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Ráj (, ) is a municipal part of the city of
Karviná Karviná (; , ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Olza (river), Olza River in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Karviná is known as an industrial city with t ...
in
Karviná District Karviná District () is a Okres, district in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Karviná, but the most populated city is Havířov. Administrative division Karviná District is divided into five Distric ...
,
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 ...
,
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 was a separate municipality but in 1948 became a part of
Karviná Karviná (; , ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Olza (river), Olza River in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Karviná is known as an industrial city with t ...
. It lies 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 ...
and has about 14,000 inhabitants. The hospital is located there, as well as the football field, home of the local team
MFK Karviná MFK Karviná is a professional football club located in Karviná, Czech Republic. It plays in the Czech First League. The team's colours are green and white. History Karviná as a multi-ethnic city of Cieszyn Silesia was a home to many football ...
.


Etymology

The name is cultural in origin, literally ''
paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...
'', ''fertile and beautiful land''.


History

The settlement was first mentioned in a Latin document of Diocese of Wrocław called ''
Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis (, 'Book of endowments of the Bishopric of Wrocław') is a Latin manuscript catalog of documents compiled in the later 13th or in the early 14th century. It lists towns and villages obliged to pay a tithe to the Bishopric of Wrocław. As a pr ...
'' from around 1305 as ''item Frienstad in Ray''. It meant that the village served as the foundation ground for
Fryštát Fryštát (; ; ; Cieszyn Silesia dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ) is an administrative part of the city of Karviná in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Until 1948 it was a separate town. It lies on the Olza River, in the historic ...
(''Frienstad''), and as such it had to be much older. Politically the village belonged initially to the
Duchy of Teschen The Duchy of Teschen (), also Duchy of Cieszyn () or Duchy of Těšín (), was one of the Duchies of Silesia centered on Cieszyn () in Upper Silesia. It was split off the Silesian Duchy of Opole and Racibórz in 1281 during the feudal divisio ...
, formed in 1290 in the process of feudal fragmentation of Poland and was ruled by a local branch of Silesian Piast dynasty. In 1327 the duchy became 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 contrad ...
of the
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 a 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 ...
.After the
Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire The revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire took place from March 1848 to November 1849. Much of the revolutionary activity had a nationalism, nationalist character: the Austrian Empire, ruled from Vienna, included ethnic Germans, Hungarians, ...
, a modern municipal division was introduced in the re-established
Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Habsburg monarchy (from 1804 the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 the Cisleithanian portion of Austria-Hungary). It is la ...
. The village as a municipality was subscribed to
political district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
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 continent Europe Austria In texts concerning Austria, "judicial district" () refers to the geographi ...
of
Freistadt Freistadt (, ) is a small Austrian town in the state of Upper Austria in the region Mühlviertel. With a population of approximately 7,500 residents, it is a trade centre for local villages. Freistadt is the economic centre of a district of the sa ...
. After
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the fall of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, the
Polish–Czechoslovak War The Czechoslovak-Polish War, widely known in Czech sources as the Seven-Day War () was a military confrontation between Czechoslovakia and Poland over the territory of Cieszyn Silesia in early 1919. Czechoslovak forces invaded the Polish par ...
and the division 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 ...
in 1920, the village became a part of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. Following the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...
, in October 1938 together with the
Zaolzie Trans-Olza (, ; , ''Záolší''; ), also known as Trans-Olza Silesia (), is a territory in the Czech Republic which was disputed between Second Polish Republic, Poland and First Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovakia during the Interwar Period. ...
region it was annexed by
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, administratively organised in
Frysztat County Frysztat County () was an administrative territorial entity of the Second Polish Republic. Named after its capital in the town of Frysztat (now Fryštát district of the town Karviná, Czech Republic), it was part of Silesian Voivodeship (1920–39 ...
of
Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...
. The village was then annexed by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
at the beginning of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. After the war it was restored to
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. In the past a
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
château was located in Ráj. It was built in 1563-1570 together with the surrounding park. In the 1750s the château was reconstructed to the
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style and remained so until its destruction. In 1899 the château was bought by the local wealthy Larisch-Mönnich family, who owned it until 1945. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
it was confiscated, and after Communist takeover of power in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
it passed to the coal company, who used it as the dormitory for miners. In 1955 a hospital was relocated there. The château dilapidated quickly and the hospital was forced to leave the building in 1968. Communist authorities neglected the landmark and finally it was demolished in 1980.


Demographics

According to the censuses conducted in 1880, 1890, 1900 and 1910 the population of the municipality grew from 766 in 1880 to 1,053 in 1910. In terms of the language spoken ''colloquially'' the majority were Polish-speakers (between 99.4% and 98.4%), accompanied by German-speakers (at most 40 or 5.2% in 1880) and Czech-speakers (at most 5 or 0.5% in 1910). In terms of religion, in 1910 the majority were
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
(98.7%), 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 ...
(14 or 1.3%). The village was also traditionally inhabited by Silesian Lachs, speaking
Cieszyn Silesian dialect The Cieszyn Silesian dialect or Teschen Silesian dialect (Cieszyn Silesian: ''cieszyńsko rzecz''; or '; ; Silesian: ''ćeszyński djalekt'') is one of the Silesian dialects. It has its roots mainly in Old Polish and also has strong influence ...
.


References


References

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External links


Ráj Château information with historical and contemporary photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raj Villages in Karviná District Neighbourhoods in the Czech Republic Karviná