Cieszyn - Poland

[VoytekZ]

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 Těšín – divided by the River Olza.

Cieszyn Stone Work


The Three Brothers Well

The Town Square


The City Hall

Engineering and Applied Sciences Technical School

University of Silesia Cieszyn, Branch of Pedagogic and Artistic Education

One of Many Hospitals In Cieszyn

Adam Mickiewicz Theater (or its Luthuanian equivalent Adomas Mickevièius )


My Future Home


Stay tuned, more to come...including Český Těšín