Wisła (; german: Weichsel; cs, Visla) is a town in

Cieszyn County __NOTOC__ Cieszyn County ( pl, powiat cieszyński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Czech and Slovak border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result o ...

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian ...

, southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, with a population of about 11,132 (2019), near the border with

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 is situated in the

Silesian Beskids Silesian Beskids (Polish: , Czech: , german: Schlesische Beskiden) is one of the Beskids mountain ranges in Outer Western Carpathians in southern Silesian Voivodeship, Poland and the eastern Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. Most of the ...

mountain range in the historical region 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 Tě ...

and ethnic region of the

Silesian Gorals Silesian Gorals ( pl, Górale śląscy, cs, Slezští Goralé, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Gorole''; literally "highlanders") are an ethnographic group (subgroup of Gorals) living in Silesian Beskids and Moravian-Silesian Beskids within historical reg ...

. ''Wisła'' is the Polish name for the

Vistula River The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

, which has its source in the mountains near the town. It is the only town in Poland with a majority

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

population (as of 2006 roughly two-thirds of the population were

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, which is a drop from 94,4% in 1900). Wisła is a popular year-round tourist destination, being home to Malinka, a

ski jumping hill A ski jumping hill is a sports venue used for ski jumping. They vary in size from temporary handmade snow structures to permanent competition venues. At the top is an in-run where the jumper runs down to generate sufficient speed, before reaching ...

. It is also known for being the home town of ski jumper

Adam Małysz Adam Henryk Małysz (; born 3 December 1977) is a Polish former ski jumper and rally driver. He competed in ski jumping from 1995 to 2011 and is one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport. His many accomplishments include f ...

. Wisła is also the home of the Beskid Museum displaying

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

tools, folk costumes and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

skin

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...

s from the surrounding region.

History

The first people to settle in Wisła in the late 16th or early 17th century came from two directions: from

Ustroń Ustroń (german: Ustron) is a health resort town in Cieszyn Silesia, southern Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been in Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship (1975–1998). It lies in the Silesian Beskids m ...

up the river

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

and

Gorals The Gorals ( pl, Górale; Goral dialect: ''Górole''; sk, Gorali; Cieszyn Silesia dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Gorole''), also known as the Highlanders (in Poland as the Polish Highlanders) are an indigenous ethnographic or ethnic group primar ...

searching for new pastures in the mountains (see also:

Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...

). It was first mentioned in 1615. Politically the village belonged then to the

Duchy of Teschen 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 split o ...

, 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 contra ...

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 ...

, which after 1526 became part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. It was first recognized as a developed village of the

Teschener Kammer Teschener Kammer or Teschen Chamber (, ) is a name of a latifundium owned directly by the Dukes of Teschen in the years 1653–1918 and a name of the institution managing it on their behalf. History It was instituted after the death of Elizab ...

, named ''na Wisłach'', in 1643. The majority of its inhabitants were

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

. After issuing the

Patent of Toleration The Patent of Toleration (german: Toleranzpatent) was an edict of toleration issued on 13 October 1781 by the Habsburg emperor Joseph II. Part of the Josephinist reforms, the Patent extended religious freedom to non-Catholic Christians living ...

in 1781, they subsequently organized a local Lutheran parish as one of over ten in the region. After

Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire The Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire were a set of revolutions that took place in the Austrian Empire from March 1848 to November 1849. Much of the revolutionary activity had a nationalist character: the Empire, ruled from Vienna, incl ...

, a modern municipal division was introduced in the re-established

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 ...

. The village as a municipality was subscribed to the

political district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polit ...

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 tow ...

and the

legal district A judicial district or legal district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court (usually a district court) has jurisdiction. By region Europe Austria In texts concerning Austria, "judicial district" (german: Gerichtsbezirk) refers ...

Skoczów Skoczów (pronounced , german: Skotschau, cs, Skočov) is a town and the seat of Gmina Skoczów in Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 14,385 inhabitants (2019). The town lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia ...

. In the second half of the 19th century it became increasingly popular as a tourist destination. According to the censuses conducted in 1880, 1890, 1900 and 1910 the population of the municipality grew from 4261 in 1880 to 4685 in 1910 with a majority being native Polish-speakers (98.5%-99%) and a small minority German-speaking (at most 64 or 1.5% in 1880) and at most 4 people Czech-speaking (in 1910), in terms of religion majority were

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

(94.9% in 1910), followed by

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

(232 or 5% in 1910) and 6

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. The village was also traditionally inhabited by a specific subgroup of

Silesian Gorals Silesian Gorals ( pl, Górale śląscy, cs, Slezští Goralé, Cieszyn Silesia dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Gorole''; literally "highlanders") are an ethnographic group (subgroup of Gorals) living in Silesian Beskids and Moravian-Silesian Beski ...

, speaking

Cieszyn Silesian dialect The Cieszyn Silesian dialect or Teschen Silesian dialect (Cieszyn Silesian: ''cieszyńsko rzecz''; pl, gwara cieszyńska or '; cs, těšínské nářečí; Silesian: ''ćeszyński djalekt'') is one of the Silesian dialects. It has its roots ...

. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, fall of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Polish–Czechoslovak War The Poland–Czechoslovakia War, also known mostly in Czech sources as the Seven-day war ( cs, Sedmidenní válka) was a military confrontation between Czechoslovakia and Poland over the territory of Cieszyn Silesia in early 1919. After a vai ...

and the division of

in 1920, it became a part of

. It was then

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war it was restored to

. It gained

town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1962.

Tourism

In the winter Wisła is known for its skiing: Malinka, a ski jump hill, is located here and hosts international competitions. In the summer, hiking through its many mountain trails is popular. To support its recent growth in tourism, many hotels have been built, the largest of which is Hotel Gołębiewski. Wisła is also home to Wisła Castle – one of the official residences of the

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...

. In Wisła a trail starts that leads to the Stożek Wielki, a mountain on the border with the Czech Republic that reaches a height of 978 meters.

Notable residents

Juliusz Bursche Juliusz Bursche (September 19, 1862 in Kalisz – February 20, 1942?) was a bishop of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland. A vocal opponent of Nazi Germany, after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, he was arrested by the Germans, tort ...

(1862–1942), Lutheran bishop *

(born 1977), ski jumper *

Piotr Żyła Piotr Paweł Żyła (Polish pronunciation: ; born 16 January 1987) is a Polish Ski jumping, ski jumper. He is a member of the national team and competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He is the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2021, 2021 ...

(born 1987), ski jumper *

Julian Ochorowicz Julian Leopold Ochorowicz (Polish pronunciation: ; outside Poland also known as Julien Ochorowitz; Radzymin, 23 February 1850 – 1 May 1917, Warsaw) was a Polish philosopher, psychologist, inventor (precursor of radio and television), poet, pub ...

(1850–1917), philosopher *

Jerzy Pilch Jerzy Pilch (; 10 August 1952 – 29 May 2020) was a Polish writer, columnist, and journalist. Critics have compared Pilch's style to Witold Gombrowicz, Milan Kundera, or Bohumil Hrabal. Early life and education Born and raised in the small t ...

(1952–2020), writer and columnist

Twin towns – sister cities

Wisła is twinned with: *

Bully-les-Mines Bully-les-Mines () is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, département in northern France. It forms part of the Communauté d'agglomération de Lens – Liévin, Lens-Liévin agglomeration community, which enc ...

, France *

Čoka Čoka ( sr-Cyrl, Чока, ; hu, Csóka, ; german: Tschoka; sk, Čoka) is a town and municipality located in the North Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 4,028, while Čoka municipality ...

, Serbia *

Hukvaldy Hukvaldy (german: Hochwald) is a municipality and village in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,100 inhabitants. It is known for the ruins of the third-largest castle in the Czech Republic ...

, Czech Republic *

Nepomuk Nepomuk (; german: Pomuk) is a town in Plzeň-South District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,700 inhabitants. It is known as the birthplace of Saint John of Nepomuk, who was born here around 1340 and whose statue can be ...

, Czech Republic *

Rheinhausen Rheinhausen () is a district of the city of Duisburg in Germany, with a population of 78,203 (December 31, 2020) and an area of 38.68 km². It lies on the left bank of the river Rhine. Rheinhausen consists of the neighbourhoods: Rumeln-Kald ...

, Germany *

Turčianske Teplice Turčianske Teplice (german: Bad Stuben; hu, Stubnyafürdő) is a town in central Slovakia in the Žilina Region. It is about halfway between Martin and Kremnica. The town's population is around 6,500. The town was the historic center of the Upp ...

, Slovakia

Gallery

File:Wisla Poland 1939 Henryk Poddebski.jpg, Panorama of Wisła in 1939 File:014 Stok narciarski Nowa Osada, Wisla, Polska.jpg, Nowa Osada skiing station File:Wisła 1102.jpg, Lutheran church of the Apostles Peter and Paul File:Plebania ewangelicka w Wiśle 2.JPG, Lutheran rectory File:Pałacyk Myśliwski Habsburgów w Wiśle 1.JPG, Former Habsburg Hunting Palace File:POL Wisła Hotel Gołębiewski i Wisła 2.JPG, Gołębiewski Hotel

References

External links

Wisła Town Website

Skocznia Malinka Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wisla Cities and towns in Silesian Voivodeship Cieszyn County Silesian Beskids Ski areas and resorts in Poland Cieszyn Silesia