Cieszyn Silesian dialectThe Cieszyn Silesian dialect or Teschen Silesian dialect (Cieszyn Silesian: cieszyńsko rzecz; gwara cieszyńska or narzecze cieszyńskie; těšínské nářečí; Silesian: ćeszyński djalekt) is one of the Silesian dialects. It has its roots mainly in Old Polish and also has strong influences from Czech and German and, to a lesser extent, from Vlach and Slovak. It is spoken in Cieszyn Silesia, a region on both sides of the Polish-Czech border. It remains mostly a spoken language.
JablunkovJablunkov (ˈjabluŋkof; , Jablunkau) is a town in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,300 inhabitants. The town has a significant Polish minority. It is inhabited by a large amount of Silesian Gorals. Jablunkov is located about southeast of Frýdek-Místek and southeast of Ostrava. It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia, and is the easternmost town of the country. It is located mainly in the Jablunkov Furrow lowland, but the municipal territory also extends to the Silesian Beskids on the east.
KarvináKarviná (ˈkarvɪnaː; Karwina, karˈvina, Karwin) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Olza River in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Karviná is known as an industrial city with tradition in coal mining. The historic centre in Karviná-Fryštát is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
BohumínBohumín (ˈboɦumiːn; , Oderberg) is a town in Karviná District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. Bohumín is made up of town parts and villages of Nový Bohumín, Pudlov, Skřečoň, Starý Bohumín, Šunychl, Vrbice and Záblatí. Bohumín is located about north of Ostrava on the border with Poland, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. It lies in the Ostrava Basin. The confluence of the Oder and Olza rivers is situated north of the town.
GoralsThe Gorals (Górale; Goral dialect: Górole; Gorali; Cieszyn Silesian: Gorole), also known as the Highlanders (in Poland as the Polish Highlanders, a subethnic group of the Polish nation) are an indigenous ethnographic subgroup primarily found in their traditional area of southern Poland, northern Slovakia and in the region of Cieszyn Silesia in the Czech Republic, where they are known as the Silesian Gorals. There is also a significant Goral diaspora in the area of Bukovina in western Ukraine and in northern Romania, as well as in Chicago, the seat of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.
TřinecTřinec (ˈtr̝̊ɪnɛts; Trzyniec ˈtʂɨɲɛt͡s; Trzynietz) is a city in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants and is the least populated statutory city in the country. The city is an important cultural centre of the Polish minority in Trans-Olza, which makes up 12.1% of the population (as of 2021). Třinec is notable for the Třinec Iron and Steel Works steel plant, the largest in the country, which still has a major impact on the city, its character, demographics, and air quality.
FryštátFryštát (ˈfrɪʃtaːt; Frysztat ˈfrɨʂtat; Freistadt ˈfʁaɪʃtat; Cieszyn Silesian: ) is an administrative part of the city of Karviná in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Until 1948 it was a separate town. It lies on the Olza River, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. It was first mentioned in a Latin document of Diocese of Wrocław called Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis from around 1305 as Frienstad. It meant that the a new town was being founded on the ground of the older village Ráj (Ray).
OstravaOstrava (‘ostrava; Ostrawa, Ostrau ˈɔstʁaʊ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava, Ostravice and Lučina. Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic in terms of both population and area, the second largest city in the region of Moravia, and the largest city in the historical land of Czech Silesia.
Polish peoplePoles, or Polish people, are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Central Europe. The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines the Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland, regardless of heritage or ethnicity. The majority of Poles adhere to Roman Catholicism. The population of self-declared Poles in Poland is estimated at 37,394,000 out of an overall population of 38,512,000 (based on the 2011 census), of whom 36,522,000 declared Polish alone.
SilesiaSilesia (saɪˈliːʒə,saɪˈliːʃiə, also UK-iːziə, US-iːʒiə,-iːʃə,_sɪˈ-; see below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split into two main subregions, Lower Silesia in the west and Upper Silesia in the east. Silesia has a diverse culture, including architecture, costumes, cuisine, traditions, and the Silesian language (minority in Upper Silesia).
