Český Těšín (; ; ) is a town in Karviná District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants.
Český Těšín 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. The combined population of the Czech and Polish parts of the town is around 55,000.
The historic centre in Český Těšín is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone.
Administrative division
Český Těšín consists of seven municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
- Český Těšín (18,224)
- Dolní Žukov (1,318)
- Horní Žukov (850)
- Koňákov (356)
- Mistřovice (567)
- Mosty (1,253)
- Stanislavice (562)
Geography
thumb|Český Těšín (right), Cieszyn (left) and the Olza River (centre)
Český Těšín is located about south of Karviná and east of Ostrava. It lies on the border with Poland in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia and is a twin city with the Polish city of Cieszyn. The town is situated in the Moravian-Silesian Foothills, on the left bank of the Olza River. The highest point is the hill Šachta at above sea level.
History
The first written mention of Těšín is from 1155, when a castle called Tescin was mentioned in a deed of Pope Adrian IV. In 1290, the settlement was first referred to as a town.
The area was originally a small western suburb of the town of Cieszyn, the capital of the Duchy of Cieszyn, which was established in 1290, during the fragmentation of Poland into smaller duchies. It was ruled by the Piast dynasty until 1653, and by the Habsburg dynasty afterwards. Under Austrian rule, it was known under its Germanized name Teschen. It was known for its national and cultural diversity, consisting mostly of German, Polish, Jewish and Czech communities. 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%. There was also a small but lively Hungarian community in the town, mostly officers and administrative workers.
From 1870 (when the Košice–Bohumín Railway was put into operation) until 1914, there was a construction boom and the districts that forms the today's Český Těšín were built.
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 elections to the Sejm (Polish parliament) in the area. To prevent this, Czechoslovakia decided to attack the Polish part of the region on 23 January 1919. After the Polish–Czechoslovak War, Czechoslovakia forced Poland, which was at that time at war also with the West Ukrainian National Republic, to withdraw from the larger part of the area. After a ceasefire, the entire area was divided by the decision of the Spa Conference from July 1920, thus in practice creating the Trans-Olza area, leaving a sizable Polish minority on the Czech side and dividing the town of Cieszyn between the two states.
thumb|[[Polish Armed Forces|Polish Army entering Český Těšín in October 1938]]
Český Těšín was then the centre of Český Těšín District, existing in the years 1920–1938 and 1945–1960. After the war, the sizeable German-speaking community was expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, and the 1920 borders were restored.
After the division of Teschen in 1920, there were no synagogues and cemetery in the Czech part of the town, and new ones had to be established. The Jewish Community of Český Těšín was established in 1923. Nearly all of them were killed by Nazi Germany in concentration camps. The town is an important cultural and educational centre of the Polish minority in the Czech Republic. The number of Poles is however decreasing as a result of continuing assimilation. Although a border town, there is no longer any real ethnic tension between Czechs and Poles.
Religion
thumb|150px|Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
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 2021 census, 31.6% of the population is religious, out of whom 34.4% are Roman Catholics, and 3.7% are Czech Brethren.
Economy
The largest industrial employer based in the town is Kovona System, which is engaged in production of metal products. It employs about 600 people. The second notable industrial company is Finidr, one of the biggest producers of hardback and paperback books in Central Europe with about 800 employers.
Transport
thumb|Railway station
The D48 motorway (here part of the European routes E75 and E462) connects Český Těšín with Frýdek-Místek. Behind the Český Těšín / Cieszyn road border crossing, it continues in Poland as the Expressway S52. The I/11 road connects Český Těšín with Ostrava.
Český Těšín is located on the international railway line Prague–Košice and on the regional railway lines Ostrava–Mosty u Jablunkova and Český Těšín–Frýdek-Místek.
Culture
Těšín Theatre has Czech and Polish ensembles, where plays are presented in both the Czech and Polish languages. It is one of the few theatres outside Poland which has a professional Polish ensemble.
Education
thumb|Polish primary school and gymnasium
Alongside several Czech primary schools and one gymnasium, the town has both a Polish primary school and a gymnasium. The Pedagogical Centre for Polish National Education in Český Těšín takes care of the needs of schools with the Polish teaching language in the Czech Republic.
Sights
thumb|160px|Lutheran church
There is six church buildings in the town. The oldest is the Neo-Gothic Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, built by architect Ludwig Satzky in 1893–1894.
After the division 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.
The town hall is the landmark of the town square. The -long building was built in 1928.
- Cieszyn, Poland
- Rožňava, Slovakia
Gallery
<gallery>
Czeski cieszyn wita.jpg|Bilingual signs at town limits
Czciesz 356.jpg|Český Těšín
Czciesz cem 279.jpg|Cemetery
Czciesz jud 268.jpg|Fragment of abandoned Jewish cemetery
Czciesz res 337.jpg|Memorial dedicated to World War II resistance fighters
Těšínská tiskárna.jpg|Těšín printing works
</gallery>