Czarków (german: Czarkow) is a village in the administrative district of

Gmina Pszczyna __NOTOC__ Gmina Pszczyna is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Pszczyna County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the town of Pszczyna, which lies approximately south of the regional capital Katowice. The gmina ...

, within

Pszczyna County __NOTOC__ Pszczyna County ( pl, powiat pszczyński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government ( powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local governmen ...

, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Pszczyna and south of the regional capital

Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...

. The village has a population of 1,950.

History

In the Middle Ages, the area was part of the territory of the Vistulans tribe, one of the Polish tribes. It became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century. As a result of the fragmentation of Poland, it was part of the Polish Seniorate Province and Duchy of Racibórz. Later on, the village passed under Bohemian (Czech) suzerainty, and in the 15th century, it became part of the newly formed

Duchy of Pszczyna The Duchy of Pless (or the ''Duchy of Pszczyna'',Julian Janczakof Pszczyna" (in) Zarys dziejów kartografii śląskiej do końca XVIII wieku''(An outline for the History of Cartography till the End of the 18th century)'', Opole: 1976, Polish Aca ...

. During the political upheaval caused by Matthias Corvinus the duchy was overtaken in 1480 by

Casimir II, Duke of Cieszyn Casimir II of Cieszyn ( pl, Kazimierz, cs, Kazimír; – 13 December 1528) was a Duke of Cieszyn since 1477, ruler over Koźle during 1479–1509, since 1493 ruler over Wołów, over Pszczyna during 1498–1517, from 1506 over Opava, Duke of Gł ...

from the

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 ...

, who sold it in 1517 to the Hungarian

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

s of the Thurzó family, forming the Duchy of Pless, Pless state country. In the accompanying sales document issued on 21 February 1517 the village was mentioned as ''Cziernkow''. Along with the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1526, it became part of the Habsburg monarchy. In the War of the Austrian Succession most of Silesia was conquered by the Kingdom of Prussia, including the village, and in 1871 it became part of the German Empire. After World War I, Poland regained independence, and following the subsequent Polish Silesian Uprisings against Germany, the village was reintegrated with the reborn Polish state.

References

Villages in Pszczyna County {{Pszczyna-geo-stub