Cieszyn of 1911 and Cieszyn after 1911
On Sunday, 12th February 1911, the tramway line in Cieszyn had its first run from the Higher Gate (Bielska stop) to the railroad station (Railway Station stop). At 11:30 AM, the celebrities of those times had a trial run, after which they “celebrated the new creation with champagne in one of the hotels and said insincere compliments and compliments to each other,” as a correspondent of the local newspaper Gwiazdka Cieszyńska (i.e. “Little Cieszyn Star”) put it. At 1 PM, the tram set off on its first run. On the first day, the tram cars were packed with people, as a total of 4,000 tickets were sold.
The people of Cieszyn could feel proud that they were not lagging behind when it came to modernisation. It is worth mentioning that it was not the case that in the former Austria certain solutions were implemented top-down and all towns and cities developed equally. Much credit was due to the people of Cieszyn themselves, who looked up to the capital Vienna and tried to create a “little Vienna” at home.
The tram complemented the investments made over several decades. A beautiful railway station and gasworks were built, gas lamps replaced paraffin lamps in the streets, an impressive theatre building was erected, modern baths were opened, and free time was spent in stylish cafés and beautiful parks. Emperor Franz Joseph was present in public spaces as the patron of numerous buildings and institutions, as well as in the hearts of the town’s inhabitants. He was enthusiastically welcomed when he visited the town – for the last time in 1906. Franz Joseph was referred to as “our Emperor,” since among his numerous titles, there was also the “Herzog zu Teschen” i.e. “Duke of Cieszyn”.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Cieszyn was making the most of its opportu- nities, although the Cieszyn Duchy was not in the best place in terms of administrative division – being only the eastern part of Austrian Silesia with the capital Opava. The town at the Olza River was home to numerous associations, editorial offices, and schools. Industry was also booming in the area. It is worth mentioning that the Cieszyn Duchy was at that time one of the most industrialised and most densely populated regions on the continent. In addition, the mountainous surroundings attracted many tourists. However, later tragedies also played an important part in the assessment of those times. The years of the First World War brought poverty and hunger, and thousands of men from the Cieszyn Duchy had to wear the Austrian uniform and shed blood for Austria. In 1918, the Habsburg monarchy collapsed, and a legal government formed by local Poles, whoconstituted the majority of the population, took power in Cieszyn. It was called the National Council of the Cieszyn Duchy. It was headed by Father Józef Londzin, Dr. Jan Michejda, and Tadeusz Reger, deputies to the Council of State in Vienna, elected in the last pre-war general election.
Shortly afterwards, a decision was made in the Prague cabinets to attack Cieszyn. In January 1919, Czech troops invaded the Polish part of the Cieszyn Duchy, and the town paid a huge price for this war which lasted only several days. After the armistice, it was first expected that a plebiscite would decide the fate of the town and the region. Each side appealed to the sense of separateness that was strong among the Silesians of Cieszyn, regardless of whether they came from Polish, German, or Czech families. However, something entirely different happened, as in 1920 in the far-away Spa, Belgium, Cieszyn and the Cieszyn Duchy were arbitrarily divided. The Olza River suddenly became a border river, and the town was literally cut in half. Then came the crisis of the inter-war period. In 1938, after almost two decades, the western part of Cieszyn was again within Poland’s borders, but already in 1939 the horror of German occupation began, which lasted stretching until 3rd May 1945. Thus, the Third Reich ruled almost to the very end, as it capitulated barely five days later.
By Joseph Stalin’s decision, Cieszyn was again divided by a state border. After Poland and Czechia joined the Schengen area in 2007, the border booths finally disappeared and eastern Cieszyn and western Český Těšín look like one town again, although it will take years and luck to heal the wounds.
The tram in Cieszyn, built in 1911, did not survive the political changes. In 1920, its line was divided by a state border, and in 1921 it was liquidated. It was a symbolic moment showing the beginning of the town’s deterioration. However, this process could be reversed. The two halves of the divided town, as if fuelled by the memory of the old Austrian times, are trying to build on those successes and regain their lost glory.
It is difficult to discuss Cieszyn’s past, since it is very unusual. Depictions of the past from Polish and Czech (academic) textbooks will be of little help, as the fate of Cieszyn had its own peculiarities. One option is a chronological approach, as in the old chronicles. A problem-based approach, as in scientific monographs, is another solution. But we can also do otherwise and set off, following the trail of the former Cieszyn tram and discover, stop by stop, the pieces of the puzzle that made up the town of those days.
Text ("Tram stops" tab): Michael Morys-Twarowski
English translation ("Tram stops" tab): Mikołaj Iwanicki
Town map graphic design ("Tram stops" tab): Tukej
Photographs("Tram stops" tab): Wojciech Wandzel, Renata Karpińska, Anna Fedrizzi-Szostok
The website ("Tram stops" tab) uses illustrations from the collections of: Muzeum Těšínska, Muzeum Śląska Cieszyńskiego, Książnicy Cieszyńskiej and from the following publications: H. Wawreczka, J. Spyra, M. Makowski
„Cieszyn i Czeski Cieszyn na starych widokówkach i fotografiach”, Nebory 1999; R. Karpińska „Cieszyn robi wrażenie”, Cieszyn 2014; R. Karpińska „ Zwiedzaj Cieszyn z Trzema Braćmi”, Cieszyn, 2021
