( pl, , german: Smilowitz) is a municipality and village in

Frýdek-Místek District Frýdek-Místek District ( cs, okres Frýdek-Místek, pl, powiat Frydek-Mistek) is a district ('' okres'') within the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative centre is the city of Frýdek-Místek. It was created by a ref ...

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 800 inhabitants. Former Prime Minister of Poland and former president of the European Parliament

Jerzy Buzek Jerzy Karol Buzek (born 3 July 1940) is a Polish politician and Member of the European Parliament from Poland. He has served as Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001, since being elected to the European Parliament in 2004, he served as Pre ...

was born here. Polish minority makes up 18.0% of the population.

Etymology

The village was named after František Smyl, who brought new inhabitants here.

Geography

Smilovice lies 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 ...

. The municipality is located mostly in the

Moravian-Silesian Foothills Moravian-Silesian Foothills ( cz, Podbeskydská pahorkatina, pl, Pogórze Morawsko-Śląskie) are foothills and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. Geomorphology The region represents the westernmost section of the Western Bes ...

, the southwestern part extends into the

Moravian-Silesian Beskids The Moravian-Silesian Beskids (Czech: , sk, Moravsko-sliezske Beskydy) is a mountain range in the Czech Republic with a small part reaching to Slovakia. It lies on the historical division between Moravia and Silesia, hence the name. It is part o ...

. The

Ropičanka The Ropičanka ( pl, Ropiczanka) is a -long stream in the Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. It is a left tributary of the Olza, which it enters on the outskirts of Český Těšín. The Ropičanka flows through Řeka, Smilovice, Střít ...

stream flows through the municipality.

History

The first written mention of Smilovice is from 1448. It 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 ...

. František Smyl helped to settle the village and brought mainly Romanian

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 ...

. For these services, Smyl was promoted to

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...

and became mayor of

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitant ...

. The settlers subsisted on agriculture, pastoralism and mountain farming. In 1603,

Adam Wenceslaus, Duke of Cieszyn Adam Wenceslaus of Cieszyn ( pl, Adam Wacław cieszyński, cs, Adam Václav Těšínský, german: Adam Wenzel von Teschen; 12 December 1574 – 13 July 1617), was a Duke of Cieszyn from 1579 until his death. He was the second but only surviving ...

sold Smilovice to Hanibal of Brno. Then the village often changed owners. In 1644, the territory where the

Řeka ( pl, ) is a municipality and village in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. Polish minority makes up 10.1% of the population. Etymology The name literally means "river" ...

community was founded separated from Smilovice. 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 Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and

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 ...

. According to the censuses conducted in 1880–1910 the population of the municipality dropped from 684 in 1880 to 651 in 1910 with a majority being native Polish-speakers (dropping from 99% in 1880 to 96% in 1910) accompanied by a small Czech-speaking minority (at most 15 or 2.3% in 1910) and German-speaking (at most 11 or 1.7% in 1910). In terms of religion in 1910 the 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 ...

(83.5%), 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 ...

(14.4%),

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 ...

(9 or 1.4%) and 4 people adhering to another faiths. 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 ...

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

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

. Following the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, Germany, the United Kingdom, French Third Republic, France, and Fa ...

, in October 1938 together with the

Zaolzie Trans-Olza ( pl, Zaolzie, ; cs, Záolží, ''Záolší''; german: Olsa-Gebiet; Cieszyn Silesian: ''Zaolzi''), also known as Trans-Olza Silesia (Polish: ''Śląsk Zaolziański''), is a territory in the Czech Republic, which was disputed betwee ...

region it was annexed by

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 ...

, administratively adjoined to

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 ...

. It was then annexed by

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

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

. From 1980 to 1990, Smilovice was an administrative part of

Hnojník ( pl, , german: Hnoynik, Gnoynik) is a municipality and village in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,500 inhabitants. The municipality has a significant Polish minority. Etymology The ...

. Since 1990, it has been a separate municipality.

Culture

The Christian festival XcamP takes place in Smilovice annually in July since 2001.

Notable people

* Karol Grycz-Śmiłowski (1885–1959), Polish Lutheran and Unitarian priest *

(born 1940), Polish politician, former Prime Minister of Poland *

Stanislav Piętak Stanislav Piętak ( pl, Stanisław Piętak) (born 18 March 1946 in Smilovice) is a Czech theologian and pedagogue. Pietak studied at the Evangelical Theological Faculty of the Comenius University in Bratislava and at the Christian Theological Ac ...

(born 1946), Lutheran bishop

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smilovice (Frydek-Mistek District) Villages in Frýdek-Místek District Cieszyn Silesia