History of Cieszyn

The town of Cieszyn (Czech: Těšín German: Teschen) - one of the oldest towns in Silesia - has had a Slav population (Golensizi tribe) since at least the 7th century. According to legend, in 810 three sons of a Slav king – Bolko, Leszko and Cieszko, met here after a long pilgrimage, found a spring, and in their happiness decided to found a new settlement. They called it Cieszyn, from the Old Polish words cieszym się ("I'm happy"). This well stands in the ulica Trzech Braci (Three Brothers Street), just west of the town square. The town centres on Castle Hill (Góra Zamkowa), where the oldest traces of settlement date back to the 6th or 7th centuries. The gród built on the hill gradually gained importance and became and important religious and commercial centre. A Romanesque chapel erected here in the 11th century has survived to become one of the most important architectural landmarks of Silesia.

The first written reference to Cieszyn came in a document from Pope Adrian IV for the Wrocław bishop Valter from 23 April 1155. It concerned the castle of Tessin, which was the centre of a castellany. Around the castle a town grew up on a fortified headland above the Olza River. The city rights are documented as of 1290, and later confirmed in 1374. Around 1240 a parish church was also built.