and the vicinities have, for a long time, aroused the interest of local lovers of antiquity.
Castle Hill
There were human settlements on the Castle Hill as early as the 5th century B.C., and at the turn of the 11th century this defensive point on the Olza had become the seat of a border castellany of the Piast Kingdom, and later the Gothic castle of the Cieszyn Princes.
The Rule of the Piasts
The borough at the foot of the castle gradually transformed into an early medieval town, coming under German Law of Lwówek Śląski in the 13th century.
Cieszyn Piasts
The historical antecedents of the first Cieszyn Prince, Mieszko I will be mentioned; beginning with his namesake, the father of the Polish state, the great Mieszko I (Mesco I, reigned c. 955-992) and then Bolesław Chrobry (Boleslaus the Brave, reigned 992-1025), Mieszko II (Mesco II, reigned 1025-1034), Kazimierz Odnowiciel (Casimir the Restorer, reigned 1038-1058), Bolesław Śmiały (Boleslaus the Bold, reigned 1058-1079), Władysław Herman (Vladislas Herman, reigned 1079-1102) and finally Bolesław Krzywousty (Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, reigned 1102-1138).
Under the Habsburgs
When the Piast dynasty became extinct, the Habsburgs took over the rule of the Duchy of Cieszyn, and therefore Cieszyn, too. Cieszyn managed to win the status of royal town for itself, and from 1659 it also possessed the right to send its own deputies to the Silesian Diet in Breslau (Wrocław).
Constitutional Government
The residents of Cieszyn were given the opportunity to have an influence on political events for the first time for centuries during the Springtime of Nations in 1848. They could elect representatives to governing bodies and free elections to local government also took place.
Between the Wars
The division of Cieszyn in July 1920 brought enormous changes to both parts of the town. Cieszyn residents fled the town in great numbers to Austria and Germany, their places being taken by newcomers from Poland or Czechoslovakia.
After the Second World War
The Second World War was a time of tremendous tragedies for the people of Cieszyn, but the town itself suffered little damage. The most important institutions and government offices began functioning normally in a relatively short time.
