Cieszyn County

Cieszyn County
Powiat cieszyński
County

County office building in Cieszyn

Flag
Coat of arms

Location within Silesian Voivodeship
Coordinates (Cieszyn): 49°44′55.07″N 18°38′5.69″E / 49.7486306°N 18.6349139°E / 49.7486306; 18.6349139Coordinates: 49°44′55.07″N 18°38′5.69″E / 49.7486306°N 18.6349139°E / 49.7486306; 18.6349139
Country  Poland
Voivodeship Silesian
Seat Cieszyn
Gminas
Government
 • Starosta Jerzy Nogowczyk
Area
 • Total 730.2 km2 (281.9 sq mi)
Population (2006)
 • Total 171,029
 • Density 230/km2 (610/sq mi)
 • Urban 80,925
 • Rural 90,104
Car plates SCI
Website http://www.powiat.cieszyn.pl/

Cieszyn County (Polish: powiat cieszyński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Czech and Slovak border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998.

The county's administrative seat and largest town is Cieszyn, which lies on the Czech border 62 kilometres (39 mi) south-west of the regional capital Katowice. The county also contains four other towns: Ustroń, 14 km (9 mi) east of Cieszyn, Skoczów, 15 km (9 mi) north-east of Cieszyn, Wisła, 20 km (12 mi) south-east of Cieszyn, and Strumień, 23 km (14 mi) north-east of Cieszyn.

The county covers an area of 730.2 square kilometres (281.9 sq mi). As of 2006 its total population is 171,029, out of which the population of Cieszyn is 36,014, that of Ustroń is 15,420, that of Skoczów is 14,641, that of Wisła is 11,453, that of Strumień is 3,397, and the rural population is 90,104.

History

The County was first created after Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire in 1850 as Politischer Bezirk Teschen, one of the seven counties in Austrian Silesia. After World War I, fall of Austria-Hungary, Polish–Czechoslovak War and the division of Cieszyn Silesia in 1920, the territory of the county was divided between Czechoslovakia and Poland. The bigger part of the Austrian county found in Czechoslovakia was superseded by Český Těšín District and smaller part found in Poland, was enlarged by four municipalities of the Austrian Bezirk Freistadt and more than a dozen from Bezirk Bielitz and was admissioned to Silesian Voivodeship. Following the Munich Agreement, in October 1938 the Zaolzie region was annexed by Poland and on 27 September Český Těšín was joined with Cieszyn and 53 municipalities were also adjoined to Cieszyn County.[1] It was then annexed by Nazi Germany at the beginning of World War II with the county known as Landkreis Teschen. After the war pre-1938 borders were restored. In 1975 the county-level division of Poland was replaced with 49 voivodeships, with the territory of Cieszyn County being encompassed by Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship. It was recreated on January 1, 1999 within Silesian Voivodeship, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998.

Neighbouring counties

Cieszyn County is bordered by the city of Jastrzębie-Zdrój and Pszczyna County to the north, and the city of Bielsko-Biała, Bielsko County and Żywiec County to the east. It also borders the Czech Republic to the west and Slovakia to the south.

Administrative division

The county is subdivided into 12 gminas (three urban, two urban-rural and seven rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.

Gmina Type Area
(km²)		 Population
(2006)		 Seat
Cieszyn urban 28.7 36,014  
Gmina Skoczów urban-rural 63.3 25,560 Skoczów
Ustroń urban 58.9 15,420  
Gmina Zebrzydowice rural 41.7 12,503 Zebrzydowice
Gmina Goleszów rural 65.9 12,130 Goleszów
Gmina Strumień urban-rural 58.4 11,975 Strumień
Wisła urban 110.3 11,453  
Gmina Istebna rural 84.3 11,283 Istebna
Gmina Brenna rural 95.5 10,264 Brenna
Gmina Hażlach rural 49.0 9,839 Hażlach
Gmina Chybie rural 31.8 9,080 Chybie
Gmina Dębowiec rural 42.5 5,508 Dębowiec

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ustawa z dnia 27 października 1938 r. o podziale administracyjnym i tymczasowej organizacji administracji na obszarze Ziem Odzyskanych Śląska Cieszyńskiego". Dziennik Ustaw Śląskich (in Polish). Katowice. nr 18/1938, poz. 35. 31 October 1938. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
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