Czech Silesia České Slezsko Czeski Ślůnsk |
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Historical land | |||
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Czech Silesia (green) and the so-called Moravian enclaves in Silesia (red) in relation to the current regions of the Czech Republic |
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Location of Czech Silesia in Europe |
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Coordinates: 50°N 18°E / 50°N 18°ECoordinates: 50°N 18°E / 50°N 18°E | |||
Country | Czech Republic | ||
Former capital | Opava | ||
Largest city | Ostrava | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 4,459 km2 (1,722 sq mi) | ||
Population | |||
• Total | 1,000,000 | ||
• Density | 220/km2 (580/sq mi) | ||
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Czech Silesia (Czech: České Slezsko; Silesian: Czeski Ślůnsk; German: Tschechisch-Schlesien; Polish: Śląsk Czeski) is the name given to the part of the historical region of Silesia presently located in the Czech Republic. While not today an administrative entity in itself, Czech Silesia is, together with Bohemia and Moravia, one of the three historical Czech lands. In this context, it is often mentioned as "Silesia" even though it is only around one tenth of the area of the historic land of Silesia.
It 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 the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, also known as Austrian Silesia before 1918; between 1938 and 1945, part of the area was also alluded to as Sudeten Silesia: a reference to the Sudetenland.
Czech Silesia borders Moravia in 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 center, 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 around the city of Jeseník. After Ostrava, 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.