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, southern Poland, with a population of about 11,132 (2019), near the border with Czech Republic. It is situated in the Silesian Beskids mountain range in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia and ethnic region of the Silesian Gorals. ''Wisła'' is the Polish name for the Vistula River, which has its source in the mountains near the town. It is the only town in Poland with a majority Lutheran population (as of 2006 roughly two-thirds of the population were Protestant, which is a drop from 94,4% in 1900). Wisła is a popular year-round tourist destination, being home to

Malinka Malinka is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wydminy, within Giżycko County __NOTOC__ Giżycko County ( pl, powiat giżycki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship ...

, a ski jumping hill. 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 goatskin bagpipes 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 up the river Vistula and Gorals searching for new pastures in the mountains (see also: Vlachs). It was first mentioned in 1615. Politically the village belonged then to the Duchy of Teschen, a fee of the Kingdom of Bohemia, 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. After issuing the Patent of Toleration 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. The village as a municipality was subscribed to the political district of Bielsko and the legal district of Skoczów. 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. The village was also traditionally inhabited by a specific subgroup of Silesian Gorals, speaking Cieszyn Silesian dialect. After World War I, fall of Austria-Hungary, Polish–Czechoslovak War and the division of Cieszyn Silesia in 1920, it became a part of Poland. 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 ...

by Nazi Germany at the beginning of World War II. After the war it was restored to Poland. It gained town rights in 1962.

Tourism

In the winter Wisła is known for its skiing:

, 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. In Wisła a trail starts that leads to the

Stożek Wielki Stożek Wielki ( cs, Velký Stožek; literally ''"big cone"'') is a mountain on the border of Poland and the Czech Republic, in the Silesian Beskids mountain range. It reaches a height of . The peak of the mountain has a characteristic conical sh ...

, a mountain on the border with the Czech Republic that reaches a height of 978 meters.

Notable residents

* Juliusz Bursche (1862–1942), Lutheran bishop *

(born 1977), ski jumper * Piotr Żyła (born 1987), ski jumper * Julian Ochorowicz (1850–1917), philosopher * Jerzy Pilch (1952–2020), writer and columnist

Twin towns – sister cities

Wisła is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Bully-les-Mines, France * Čoka, 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, Czech Republic * Rheinhausen, 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