![Status maiores Bilicensis Superiorem Silesiam AD1746](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Status_maiores_Bilicensis_Superiorem_Silesiam_AD1746.jpg)
The Duchy of Bielsko (german: freie Standesherrschaft Bielitz, Fürstentum Bielitz, Herzogtum Bielitz, la, status minores Bilicensis, status maiores Bilicensis, ducatus Bilicensis, pl, księstwo bielskie, cs, Bílské knížectví ) was one of the
duchies of Silesia
The Duchies of Silesia were the more than twenty divisions of the region of Silesia formed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the breakup of the Duchy of Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1335, the duchies were ceded to the Kin ...
.
It was created in 1572 out of the
Duchy of Cieszyn
The Duchy of Teschen (german: Herzogtum Teschen), also Duchy of Cieszyn ( pl, Księstwo Cieszyńskie) or Duchy of Těšín ( cs, Těšínské knížectví), was one of the Duchies of Silesia centered on Cieszyn () in Upper Silesia. It was spli ...
as vassal of
Bohemia and sold by
Wenceslaus III Adam, Duke of Cieszyn
Wenceslaus III Adam of Cieszyn ( cs, Václav III. Adam, german: Wenzel III. Adam, pl, Wacław III Adam; December 1524 – 4 November 1579) was a Duke of Cieszyn from 1528 until his death.
He was the second but only surviving son of Wenceslaus I ...
to Charles Promnitz.
Lately, in 1582 was sold to Adam
Schaffgotsch
The House of Schaffgotsch is the name of an old and influential Silesian noble family which dates back to the thirteenth century.
History
Around 1240, the first Schaffgotsch appears in a Silesian document as "Sibotho de nobili Familia Ovium" (" ...
, but ten years later was sold again to Sunnegh family. They in 1724 sold
state country to Henry of
Salm
Salm may refer to
People
* Constance de Salm (1767–1845), poet and miscellaneous writer; through her second marriage, she became Princess of Salm-Dyck
* Salm ibn Ziyad, an Umayyad governor of Khurasan and Sijistan
* House of Salm, a European ...
. In 1743 was county owned by
Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz and in 1751 its status was changed to status maiores, so it can send deputies to Silesian Assembly.
In 1752, the State Country (Status Maiores) of Bielsko was purchased by Aleksander Józef
Sulkowski. In that same year, the State Country was changed to the status of a lower principality (Fürstentum). On November 2, 1754, Queen
Maria Theresa of Austria
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) ...
created the Principality of Bielsko (Herzogtum Bielitz). The next owners of the Principality of Bielsko had the right to the title of Herzog (Duke), during which time the remaining members of the family counted themselves amongst the lesser noble status of Fürst (Prince).
The Principality was till 1849 as autonomous principality in
Austrian Silesia
Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...
. After the 1920 division of
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( pl, Śląsk Cieszyński ; cs, Těšínské Slezsko or ; german: Teschener Schlesien or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český T ...
between Poland and Czechoslovakia it became a part of Poland.
Its capital was in
Bielsko
Bielsko (german: Bielitz, cs, Bílsko) was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that to ...
, dukes were vassals of the King of Bohemia.
Bibliography
*ŽÁČEK, Rudolf. Dějiny Slezska v datech. Praha: Libri, 2003. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bielsko, Duchy Of
Duchies of Silesia
States and territories established in 1572
1572 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire