Šenov (; ; ) is a town in

Ostrava-City District Ostrava-City District () is a Okres, district in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Ostrava. Administrative division Ostrava-City District is formed by only one Districts of the Czech Republic#Municipali ...

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 6,600 inhabitants.

Geography

Šenov is located 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 ...

, in its immediate vicinity. It is urbanistically fused with Ostrava-

Bartovice Bartovice (, ) is a part of the city of Ostrava, Moravian-Silesian Region in the Czech Republic. Administratively it is a part of the district of Radvanice a Bartovice. Bartovice was formerly an independent municipality, in 1960 it became a part o ...

. It lies in the

Ostrava Basin The Ostrava Basin (, , ) is a lowland and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic and Poland. It is located in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic and in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland. Geomorphology The Ostrava Ba ...

lowland, 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 ...

. The Lučina River flows through the town.

History

Šenov was probably founded in around 1290. The creation of the village was a part of a larger settlement campaign taking place in the late 13th century on the territory of what will be later known as

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

. The first written mention is in a Latin document of Diocese of Wrocław called ''

Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis (, '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 century. It lists towns and villages obliged to pay a tithe to the Bishopric of Wrocław. As a pr ...

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

, 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 List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

. 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 contrad ...

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 ...

. The village could have become a seat of a Catholic

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

ry was a temporary but similar name for the village at that time. After the 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 a local Catholic church was taken over by

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 ...

. 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 25 March 1654. In around 1576, Šenov was acquired by the noble family of Skrbenský of Hříště. Šenov was in their possession 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 * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

census of 1910 the town had 3,441 inhabitants 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

with 2,883 (83.8%), followed by

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 ...

with 539 (15.7%).

Demographics

Transport

Šenov is located on the railway line Ostrava–

Český Těšín Český Těšín (; ; ) is a town in Karviná District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. Český Těšín lies on the west bank of the Olza (river), Olza river, in the heart of the historical ...

Sights

The main landmark of Šenov is the Church of the Providence of God. It was built in the Baroque style in 1764.

Notable people

* Wacław Olszak (1868–1939), Polish physician and politician * Vilém Wünsche (1900–1984), painter, graphic artist and illustrator

Twin towns – sister cities

Šenov is twinned with: *

Strumień Strumień , , ) is a town and the seat of Gmina Strumień, in Cieszyn County, in the Silesian Voivodeship (Administrative divisions of Poland, province) of southern Poland, on the Vistula River. It is located in the north-eastern part of the histo ...

, Poland

References

External links

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