Vělopolí

Vělopolí (Polish: Wielopole^ⓘ) is a municipality and village in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 300 inhabitants. The municipality has a significant Polish minority.

Vělopolí Wielopole
Municipality
Municipal office
Flag Coat of arms
Vělopolí Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°42′1″N 18°34′15″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Moravian-Silesian
District	Frýdek-Místek
First mentioned	1448
Area
• Total	2.99 km2 (1.15 sq mi)
Elevation	370 m (1,210 ft)
Population  (2024-01-01)[1]
• Total	295
• Density	99/km2 (260/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	739 59
Website	www.velopoli.cz

Etymology

The name is of topographic origins, meaning "large field" in Slavic languages (wiele pole in Polish, velké pole in Czech). It was first written as Wele Pole.^[2]

Geography

Vělopolí is located about 14 kilometres (9 mi) east of Frýdek-Místek and 22 km (14 mi) southeast of Ostrava. It lies in the Moravian-Silesian Foothills in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia.

History

House No. 36 in the 1950s

The first written mention of Vělopolí is from 1448. Politically it belonged then to the Duchy of Teschen.^[3][4]

After Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire a modern municipal division was introduced in the re-established Austrian Silesia. The village as a municipality was subscribed to the political and legal district of Cieszyn. According to the censuses conducted in 1880–1910 the population of the municipality dropped from 327 in 1880 to 306 in 1910 with all the inhabitants being native Polish-speakers. In terms of religion in 1910 the majority were Protestants (88.2%), followed by Roman Catholics (11.8%).^[5]

After World War I, Polish–Czechoslovak War and the division of Cieszyn Silesia in 1920, Vělopolí became a part of Czechoslovakia. Following the Munich Agreement, in October 1938 together with the Trans-Olza region it was annexed by Poland, administratively adjoined to Cieszyn County of Silesian Voivodeship.^[6] It was then annexed by Nazi Germany at the beginning of World War II. After the war it was restored to Czechoslovakia.

Demographics

Polish minority makes up 20.1% of the population.^[7]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 373 —     1880 327 −12.3% 1890 306 −6.4% 1900 295 −3.6% 1910 306 +3.7%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 335 +9.5% 1930 336 +0.3% 1950 282 −16.1% 1961 264 −6.4% 1970 248 −6.1%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 247 −0.4% 1991 199 −19.4% 2001 206 +3.5% 2011 281 +36.4% 2021 294 +4.6%
Source: Censuses[8][9]

Sights

Vělopolí is poor in monuments. The only cultural monuments are a homestead from 1887 and a set of statues from the first half of the 19th century, which were originally in the park of the Hnojník Castle.^[10]

References

1. "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2024". Czech Statistical Office. 17 May 2024.
2. Mrózek, Robert (1984). Nazwy miejscowe dawnego Śląska Cieszyńskiego [Local names of former Cieszyn Silesia] (in Polish). Katowice: Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach. p. 182. ISSN 0208-6336.
3. "Historie obce" (in Czech). Obec Vělopolí. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
4. Panic, Idzi (2015). Śląsk Cieszyński w średniowieczu (do 1528) [Cieszyn Silesia in Middle Ages (until 1528)] (PDF) (in Polish). Cieszyn: Starostwo Powiatowe w Cieszynie. p. 313. ISBN 978-83-935147-8-6.
5. Piątkowski, Kazimierz (1918). Stosunki narodowościowe w Księstwie Cieszyńskiem (in Polish). Cieszyn: Macierz Szkolna Księstwa Cieszyńskiego. pp. 266, 284.
6. "Ustawa z dnia 27 października 1938 r. o podziale administracyjnym i tymczasowej organizacji administracji na obszarze Ziem Odzyskanych Śląska Cieszyńskiego". Dziennik Ustaw Śląskich (in Polish). 18/1938, poz. 35. Katowice. 31 October 1938. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
7. "Population Census 2021: Population by selected ethnicity". Public database. Czech Statistical Office. 27 March 2021.
8. "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 21 December 2015.
9. "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". Public Database. Czech Statistical Office. 27 March 2021.
10. "Výsledky vyhledávání: Kulturní památky, obec Vělopolí". Ústřední seznam kulturních památek (in Czech). National Heritage Institute. Retrieved 21 June 2024.

External links

• Official website