Orlová
Encyclopedia
Orlová (ˈorlovaː; ; ) is a town in the Karviná District
, Moravian-Silesian Region
, Czech Republic
. It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia
.
, went hunting with his pregnant wife, Ludmiła. As they rested upon a hill, an eagle
suddenly took flight, frightening the couple. The eagle dropped his prey, which fell to earth near them. Ludmiła prematurely gave birth to her child, Kazimierz. The couple, seeing a sign from God in this incident, founded a chapel on that spot and later named the subsequent settlement after the eagle . Thus, it is not clear when the settlement was really founded; however, it was first mentioned in a written document in 1223, and four years later the name of the village appears in documents. During the Middle Ages
it was a settlement of agricultural character. Major change came in the 19th century with the coal mining
boom. The population grew rapidly together with urban development.
At the beginning of the 20th century Orlová became an important center of Polish
and Czech education and home to many cultural and sport organizations of both communities. There were also a Jewish
and a German
community in the town.
After the division of Cieszyn Silesia
in 1920, the town became part of Czechoslovakia
. Orlová gained town rights in 1922. During the workers' strike in 1925 four workers were killed by the police. Following the Munich Agreement
, in October 1938, Orlová and the whole Zaolzie
region were annexed by Poland
. The village was then annexed by Nazi Germany
at the beginning of World War II
. After the war it was restored to Czechoslovakia. In 1946 the villages of Lazy
(Łazy) and Poruba
(Poręba) were administratively joined to the town. Widespread coal mining, especially during the communist era, had a devastating impact on the town, its buildings and architecture, especially in Lazy. Many buildings in Orlová were demolished, including the Polish
grammar school built in 1909. The architectural character of the town was completely changed.
The most important landmark in Orlová is the Neo-Gothic church, which replaced an older wooden one. It was almost completely rebuilt in 1903–1906, when it became the dominant edifice of the town. An important feature of the church is the stair leading up to it. The church was damaged by extensive coal mining in the town and the surroundings, and renovation work began in the 1990s and still continues. Another notable landmark is the town hall from 1928. There is also a Lutheran
church in the town, consecrated in 1862.
There are several primary schools in Orlová, mostly Czech, one Polish. Several high schools are located there. Most notable is a Czech gymnasium which was rebuilt in modern architectural style and opened in 1996.
, Poland
Illnau-Effretikon
, Switzerland
Rydułtowy, Poland
Karviná District
Karviná District is a district within the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative center is the city of Karviná. It was created by 1960 reform of administrative divisions in the area of former Fryštát District...
, Moravian-Silesian Region
Moravian-Silesian Region
Moravian-Silesian Region , or Moravo-Silesian Region, is one of 14 administrative Regions of the Czech Republic, until May 2001 it was formerly called the Ostrava Region . The region is located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Moravia and in most of the Czech part of the...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic...
.
History
According to legend, Mieszko, a Silesian duke from the lower branch of the Piast dynastyPiast dynasty
The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. It began with the semi-legendary Piast Kołodziej . The first historical ruler was Duke Mieszko I . The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir the Great...
, went hunting with his pregnant wife, Ludmiła. As they rested upon a hill, an eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
suddenly took flight, frightening the couple. The eagle dropped his prey, which fell to earth near them. Ludmiła prematurely gave birth to her child, Kazimierz. The couple, seeing a sign from God in this incident, founded a chapel on that spot and later named the subsequent settlement after the eagle . Thus, it is not clear when the settlement was really founded; however, it was first mentioned in a written document in 1223, and four years later the name of the village appears in documents. During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
it was a settlement of agricultural character. Major change came in the 19th century with the coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
boom. The population grew rapidly together with urban development.
At the beginning of the 20th century Orlová became an important center of Polish
Polish minority in the Czech Republic
The Polish minority in the Czech Republic is a Polish national minority living mainly in the Zaolzie region of western Cieszyn Silesia. The Polish community is the only national minority in the Czech Republic that is linked to a specific geographical area. Zaolzie is located in the north-eastern...
and Czech education and home to many cultural and sport organizations of both communities. There were also a Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and a German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
community in the town.
After the division of Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic...
in 1920, the town became part of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. Orlová gained town rights in 1922. During the workers' strike in 1925 four workers were killed by the police. Following the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
, in October 1938, Orlová and the whole Zaolzie
Zaolzie
Zaolzie is the Polish name for an area now in the Czech Republic which was disputed between interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia. The name means "lands beyond the Olza River"; it is also called Śląsk zaolziański, meaning "trans-Olza Silesia". Equivalent terms in other languages include Zaolší in...
region were annexed by Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. The village was then annexed by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
at the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war it was restored to Czechoslovakia. In 1946 the villages of Lazy
Lazy (Orlová)
is a village in Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. It was a separate municipality but became administratively a part of Orlová in 1946. It has a population of 274.It was first mentioned in a written document in 1305.- People :...
(Łazy) and Poruba
Poruba (Orlová)
is a village in Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. It was a separate municipality but became administratively a part of Orlová in 1946 and now is one of the parts of the town. It has a population of 5,604....
(Poręba) were administratively joined to the town. Widespread coal mining, especially during the communist era, had a devastating impact on the town, its buildings and architecture, especially in Lazy. Many buildings in Orlová were demolished, including the Polish
Polish minority in the Czech Republic
The Polish minority in the Czech Republic is a Polish national minority living mainly in the Zaolzie region of western Cieszyn Silesia. The Polish community is the only national minority in the Czech Republic that is linked to a specific geographical area. Zaolzie is located in the north-eastern...
grammar school built in 1909. The architectural character of the town was completely changed.
The most important landmark in Orlová is the Neo-Gothic church, which replaced an older wooden one. It was almost completely rebuilt in 1903–1906, when it became the dominant edifice of the town. An important feature of the church is the stair leading up to it. The church was damaged by extensive coal mining in the town and the surroundings, and renovation work began in the 1990s and still continues. Another notable landmark is the town hall from 1928. There is also a Lutheran
Silesian Evangelical Church of Augsburg Confession
The Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession ) is the biggest Lutheran Church in the Czech Republic. Its congregations are located mainly in the Czech part of Cieszyn Silesia. A significant number of the followers belong to the Polish ethnic minority. There is strong heritage of...
church in the town, consecrated in 1862.
There are several primary schools in Orlová, mostly Czech, one Polish. Several high schools are located there. Most notable is a Czech gymnasium which was rebuilt in modern architectural style and opened in 1996.
Notable residents and natives
- Emanuel ChobotEmanuel ChobotEmanuel Chobot was a Polish trade union activist and politician from the region of Zaolzie, Czechoslovakia. He was the chairman of the Polish Socialist Workers Party, the social democratic party active amongst the Polish minority in interbellum Czechoslovakia...
, Polish politician - Adolf FierlaAdolf FierlaAdolf Fierla was a Polish writer and poet from the region of Cieszyn Silesia.He was born 16 January 1908 in Orlová to a coal miner's family and graduated from the local Juliusz Słowacki Polish Gymnasium. Fierla later studied Polish studies at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and Slavic...
, Polish poet - Stanislav KolíbalStanislav KolíbalStanislav Kolíbal is a Czech artist and sculptor.His work is counted among the fundamentals of modern Czech art. Since 1950s, Stanislav Kolíbal has been one of the most notable personalities on the Czech art scene...
, Czech artist and sculptor - Martina JankováMartina JankováMartina Janková is a Czech operatic soprano. She has been successful in a number of important opera contests, including winning first prize at the Neue Stimmen in Gütersloh. She has been a member of the Zürich Opera since 1998...
, opera singer - Petr Glombíček, Czech scholar and philosopher
Sister towns
Czechowice-DziedziceCzechowice-Dziedzice
Czechowice-Dziedzice is a town in Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 34,867 inhabitants . It lies on the northeastern edge of the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Illnau-Effretikon
Illnau-Effretikon
Illnau-Effretikon is a municipality in the district of Pfäffikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-History:Illnau-Effretikon is first mentioned in 745 as Illenavvia and Erpfratinchova. At first the name of the municipality was Illnau as that town used to be the political and economic center...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
Rydułtowy, Poland