Nýdek (, ) is a municipality and village in

Frýdek-Místek District Frýdek-Místek District () is a district in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Frýdek-Místek. Administrative division Frýdek-Místek District is divided into four administrative districts of munici ...

in the

Moravian-Silesian Region The Moravian-Silesian Region () is one of the 14 administrative regions of the Czech Republic. Before May 2001, it was called the Ostrava Region (). The region is located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Moravia and in most ...

of the

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

. It has about 2,100 inhabitants. The municipality has a significant Polish minority.

Etymology

The name of Nýdek was probably derived from the personal name ''Nidek''.

Geography

Nýdek is located about east of

Frýdek-Místek Frýdek-Místek (, ; ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 54,000 inhabitants. The historic centres of both Frýdek and Místek are well preserved and are protected as two Cultural monument (Czech Republic) ...

and southeast of

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

, on the border with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It lies in the historical region of

Cieszyn Silesia Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( ; or ; or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided betwe ...

, in the

Silesian Beskids Silesian Beskids (, , ) is one of the Beskids mountain ranges in the Outer Western Carpathians in southern Silesian Voivodeship, Poland and the eastern Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. Most of the range lies in Poland. It is separa ...

mountain range. The highest point is Velká Čantoryje at above sea level, located on the Czech-Polish border. The

Hluchová Hluchová ( or ''Głuchowa'') is a 12.3 km long creek in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. It is the right tributary of the Olza, to which it enters in Bystřice. It originates near the border with Poland an ...

River flows through the municipality.

History

The first written mention of Nýdek is from 1430, when

Bolesław I, Duke of Cieszyn Bolesław I of Cieszyn (, , ) ( – 6 May 1431) was a Duke of half of Bytom and Siewierz from 1405, Duke of Cieszyn and half of both Głogów and Ścinawa from 1410, and Duke of Toszek and Strzelin during 1410–1414. He was the second son ...

donated this territory to Nidek, who founded here a settlement. The first mention of the settlement is from 1456. Politically the village belonged then to the

Duchy of Teschen The Duchy of Teschen (), also Duchy of Cieszyn () or Duchy of Těšín (), was one of the Duchies of Silesia centered on Cieszyn () in Upper Silesia. It was split off the Silesian Duchy of Opole and Racibórz in 1281 during the feudal divisio ...

that was 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 contrad ...

of the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

, which after 1526 became part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

. After 1540s

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

prevailed in the Duchy of Teschen and later local

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

built a wooden church here (it was not built earlier by Catholics). 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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

on 21 March 1654. From the 15th century until 1792, Nýdek was owned by the Gočálkovský family. In 1770, iron ore was discovered here, which caused population growth and development of the village. Nýdek was bought by

Teschener Kammer Teschener Kammer or Teschen Chamber (, ) is a name of a latifundium owned directly by the Duchy of Teschen, Dukes of Teschen in the years 1653–1918 and a name of the institution managing it on their behalf. History It was instituted after t ...

in 1792 for 46,000

florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...

. After

Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire The revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire took place from March 1848 to November 1849. Much of the revolutionary activity had a nationalism, nationalist character: the Austrian Empire, ruled from Vienna, included ethnic Germans, Hungarians, ...

a modern municipal division was introduced in the re-established

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Habsburg monarchy (from 1804 the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 the Cisleithanian portion of Austria-Hungary). It is la ...

. Nýdek as a municipality was subscribed to the

political district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Teschen 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 continent Europe Austria In texts concerning Austria, "judicial district" () refers to the geographi ...

of Jablunkau. According to the censuses conducted in 1880–1910 the population of the municipality grew from 1,567 in 1880 to 1,747 in 1910 with a majority being native Polish-speakers (between 94.7% and 97.7%) accompanied by German-speaking (at most 74 or 4% in 1900) and Czech-speaking people (at most 17 or 0.9% in 1880). In terms of religion in 1910 the majority were

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

(93.6%), followed by

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

(86 or 4.9%),

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

(7 or 0.4%) and 19 ''others''. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Polish–Czechoslovak War The Czechoslovak-Polish War, widely known in Czech sources as the Seven-Day War () was a military confrontation between Czechoslovakia and Poland over the territory of Cieszyn Silesia in early 1919. Czechoslovak forces invaded the Polish par ...

and the division of

in 1920, the municipality became a part of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. Following the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

, in October 1938 together with the

Trans-Olza Trans-Olza (, ; , ''Záolší''; ), also known as Trans-Olza Silesia (), is a territory in the Czech Republic which was disputed between Poland and Czechoslovakia during the Interwar Period. Its name comes from the Olza River. The history of ...

region it was annexed by

, administratively adjoined to

Cieszyn County __NOTOC__ Cieszyn County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Czech and Slovak border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local gove ...

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...

. It was then annexed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war it was restored to

Demographics

Polish minority makes up 17.0% of the population.

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.

Sport

Skocznia narciarska i budynek TJ TZ Trinec w Nydku

Nýdek has a tradition of winter sports. In 1933, a

ski jumping hill A ski jumping hill is a sports venue used for ski jumping. They vary in size from temporary handmade snow structures to permanent competition venues. At the top is an in-run where the jumper runs down to generate sufficient speed, before reaching ...

was built here, which still works today.

Sights

The most important historical monument is the Church of Saint Nicholas, built in 1576. An observation tower is located on the Velká Čantoryje mountain. It belongs to the most visited tourist destinations in the Moravian-Silesian Region.

Notable people

Aniela Kupiec Aniela Kupiec (5 April 1920 – 11 September 2019) was a Polish Czech poet and public figure from the Trans-Olza region. She wrote her poetry in the Cieszyn Silesian dialect. Life Kupiec was born in Nýdek on 5 April 1920 in Cieszyn Silesia. Her ...

(1920–2019), Polish poet

Gallery

Nydek-drzewionka.jpg, Traditional old wooden house Nydek - hasicska zbrojnice.jpg, Fire station Dom PZKO.jpg,

PZKO Polski Związek Kulturalno-Oświatowy (commonly known as PZKO; , meaning "Polish Cultural and Educational Union") is a Polish organization in the Czech Republic. It represents the Polish minority in the Czech Republic together with the Congres ...

House Nydek skocznia.jpg, Ski jumping hill in Nýdek, before 1934

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nydek Villages in Frýdek-Místek District Cieszyn Silesia