DUCHY OF TESCHEN

(Redirected from Duchy of Cieszyn)

The 'Duchy of Teschen' (; ; ), also known as the 'Duchy of Cieszyn' (), was an independent duchy centered on Teschen in Upper Silesia, one of Duchies of Silesia.
The duchy shared the history of Cieszyn Silesia; after the feudal division of Poland in 1138, it was ruled by Silesian dukes from the Piast dynasty. Duchy of Cieszyn was also composed of smaller Duchies at various points in time, such as Duchy of Oświęcim Duchy of Zator; Duchy of Oświęcim was split from Duchy of Cieszyn around 1315 (Duchy of Zator in turn split from Duchy of Oświęcim in 1454). From 1343, when Poland acknowledged Bohemian rule over Silesia, the duchy shared the history of Bohemian Silesia. In 1653 it came under Habsburg Austrian rule (direct rule from 1766).
In 1708 the duchy was given to the Dukes of Lorraine as compensation for their loss of Montferrat. Emperor Francis I granted it to his eldest surviving daughter, Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, who married Prince Albert of Saxony, who thus became the only Duke of Saxe-Teschen. Although most of Silesia passed to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1742 during the First Silesian War, Teschen remained under Austrian control as part of Austrian Silesia. Albert and Maria Christina's marriage remained childless, and upon the death of the widowed Albert, Teschen passed to their adopted son, Archduke Charles of Austria, who became Duke of Teschen and started the Habsburg-Lorraine branch of Dukes of Teschen.
The Duchy of Teschen became part of the Austrian Empire in 1804 and Austria-Hungary in 1866. At the end of World War I, local self-governments were established and the duchy was divided between the Second Polish Republic and Czechoslovakia. Disputes over the territory led to Polish-Czechoslovak border conflicts.

Contents

Demographics

Dukes of Cieszyn

Demographics

According to the Austro-Hungarian census taken in 1910, the duchy had 434,000 inhabitants, among them 234,000 (53.9%) Polish-speaking, 116,000 (26.7%) Czech-speaking, 77,000 (17.7%) German-speaking, and 7,000 (1.6%) others.

Dukes of Cieszyn

★ 1290–1314 Mieszko I

★ 1316–58 Kazimierz I

★ 1358–1409 Przemko I Noszak

★ 1410–31 Bolesław I

★ 1431–40 Wacław I, Bolesław II, Władysław, and Przemko II

★ 1440–47 Wacław I and Bolesław II

★ 1447–52 Bolesław II

★ 1452–1528 Kazimierz II

★ 1528–79 Wacław III Adam Pogrobowiec (''the Posthumous'')

★ 1579 / 1594–1617 Adam Wacław

★ 1617–25 Fryderyk Wilhelm

★ 1625–53 Elżbieta Lukrecja