Bąków is a village in Gmina Strumień, Cieszyn County,

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian V ...

, southern Poland. It has a population of 1,534 (2008). It lies in the historical region of

Cieszyn Silesia Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( pl, Śląsk Cieszyński ; cs, Těšínské Slezsko or ; german: Teschener Schlesien or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český T� ...

. Former village of Rychułd is now a western part of Bąków.

History

Rychułd was first mentioned in 1416 as ''Reicholtowacz''. It had to be older as it was divided into two parts (one belonging to dukes and one to

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

), and was later mentioned also as ''Rycholtow'' (1440), ''Richuoltwo'' (1447), ''Rychultow'' (1473, 1529), ''Rychuld'' (1568). Bąków was a younger village and was first mentioned in 1536. Politically the villages belonged then to the

Duchy of Teschen The Duchy of Teschen (german: Herzogtum Teschen), also Duchy of Cieszyn ( pl, Księstwo Cieszyńskie) or Duchy of Těšín ( cs, Těšínské knížectví), was one of the Duchies of Silesia centered on Cieszyn () in Upper Silesia. It was split o ...

, a

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in cont ...

of the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

, which after 1526 became part of the Habsburg monarchy. In 1552 Bąków (''Bunkow'') was bestowed by

Wenceslaus III Adam, Duke of Cieszyn Wenceslaus III Adam of Cieszyn ( cs, Václav III. Adam, german: Wenzel III. Adam, pl, Wacław III Adam; December 1524 – 4 November 1579) was a Duke of Cieszyn from 1528 until his death. He was the second but only surviving son of Wenceslaus I ...

upon Czelo family, which in the early 17th century owned also Rychułd. Bludowscy family became their owners by marriage in 1619. In 1737 they were sold to Christian Kalisch. After Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire a modern municipal division was introduced in the re-established

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...

. Bąków and Rychułd were administratively joined as one municipality subscribed to the

political district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Bielsko Bielsko (german: Bielitz, cs, Bílsko) was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that to ...

and the

legal district A judicial district or legal district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court (usually a district court) has jurisdiction. By region Europe Austria In texts concerning Austria, "judicial district" (german: Gerichtsbezirk) refers ...

of Strumień. According to the censuses conducted in 1880, 1890, 1900 and 1910 the population of the municipality grew from 415 in 1880 to 428 in 1910 (of whom 251 in Bąków and 177 in Rychułd) with a dwindling majority being native Polish-speakers (391 or 98.7% in 1880 to 371 or 89% in 1910) and growing German-speaking minority (5 or 1.3% in 1880 to 46 or 11% in 1910, of whom 40 in Rychułd), in terms of religion in 1910 the most populous were Protestants (214 or 48%; of whom 116 in Bąków and 98 in Rychułd), followed by Roman Catholics (205 or 50%, of whom 135 in Bąków and 70 in Rychułd) and 9 or 2%

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

(in Rychułd). The villages were also traditionally inhabited by

Cieszyn Vlachs The Cieszyn Vlachs ( pl, Wałasi cieszyńscy, cs, Těšínští Valaši) are a Polish ethnographic group (subgroup of Silesians) living around the towns of Cieszyn and Skoczów, one of the four major ethnographic groups in Cieszyn Silesia, the on ...

, speaking

Cieszyn Silesian dialect The Cieszyn Silesian dialect or Teschen Silesian dialect (Cieszyn Silesian: ''cieszyńsko rzecz''; pl, gwara cieszyńska or '; cs, těšínské nářečí; Silesian: ''ćeszyński djalekt'') is one of the Silesian dialects. It has its roots ...

. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, fall of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Polish–Czechoslovak War The Poland–Czechoslovakia War, also known mostly in Czech sources as the Seven-day war ( cs, Sedmidenní válka) was a military confrontation between Czechoslovakia and Poland over the territory of Cieszyn Silesia in early 1919. After a vai ...

and the division of

in 1920, it became a part of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. It was then annexed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After the war it was restored to

References

Villages in Cieszyn County Cieszyn Silesia {{Cieszyn-geo-stub