The only correct name for the river flowing through Cieszyn is Olza. At the end of the 19th century, Poles from outside of the region erroneously promoted the Olsza version. Even in The Deluge by Nobel Prize winner Henryk Sienkiewicz the following sentence appears: “near the mouth of the Olsza River on the Oder, the borders of Moravia were entered.” At the same time, the Czechs began promoting the equally erroneous version Olše. In 1961, the Czechoslovak authorities seeking to eradicate Polish names from public space officially renamed the river Olza to Olše. Today’s Bridge of Friendship is the oldest bridge connecting both parts of Cieszyn. Its history dates back to the Middle Ages. In Austrian times, it was thoroughly renovated. The iron bridge with partition girders was opened in 1891. In turn, in 1903, the new Jubilee Bridge of Emperor Franz Joseph I (now the Freedom Bridge) was opened. Border booths appeared on both bridges after the division of the town in 1920. Instead of uniting Cieszyn, the bridges became symbols of division. The younger generation of Cieszyn inhabitants no longer remembers the border crossings. They disappeared after Poland and Czechia joined the Schengen zone in 2007. Cieszyn in the 19th century was famous as a printing town. The largest printing house was run by the Prochaska family from 1806. Initially located at Stroma Street, the premises were moved in 1888 to a building at what is now 1 Main Street. The Prochaska family printed books in dozens of languages (even Arabic, Hebrew, and Ethiopian), employed several hundred people, and from 1883 their company bore the proud title of imperial and royal court supplier. The company remained in the hands of this family until 1940. Later, the ownership structure changed, but the former Prochaska printing house still operates today.
author: Michael Morys-Twarowski
