Teschen

Teschen (Czech, resin; Polish, Cieszyn), a town of Austria, in Silesia, 50 m. S.E. of Troppau by rail. p op. (1900) 19,142, of which over half is German, 43 per cent. Polish and the remainder Czech. It is situated on the Olsa, a tributary of the Oder, and combines both Polish and German peculiarities in the style of its buildings. The only relic of the ancient castle is a square tower, dating from the 12th century. There are several furniture factories and large saw-mills.

Teschen is an old town and was the capital of the duchy of Teschen. It was at Teschen that Maria Theresa and Frederick II. signed, in May 1779, the Peace, which put an end to the war of Bavarian succession. The duchy of Teschen belonged to the dukes of Upper Silesia, and since 1298 it stood under the suzerainty of Bohemia. It became a direct apanage of the Bohemian crown in 1625 at the extinction of the male line of its dukes, and since 1766 it bore the name of Saxe-Teschen, owing to the fact that Prince Albert of Saxony, who married a daughter of Maria Theresa, received it as part of his wife's dowry. In 1822, it was bestowed on the Archduke Charles, the victor of Aspern; it was inherited by his eldest son, and, at his death, in 1895 it passed into the hands of his nephew, the Archduke Frederick.