Šenov (; ; ) is a town in
Ostrava-City District in the
Moravian-Silesian Region
The Moravian-Silesian Region () is one of the 14 administrative regions of the Czech Republic. Before May 2001, it was called the Ostrava Region (). The region is located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Moravia and in most ...
of the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. It has about 6,600 inhabitants.
Geography
Šenov is located southeast of
Ostrava
Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...
, in its immediate vicinity. It is urbanistically fused with Ostrava-
Bartovice. It lies in the
Ostrava Basin lowland, in the historical region of
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( ; or ; or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided betwe ...
. The
Lučina River flows through the town.
History
Šenov was probably founded in around 1290. The creation of the village was a part of a larger settlement campaign taking place in the late 13th century on the territory of what will be later known as
Upper Silesia. The first written mention is in a Latin document of
Diocese of Wrocław called ''
Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis'' from 1305 under its Latin name ''Sonow''.
Politically the village belonged initially to the
Duchy of Teschen, formed in 1290 in the process of
feudal fragmentation of Poland and was ruled by a local branch of
Piast dynasty. In 1327 the duchy became a
fee of
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...
, which after 1526 became part of the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
.
The village could have become a seat of a Catholic
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
if ''Schonwald'' mentioned in a register of Peter's Pence payment from 1447 among 50 parishes of Teschen
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
ry was a temporary but similar name for the village at that time. After the 1540s
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
prevailed in the Duchy of Teschen and a local Catholic church was taken over by
Lutherans. It was taken from them (as one from around fifty buildings in the region) by a special commission and given back to the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
on 25 March 1654.
In around 1576, Šenov was acquired by the noble family of Skrbenský of Hříště. Šenov was in their possession for almost 300 years. The family had built here a magnificent renaissance castle, which stood in the area of today's park. It was demolished in 1927.
[
According to the Austrian census of 1910 the town had 3,441 inhabitants 2,820 (82.6%) were Czech-speaking and 528 (15.5%) were Polish-speaking. Most populous religious groups were Roman Catholics with 2,883 (83.8%), followed by ]Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
with 539 (15.7%).
Demographics
Transport
Šenov is located on the railway line Ostrava– Český Těšín.
Sights
The main landmark of Šenov is the Church of the Providence of God. It was built in the Baroque style in 1764.
Notable people
* Wacław Olszak (1868–1939), Polish physician and politician
* Vilém Wünsche (1900–1984), painter, graphic artist and illustrator
Twin towns – sister cities
Šenov is twinned with:
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Senov
Cities and towns in the Czech Republic
Populated places in Ostrava-City District
Cieszyn Silesia