Darkovice (german: Groß Darkowitz) is a municipality and village in

Opava District Opava District ( cs, okres Opava) is a district (''okres'') within Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Opava. Complete list of municipalities Bělá - Bohuslavice - Bolatice - Branka u Opavy - Bratř� ...

in the

Moravian-Silesian Region The Moravian-Silesian Region ( cs, Moravskoslezský kraj; pl, Kraj morawsko-śląski; sk, Moravsko-sliezsky kraj) is one of the 14 administrative regions of the Czech Republic. Before May 2001, it was called the Ostrava Region ( cs, Ostravský ...

of the

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

. It has about 1,400 inhabitants. It is part of historic

Hlučín Region Hlučín Region ( cs, Hlučínsko, german: Hultschiner Ländchen, pl, Ziemia hulczyńska) is a historically significant part of Czech Silesia, now part of the Moravian-Silesian Region in the Czech Republic. It is named after its largest town, Hlu� ...

History

The first written mention of Darkovice is in a deed of

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

from 1250, in which it is stated that King

Wenceslaus I of Bohemia Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav I.; c. 1205 – 23 September 1253), called One-Eyed, was King of Bohemia from 1230 to 1253. Wenceslaus was a son of Ottokar I of Bohemia and his second wife Constance of Hungary. Marriage and children In 1224, Wencesl ...

donated the village to the Cistercian monastery in

Velehrad Velehrad is a municipality and village in Uherské Hradiště District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,100 inhabitants. It is known as a pilgrimage site. Geography Most of the municipality lies in the Chřiby highlands. ...

. Before 1265 a new village called Žibřidovice was established near Darkovice, and the oldest pond in the region was established between them. After the death of King

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his deat ...

, battles for inheritance took place, and Žibřidovice ceased to exist and Darkovice was abandoned during this war. In 1320, Darkovice became part of the

Landek Landek is a village in Gmina Jasienica, Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has a population of 601 (2016). Landek lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. History The village was created in the 16th century by ...

estate and was administered by the burgrave Přesek of Lichnov, who renewed the village. In 1517,

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 ...

attached Darkovice to the

Hlučín Hlučín (; german: Hultschin; pl, Hulczyn) is a town in Opava District the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. It was the centre of the historic Hlučín Region. The historic town centre is well preser ...

estate. However, Štěpán of Vrbno split this heritage in 1568. By this act, the village fell into the possession of Karel of Vrbno as a part of the

Šilheřovice Šilheřovice (german: Schillersdorf, pl, Szylerzowice) is a municipality and village in Opava District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,600 inhabitants. It is part of the historic Hlučín Region. Geography � ...

estate. Darkovice was acquired by

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

from Opava in 1673. Their rule led to a series of rebellions in 1734. From 1742 the village belonged to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

after

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

had been defeated. The

corvée Corvée () is a form of unpaid, forced labour, that is intermittent in nature lasting for limited periods of time: typically for only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state for the purposes of ...

was abolished here in 1823, 25 years earlier than in the rest of the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

. In 1920, Darkovice became part of the newly established

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. From 1979 to 1990 the municipality was annexed to

, but since 1990 Darkovice has been an independent municipality again.

Twin towns – sister cities

Darkovice is twinned with: * Lyski, Poland

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Opava District Hlučín Region