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32-735: Silesia lies in the north-east of the Czech Republic, predominantly in the Moravian-Silesian Region , with a section in the northern Olomouc Region . It is almost identical in extent with Austrian Silesia (also known as the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia), before 1918; between 1938 and 1945, part of the area was also known as Sudeten Silesia (German: Sudetenschlesien ; Czech: Sudetské Slezsko ; Silesian: Sudecki Ślōnsk ; Lower Silesian: Sudetaschläsing ; Polish: Śląsk Sudecki ). Czech Silesia borders Moravia in

64-446: A lot of either newly planted or preserved forests of European beech , which in the past covered most of the mountains. The PLA is typical by its mosaic of forests and highland meadows and pastures with hamlets scattered throughout all the mountains. In recent years bear and wolf sighting have become more frequent. Altogether, 125 small, protected nature areas cover an area of 52 km or 20 sq mi. The most notable of them

96-403: Is 222 inhabitants per km , which is the second-highest in the country, after the capital Prague. Most of the population is urban, with 59% living in towns with over 20,000 inhabitants. The average age of the population in the region was 42.7 in 2019. The table shows cities and towns in the region with the largest population (as of 1 January 2024): The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region

128-541: Is defined by its borders. Polenlager The Polenlager ( German pronunciation: [ˈpoːlənˌlaːɡɐ] , Polish Camps ) was a system of forced labor camps in Silesia that held Poles during the World War II Nazi German occupation of Poland . The prisoners, originally destined for deportation across the border to the new semi-colonial General Government district, were sent to

160-738: Is in Studénka , and the Mining Museum and the former Michal Mine ( Důl Michal ) are in Ostrava. Until 2000, the current region did not exist as such, but was organized as part of a larger administrative unit called the North Moravian Region. Six of its districts, Bruntál, Frýdek-Místek, Karviná, Nový Jičín, Opava, and Ostrava, were in 2000 put into the newly established Moravian-Silesian Region. The old North Moravian Region still exists and jurisdiction of some administrative bodies

192-716: Is one of the 14 administrative regions of the Czech Republic . Before May 2001, it was called the Ostrava Region ( Czech : Ostravský kraj ). The region is located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Moravia and in most of the Czech part of the historical region of Silesia . The region borders the Olomouc Region to the west and the Zlín Region to the south. It also borders two other countries – Poland ( Opole and Silesian Voivodeships ) to

224-651: Is one of the region's many castle ruins, known for a musical festival dedicated to the composer Leoš Janáček , who was born there. Another well-known castle ruin is Sovinec under the Hrubý Jeseníks. Due to the importance of industry in the region, many museums display products of local technical development. The Automobile Museum in Kopřivnice exhibits the history of the Tatra cars , The Train Carriage Museum

256-488: Is the largest Czech PLA. It lies in the south-east of the region, along the Slovakian boundary. In the north, the mountains rise steeply from the Ostrava basin, to the south their elevation and severity decreases. Most of the area is forested, mainly by Norway spruce plantations, which are not indigenous to the area. Many of these were severely damaged by emissions from the Ostrava industrial region. There are, however, also

288-445: Is the lime Šipka Cave near Štramberk , where remnants of a Neanderthal man were discovered in the late 19th century. There are three towns with protected historical centers. Příbor , the birthplace of Sigmund Freud , was an important center of education for northern Moravia from the 17th century to the first half of the 20th. Nový Jičín , founded under the castle of Starý Jičín , has a well-preserved central square dating back to

320-472: Is the place with the highest annual rainfall in the Czech Republic, 1,500 mm (100 in) a year. The mountains are heavily forested and serve as a holiday resort for the industrial north. Three large landscape protected areas and a number of smaller nature reserves are in the region. The countryside is mostly man-made, but five natural parks with preserved natural scenery exist. The Jeseníky PLA (with an area of 745 km or 288 sq mi) lies in

352-772: The Oder , Opava and Olza (which forms part of the natural border with Poland). In the Middle Ages , Silesia formed part of Piast -ruled Poland, and in the 14th century it gradually passed to the Kingdom of Bohemia . Modern-day Czech Silesia derives primarily from a small part of Silesia that remained within the Bohemian Crown and the Habsburg monarchy at the end of the First Silesian War in 1742, when

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384-847: The Polenlager between 1942 and 1945, once the other locations became too overcrowded to accommodate the prisoners. There were over 30 Polenlager camps, mostly in Silesia. All Polenlager camps were classified by the Germans as "labour reformatories". They were built near major military work-sites for the steady supply of slave labor. The camps had permanent German staff, augmented by captives and volunteers from other Eastern European countries (known as Hiwis ). The Poles were delivered to Polenlagers by trainloads from German temporary transit camps, after they had been evicted from their homes to make way for new settlers (see: Action Saybusch ). Some of

416-517: The Silesians who were imprisoned there, refused to sign the Volksliste (DVL) or claim German nationality. The Polenlager idea was part of Adolf Hitler's plan, known as Lebensraum , which involved Germanization of all Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany with the help of settlers from Bukovina , Eastern Galicia and Volhynia . The main purpose of the forcible displacement of Poles

448-816: The Treaty of Versailles in 1920. Following the Munich Agreement of 1938, most of Czech Silesia became part of the Reichsgau Sudetenland and Poland occupied the Trans-Olza area on the west bank of the Olza (the Polish gains being lost when Nazi Germany occupied Poland the following year). In 1939–1940, during the anti-Polish Intelligenzaktion campaign, many Polish activists, priests, officials, teachers and school principals were deported by

480-547: The 14th century, with the Žerotínský château nearby. Štramberk is a unique small town nestled in a valley between lime hills, with many timber houses and the Trúba Spire rising on a hill above the town. Many castles and châteaus are in the region, the most famous being Hradec nad Moravicí , Raduň, Kravaře , and Fulnek . Hukvaldy , in a village of the same name under the Moravian-Silesian Beskids,

512-823: The German occupiers to concentration camps and then murdered there. The Germans operated multiple forced labour camps in the region, including several Polenlager camps for Poles, multiple subcamps of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs, and subcamps of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Bruntál and Světlá Hora for mostly Jewish women. The occupiers also established several POW camps, including Oflag VIII-E , Oflag VIII-G, Heilag VIII-G and Stalag VIII-D , for Polish, French , Belgian, British, Serbian, Dutch and other Allied POWs. With

544-731: The Jeseník mountains. Also, a few peat moors are found there, which are otherwise nonexistent in Moravia. The Poodří PLA (81.5 km or 31.5 sq mi) lies in the Moravian Gate, in close proximity to the region's capital Ostrava, on the banks of the meandering Odra. It is an area of floodplain forests (one of the last preserved in Central Europe), flooded meadows, and many shallow ponds, on which water birds thrive. The Beskydy PLA (1,160 km or 450 sq mi)

576-633: The exception of the areas around Cieszyn , Ostrava , and Hlučín , Czech Silesia was predominantly settled by German-speaking populations up until 1945. Following the World War II , Czech Silesia and Hlučín Region were returned to Czechoslovakia and the ethnic Germans were expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement . The border with Poland was once again set along the Olza (although not confirmed by treaty until 1958). The population mainly speaks Czech with altered vowels. Some of

608-412: The highest mountain of the region (and all Moravia), Praděd , rising 1,491 metres (4,892 ft). The mountains are heavily forested, with many spectacular places and famous spas such as Karlova Studánka and Jeseník , so are very popular with tourists. Also, several ski resorts are there, including Červenohorské Sedlo and Ovčárna, with long-lasting snow cover. The Hrubý Jeseník mountains slowly merge into

640-575: The living accommodations were set up in the factory where prisoners worked; they were given about 1 square metre (11 sq ft) per person to live on, at a redesigned floor of the Schaeffler textile factory. – In 1943, they processed into yarn 3 tons of human hair delivered from Auschwitz in two railroad cars. At the Polenlager 75 in Racibórz ( Ratibor ) – with 142 prisoners as of January 14, 1943 according to records – 22,1% were below

672-658: The most important cities are Opava and Český Těšín . Historically Český Těšín is the western part of the city of Cieszyn , which nowadays lies in Poland. About two thirds of the territory is situated in the Eastern Sudetes . The rest of the territory extends into the Ostrava Basin , Moravian Gate , Moravian-Silesian Foothills and into the western section of the Western Beskids . Its major rivers are

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704-450: The mountain range of the same name in the north east of the region. The terrain is very diverse, with steep slopes and deep valleys. About 80%t of the area is forested, mostly by secondary plantations of Norway spruce , which were seriously damaged by industrial emissions. Due to local weather conditions, the tree line in the area descends to 1,200–1,300 m (3,900–4,300 ft). Alpine meadows can be found in particularly low elevations in

736-538: The municipalities with extended competence and the municipalities with commissioned local authority. (There are a total of 300 municipalities (39 are towns).) Since 1 January 2003, the region has been divided into 22 municipalities with extended competence, which took over most of the administration of the former district authorities. Some of these are further divided into municipalities with commissioned local authority. They are unofficially named little districts ( Czech : malé okresy ). They are: The total population of

768-610: The native Slavic population speak Lach , which is classed by Ethnologue as a dialect of Czech, although it also shows some similarities to Polish . In Cieszyn Silesia, a unique dialect is also spoken, mostly by members of the Polish minority there. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Moravian-Silesian Region The Moravian-Silesian Region ( Czech : Moravskoslezský kraj ; Polish : Kraj morawsko-śląski ; Slovak : Moravsko-sliezsky kraj )

800-666: The north and Slovakia ( Žilina Region ) to the east. It is a highly industrialized region, its capital Ostrava was actually called the "Steel Heart of the Republic". In addition, it has several mountainous areas where the landscape is relatively preserved. Nowadays, the economy of the region benefits from its location in the Czech/Polish/Slovak borderlands. Traditionally, the region has been divided into six districts ( Czech : okresy ) which still exist as regional units, though most administration has been shifted to

832-621: The population lives. The region's heavy industry, which has been in decline for the last decade, is located there, too, benefiting from huge deposits of hard coal. The confluence of the Odra and Olza is the lowest point of the region, at 195 m. To the south-east, towards the Slovakian border, the landscape sharply rises into the Moravian-Silesian Beskids , with its highest mountain Lysá hora at 1,323 m (4,341 ft), which

864-486: The region was 1,203,292 (men 49.1%, women 50.9%) in 2019, which makes it the third most populous region in the Czech Republic; 86.9% are Czechs , 3.3% Slovaks , 3.0% Poles , 2.3% Moravians , 0.8% Silesians , 0.3% Germans , and 0.2% Romani , though this last figure might be considerably higher, as Romani often do not officially admit their ethnicity. Around 40.2% of the population is religious, mostly Roman Catholic, while 52.3% declares as atheist. The population density

896-692: The rest of Silesia was ceded to Prussia . It was re-organised as the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia , with its capital at Opava ( German : Troppau , Polish : Opawa ). In 1900, the Duchy occupied an area of 5,140 km and had a population of 670,000. In 1918, the former Duchy formed part of the newly created state of Czechoslovakia , except for Cieszyn Silesia , which was split between Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1920, Czechoslovakia gaining its western portion. Hlučín Region ( Czech : Hlučínsko , German : Hultschiner Ländchen ), formerly part of Prussian Silesia , also became part of Czechoslovakia under

928-584: The rolling hills of the Nízký Jeseníks and Oderské Vrchy, rising to 800 m at Slunečná and 680 m at Fidlův Kopec, respectively. To the east, the landscape gradually descends into the Moravian Gate valley with the Bečva and Oder Rivers. The former flows to the south-west, the latter to the north-east, where the terrain spreads into the flat Ostrava Basin and Opava Hilly Land, where most of

960-489: The south, Poland (Polish Silesia) in the north (in the northwest the County of Kladsko , until 1742/48 an integral part of Bohemia ) and Slovakia in the southeast. With the city of Ostrava roughly in its geographic centre, the area comprises much of the modern region of Moravian-Silesia (save for its southern edges) and, in its far west, a small part of the Olomouc Region in the area of Jeseník District . After Ostrava,

992-589: Was 19.6 billion € in 2018, accounting for 9.5% of Czech economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 23,000 € or 76% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 74% of the EU average. The geography of the region varies considerably, comprising many land forms from lowlands to high mountains whose summits lie above the tree line. In the west lie the Hrubý Jeseník mountains, with

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1024-532: Was to create a German-only enclave known as Reichsgau Wartheland across the formerly Polish territories. There were over 30 Polenlager camps identified in research – mostly in Silesia (26), but also in other locations across the Third Reich and in the present day Czech Republic . Historians estimate their number to have been even higher. In some camps, such as Polenlager 92 in Kietrz ( Katscher ),

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