Czech Silesia

Czech Silesia
České Slezsko (Czech)
Czeski Ślōnsk (Silesian)
Anthem: "Slezská hymna"
Czech Silesia (green) overlapped with the current regions of the Czech Republic
Location of Czech Silesia in Europe
Coordinates: 50°N 18°E / 50°N 18°E / 50; 18
CountryCzech Republic
Former capitalOpava
Largest cityOstrava
Area
  Total
4,459 km2 (1,722 sq mi)
Population
  Total
830,000
  Density190/km2 (480/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Primary airportLeoš Janáček Airport Ostrava
Highways

Czech Silesia (Czech: České Slezsko; Polish: Śląsk Czeski) is the part of the historical region of Silesia now in the Czech Republic. While it currently has no formal boundaries, in a narrow geographic sense, it encompasses most or all of the territory of the Czech Republic within the Oder River's drainage basin. Together with Bohemia and Moravia, it is one of the three historical Czech lands.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1869420,707    
1880464,646+10.4%
1890501,635+8.0%
1900572,000+14.0%
1910638,404+11.6%
1921654,433+2.5%
1930716,698+9.5%
1950604,498−15.7%
1961737,872+22.1%
1970842,454+14.2%
1980894,725+6.2%
1991895,776+0.1%
2001887,141−1.0%
2011846,855−4.5%
2021811,433−4.2%
Source: Censuses

Silesia lies in the north-east of the Czech Republic, predominantly in the Moravian-Silesian Region, with a section in the northern Olomouc Region. It is almost identical in extent with Austrian Silesia (also known as the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia), before 1918; between 1938 and 1945, part of the area was also known as Sudeten Silesia (German: Sudetenschlesien; Czech: Sudetské Slezsko; Polish: Śląsk Sudecki).