Fryštát
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fryštát (Polish: Frysztat , German: Freistadt, Cieszyn Silesian: Frysztot ) is 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.
It gained city rights in 1327. From its beginning it was one of the most important centers of Cieszyn Silesia. Development of the town was set back by a major fire in 1511 when all of the wooden houses burnt down. Fish farming became an important industry for the town with the creation of several ponds in the 16th century. The 17th century had a mostly negative impact on the town's development with fires, epidemics and the Thirty Years' War. In 1623 about 1,400 citizens died of bubonic plague.[1] The town was occupied for nearly thirty years by Danish forces and then by Swedish forces. The dilapidated town was then bought by owners of nearby Karwin, the Larisch-Mönnich family. They built a château there and raised the town from poverty, but a fire in 1823, Prussian occupation in 1866 and epidemics again made the development of the town difficult. Coal was discovered in 1776, but it was not until 1794 that it began to be exploited on a large scale.[2] As a result of the coal industry, rapid development of the town and surrounding villages occurred. Its impact was both positive and negative. Old settlements were destroyed and landscape was devastated. Industrial and coal mining expansion as well as the construction of railroads led to rapid growth of the area's importance. It became the most industrialized area in Austria and later Czechoslovakia.[2] In 1850 Freistadt became a district although nearby Karwin with many coal mines and industrial facilities was more populous.
After the division of Cieszyn Silesia in 1920 it became a part of Czechoslovakia as the main mining center of the country.[2] In October 1938, together with the whole region known as Zaolzie, it was annexed by Poland, and during World War II was a part of Nazi Germany. After the war it again became part of Czechoslovakia. In 1948 it was merged with Karviná and became a part of that city. In 1960 reform of administrative divisions was made and Fryštát District ceased to exist. It was superseded by newly created Karviná District. Fryštát forms the historical center of Karviná, which is otherwise an industrial city.
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] References
- Cicha, Irena; Kazimierz Jaworski, Bronisław Ondraszek, Barbara Stalmach and Jan Stalmach (2000). Olza od pramene po ujście. Český Těšín: Region Silesia. ISBN 80-238-6081-X.
[edit] External links
- (English) Website of château
