Bohumín

Bohumín (IPA: [ˈboɦʊmi:n]; Polish: Bogumin, German: Oderberg) is a town in Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic on the border with Poland. The confluence of the Oder (Odra) and Olza Rivers is situated just north of the town.

Bohumín consists of Old Bohumín and industrial New Bohumín, while several villages are administratively part of the town. The majority of citizens are Czech; many citizens have Polish ancestry, although the Polish minority in Bohumín is small. Before World War II, the town was inhabited by a large German community.

1 History
2 Transport
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Bohumín was first mentioned in a written document in 1256 as Bogun (today's Old Bohumín). Historical documents regarding the first centuries of the town are scarce. King Louis II granted the town and château of Bohumín to George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach in 1523. The town began to develop during rule by the House of Hohenzollern, although further development of Bogumin was halted by frequent epidemics of bubonic plague and floodings of the Olza. It was officially known in German as Oderberg, or "Oder Mountain", and by the end of the 16th century the majority of citizens followed Protestantism. The successor after the Hohenzollerns in 1620 was Lazar Henckel, whose family of bankers and entrepreneurs hailed from Habsburg-ruled Hungary. In 1624 only 138 permanent residents lived in the town. After defeating Maria Theresa of Austria during the Silesian Wars, King Frederick II of Prussia annexed most of Silesia, although Oderberg remained in Austrian Silesia. The town successively became part of the Austrian Empire (1804) and Austria-Hungary (1867).

At the end of the 19th century a wire and rolling mill was built by German industrialists from Berlin, Albert Hahn and Heinrich Eisner. In 1871 the railroad line Oderberg - Kassa was constructed; this increased the town's importance and contributed to the Polish - Czechoslovak dispute over Cieszyn Silesia after World War I.

After the division of Cieszyn Silesia in 1920, the town became part of Czechoslovakia as Bohumín. Following the Munich Agreement, Bohumín and the Zaolzie region were annexed by Poland in October 1938. The town was then annexed by Nazi Germany at the beginning of World War II. After the war it was restored to Czechoslovakia and the remaining German population was expelled westward.

There are few historical buildings remaining in Bohumín. It was always small with mostly wooden houses, which burnt down in frequent fires, as did the old town hall with its high tower. An old church still remains; it was rebuilt in 1850 from its Gothic style to its current form. Another landmark is a tomb of the Henckels, former owners of Bohumín.

[edit] Transport

Bohumín is one of the most important railway junctions in the Czech Republic. There are lines in the directions of Ostrava ( - Břeclav - Vienna / - Olomouc - Prague), Petrovice u Karviné ( - Katowice), (both built by the Austrian Northern Railway) and Chałupki ( - Racibórz and Wodzisław Śląski). Another important line in the direction of Český Těšín, Žilina, and Košice also originally started here, but was relocated in 1963 and now separates from the line to Petrovice u Karviné in Dětmarovice. There is also an important depot in Bohumín.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Cicha, Irena; Kazimierz Jaworski, Bronisław Ondraszek, Barbara Stalmach and Jan Stalmach (2000). Olza od pramene po ujście. Český Těšín: Region Silesia. ISBN 80-238-6081-X.