Duchy of Teschen | ||||||||||
Księstwo Cieszyńskie (pl) Těšínské knížectví (cs) Herzogtum Teschen (de) Ducatus Tessinensis (la) |
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Silesian duchy Fiefdom of the Kingdom of Bohemia (1327) and the Bohemian Crown (1348) |
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Silesia 1290-91: Duchy of Cieszyn (yellow) under Mieszko I
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Capital | Cieszyn | |||||||||
Languages |
Latin (officially) German (later) Polish (popularly) Czech |
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Religion |
Lutheranism Roman Catholicism |
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Government | Principality | |||||||||
Dukes | ||||||||||
• | 1290–1315 | Mieszko I (first duke) | ||||||||
• | 1625–1653 | Elizabeth Lucretia (last Piast ruler) | ||||||||
• | 1895–1918 | Archduke Frederick Habsburg (last duke) | ||||||||
History | ||||||||||
• | Partitoned from Racibórz | 1290 | ||||||||
• | Split off Oświęcim | 1315 | ||||||||
• | Vassalized by Bohemia | 1327 | ||||||||
• | Split off Bielsko | 1572 | ||||||||
• | Habsburg rule | 1653 | ||||||||
• | Part of Austrian Silesia | 1742 | ||||||||
• | Spa Conference | 28 July 1920 | ||||||||
Population | ||||||||||
• | 1910 est. | 350,000 | ||||||||
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¹ Coat of arms of the Duchy of Teschen and the regional branch of the Piast dynasty |
The Duchy of Teschen (German: Herzogtum Teschen), also Duchy of Cieszyn (Polish: Księstwo Cieszyńskie) or Duchy of Těšín (Czech: Těšínské knížectví, Latin: Ducatus Tessinensis) was an autonomous Silesian duchy centered on Cieszyn (Teschen) in Upper Silesia. During the feudal division of Poland it was split off from the Duchy of Racibórz in 1281 and ruled by Silesian dukes of the Piast dynasty from 1290.
The ducal lands initially comprised former Lesser Polish territories east of the Biała River, which in about 1315 again split off as the Duchy of Oświęcim, while the remaining duchy became a Bohemian fief in 1327. After the bulk of Silesia was conquered by the Prussian king Frederick the Great in 1742, Cieszyn/Těšín together with the duchies of Troppau (Opava), Krnov and Nysa remained with Austrian Silesia. The ducal title was held by the Austrian archdukes of the House of Lorraine until 1918.