Cieszyn is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitants (as of December 2021),and lies opposite Český Těšín in the Czech Republic. Both towns belong to the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia, and formerly as one town composed the capital of the Duchy of Cieszyn.
The town is situated on the Olza river, a tributary of the Oder River, which forms the border with the Czech Republic. It is located within the western Silesian Foothills north of the Silesian Beskids and Mt. Czantoria Wielka, a popular ski resort. Cieszyn is the heart of the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia, the southeasternmost part of Upper Silesia. Until the end of World War I in 1918 it was a seat of the Dukes of Teschen.
In 1920 Cieszyn Silesia was divided between the two newly created states of Poland and Czechoslovakia, with the smaller western suburbs of Teschen becoming part of Czechoslovakia as a new town called Český Těšín. The larger part of the town joined Poland as Cieszyn.Three bridges connect the twin towns. After Poland and the Czech Republic joined the European Union and its passport-free Schengen zone, border controls were abolished and residents of both the Polish and Czech part could move freely across the border. The combined population of Polish and Czech parts of the city is 61,201 inhabitants. Cieszyn is the southern terminus of the Polish National road 1 leading to Gdańsk on the Baltic coast.
The town combines both Polish and Old–Austrian peculiarities in the style of its buildings. Because of several major fires and subsequent reconstructions (the last one in the late 18th century), the picturesque old town is sometimes called Little Vienna. The only relic of the ancient castle is a square tower, dating from the 14th century and 11th century romanesque chapel.

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