History of Cieszyn

II on in May 1779 signed the Teschen Peace Treaty, which put an end to the War of the Bavarian Succession. In the 19th century Teschen was known for its ethnic, religious and cultural diversity, containing mostly German, Polish, Jewish and Czech communities. There was also a small Hungarian community in the town consisting mostly of officers and clerks.

The town was divided in July 1920, by the Spa Conference, a body formed by the Versailles Treaty, leaving a Polish minority on the Czechoslovak side. Its smaller western suburbs became what is now the town of Český Těšín in the Czech Republic. During the interwar period two villages were merged into Cieszyn: Błogocice in 1923 and Bobrek in 1932. After 1920 many ethnic Germans left the town, while many Poles from the Czechoslovakian part of the region moved in.

Cieszyn and Český Těšín were merged again in October 1938 when Poland annexed the Zaolzie area together with Český Těšín. In 1939 Cieszyn Silesia was occupied by German forces and during World War II it was part of Nazi Germany. Almost the entire Jewish community was murdered by the Nazis. After World War II, the border between Poland and Czechoslovakia was restored to that of 1920. The town's German inhabitants fled or were expelled, and signs of German presence in the town were obliterated by a special committee.

On 19 July 1970, five firefighters from Cieszyn died when a bridge they were on fell into the Olza River, due to heavy flooding. In 1977, Boguszowice, Gułdowy, Kalembice, Krasna, Mnisztwo, Pastwiska were amalgamated with Cieszyn and Marklowice