Šenov (; pl, Szonów; german: Schönhof) is a town in

Ostrava-City District Ostrava-City District ( cs, okres Ostrava-město) is a district (''okres'') within Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Ostrava. List of municipalities Čavisov – Dolní Lhota (Ostrava-City District), Dolní ...

in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It has about 6,400 inhabitants. It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia.

Geography

Šenov lies in the

Ostrava Basin Ostrava Basin ( cs, Ostravská pánev, german: Ostrauer Becken, pl, Kotlina OstrawskaProf. Jerzy Kondracki. Geografia fizyczna Polski. Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Warszawa. 1988. ) is a lowland region, located in eastern Czech Republic and s ...

lowland. It is located on the Lučina River.

History

Šenov was probably founded in around 1290. The first written mention is in a Latin document of Diocese of Wrocław called ''

Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis ( pl, Księga uposażeń biskupstwa wrocławskiego, ''Book of endowments of the Bishopric of Wrocław'') is a Latin manuscript catalog of documents compiled in the later 13th or in the early 14th centu ...

'' from 1305 under its Latin name ''Sonow''. Politically the village belonged initially 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 ...

, formed in 1290 in the process of feudal fragmentation of Poland and was ruled by a local branch of

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branch ...

. In 1327 the duchy became 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 contra ...

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 The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. The village could have become a seat of a Catholic

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

if ''Schonwald'' mentioned in a register of Peter's Pence payment from 1447 among 50 parishes of Teschen

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

ry was a temporary but similar name for the village at that time. After the 1540s

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

prevailed in the Duchy of Teschen and a local Catholic church was taken over by Lutherans. It was taken from them (as one from around fifty buildings in the region) by a special commission and given back to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

on 25 March 1654. In around 1576, Šenov was acquired by the noble family of Skrbenský of Hříště. Šenov was in their possesion for almost 300 years. The family had built here a magnificent renaissance castle, which stood in the area of today's park. It was demolished in 1927. According to the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

census of 1910 the town had 3,441 inhabitants, 3,412 of whom had permanent residence there. Census asked people for their native language, 2,820 (82.6%) were Czech-speaking and 528 (15.5%) were Polish-speaking. Most populous religious groups were

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

with 2,883 (83.8%), followed by

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

with 539 (15.7%).

Notable people

* Wacław Olszak (1868–1939), Polish physician and politician *

Vilém Wünsche Vilém Wünsche (1 December 1900 in Šenov – 3 May 1984 in Šenov) was a Czechs, Czech painter, graphic artist and illustrator. The topics of his art are mainly connected with the theme of Ostrava and the local life of afflicted miners. In 1922, ...

(1900–1984), painter, graphic artist and illustrator

Twin towns – sister cities

Šenov is twinned with: *

Strumień Strumień (german: Schwarzwasser, cs, Strumeň) is a town and the seat of Gmina Strumień, in Cieszyn County, in the Silesian Voivodeship (province) of southern Poland, on the Vistula River. It is located in the north-eastern part of the hist ...

, Poland

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Senov Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Ostrava-City District Cieszyn Silesia