| State of Silesia Země Slezská |
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|---|---|---|---|
| — State — | |||
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| Country |  Czechoslovakia |
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| Capital |  Ostrava |
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| Government | |||
| - State legislature | Silesian Land Assembly | ||
| - Governor | Miroslav Novák (ČSSD) | ||
| - Governing parties | ČSSD–ČSNS–KSČ | ||
| - Chamber of Deputies seats | (of 200) | ||
| - Senate seats | 25 (of 100) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| HDI (2019) | 0.906 very high |
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Silesia (Czech: Slezsko, German: Schlesien, Polish: Śląsk, Silesian: Ślōnsk), officially the State of Silesia (Czech: Země Slezská, German: Land Schlesien, Polish: Ziemia Śląska, Silesian: Ziemjŏ Ślōnskŏ), is the smallest of the four states of Czechoslovakia. Silesia is bordered in the north by Poland, in the southwest by Bohemia and Moravia, and to the southeast by Slovakia (all three being states of Czechoslovakia). Together with Bohemia and Moravia, it is one of the three historical Czech lands.
About two thirds of the territory is situated in the Eastern Sudetes, while the rest of the territory extends into the western section of the Western Beskids. The rivers Oder and Olza forms part of the natural border with Poland. Major cities include Ostrava (its capital and largest city), Opava, Český Těšín, Ratiboř and Hlubčice.
Modern-day Czech Silesia derives primarily from a small part of Silesia that remained within the Bohemian Crown and the Habsburg monarchy at the end of the First Silesian War in 1742, when the rest of Silesia was ceded to Prussia. It was re-organised as the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, with its capital at Opava. In 1918, the former Duchy was one of the lands (provinces) which formed part of the newly created state of Czechoslovakia, except for Cieszyn Silesia, which was split between Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1920. In 1928 it was merged with Moravia to form the province of Moravia-Silesia. Czech Silesia was predominantly settled by German-speaking populations up until 1945. Between 1938 and 1945, Czech Silesia was annexed by Nazi Germany (Sudetenland) and Poland (Trans-Olza). Following World War II, Czech Silesia and Hlučín Region were returned to Czechoslovakia and the ethnic Germans were expelled. The border conflict with Poland flared up again, this time over Cieszyn and the former German Silesian territories of Kladsko, Ratiboř and Hlubčice. After a short war, Czechoslovakia gained control over Kladsko, Ratiboř and Hlubčice and the border was set along the Olza (but not confirmed by treaty until 1958). Upon Czechoslovakia's adaption of the new federal constitution in 1948, the Moravian-Silesian province was divided into Moravia and Silesia. Silesia became one of the four federal states on 1 January 1949, having gained some territories from Moravia (including the Moravian part of Ostrava).
A highly industrialized region, Silesia (and in particular the areas around Ostrava, Třinec, Vítkovice and Havířov) was known as Ocelové srdce republiky ("Steel Heart of the Republic"). It was the country's centre for coal-mining, coke production, mechanical engineering and metal and iron working industry, and contributed to the Czechoslovak economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s. Although the Třinec Iron and Steel Works remain the largest steel producer in the country, the the economy of Silesia has since the 1990s undergone a significant structural change away from coal mining and steel industry, and many industrial heritage sites are now workplaces for designers, artists and the advertising industry.
Administrative divisions[]
Politics[]
Silesia has a multiparty system and has been a stronghold of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) since 1945. The ČSSD has won every election since 1945 with the exception of the 1986 and 1998 elections. Hitherto, František Konečný (1986–1990) and Evžen Tošenovský (1998–2006) have been the only Republican Party (RS) candidates to ever become governors. The industrial, south-eastern part of Silesia is markedly more left-wing than the rural northern districts of the state.
Legislative[]
Silesia has a unicameral Land Assembly (Czech: Slezská zemská ráda, German: Schlesischer Landtag, Polish: Śląski Sejm Ziemowy, Silesian: Ziemjŏ Ślōnskŏyjo Radã), whose __ members are elected for a period of four years by universal suffrage.
Executive[]
The Silesian State Government consists of the Governor (Czech political term: Hejtman), eleven Ministers and six Secretaries of State. The governor is elected for a period of four years by the Land Assembly. With the approval of the State Parliament he appoints the members of the State Government. The State Government is composed of the:
The governor (Czech political term: Hejtman) of Silesia has typically been a ČSSD candidate.
Governors of Silesia since 1949[]
| Governors of Silesia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Name | Born and died | Party affiliation | Begin of tenure | End of tenure |
| 1 | Jaroslav Pavlán | 1895–1990 | ČSSD | 1949 | 1962 |
| 2 | Josef Kempný | 1920–1996 | ČSSD | 1962 | 1970 |
| 3 | Oldřich Černík | 1921–1994 | ČSSD | 1970 | 1978 |
| 4 | Eduard Foltýn | 1925–1992 | ČSSD | 1978 | 1986 |
| 5 | František Konečný | 1936–2017 | RS | 1986 | 1990 |
| 6 | Jiří Smejkal | 1939–2013 | ČSSD | 1990 | 1998 |
| 7 | Evžen Tošenovský | 1956– | RS | 1998 | 2006 |
| 8 | Jaroslav Palas | 1952– | ČSSD | 2006 | 2014 |
| 9 | Miroslav Novák | 1972– | ČSSD | 2014 | Incumbent |
See also[]
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