Darkov

The bridge on the Olza River

 Darkov (help·info) (Polish: Darków (info), German: Darkau) is a village in Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic, now administratively a part of the city of Karviná. Till 1948 it was a separate municipality. It lies on the Olza River, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Darkov has a population of 406 (2001).^[1]

It was first mentioned in a written document in 1447 as Darkow.^[2]

According to the Austrian census of 1910 the village had 2,305 inhabitants, 2,261 of whom had permanent residence there. The census asked people for their native language, 2,181 (96.4%) were Polish-speaking. The most populous religious group were Roman Catholics with 2,042 (88.6%) followed by Protestants with 223 (9.7%).^[3]

After the division of Cieszyn Silesia in 1920, the village became part of Czechoslovakia. Following the Munich Agreement, in October 1938, Darkov and the whole Zaolzie region was annexed by Poland. The village was then annexed by Nazi Germany at the beginning of World War II. After the war it was restored to Czechoslovakia.

The village is well-known for its Darkov Spa facilities, established in 1866 which treats various diseases, mostly diseases of locomotive organs, conditions after accidents and operations etc. It has one of the best iodine-bromine waters in Central Europe.

Prominent landmark is a bridge on the Olza built in 1924-1925, located just near the spa. In 1991 it was inscribed on the state register of technical landmarks. It was renovated in the 2000s.

Darkov together with neighboring villages suffered of under-mining caused by nearby coal mines. This affected the character of the village as many inhabitants relocated to nearby villages and towns, thus seriously depopulating the village.

People

• Józef Ondrusz, Polish folklorist and writer

Footnotes

1. ^ "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869 - 2005 - 1. díl". Praha: Czech Statistical Office. 2006. pp. 718–719. http://www.czso.cz/csu/2004edicniplan.nsf/t/9200404384/$File/13n106cd1.pdf. 
2. ^ Hosák et al. 1970, 171.
3. ^ Ludwig Patryn (ed): Die Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1910 in Schlesien, Troppau 1912.

References

• Cicha, Irena; Kazimierz Jaworski, Bronisław Ondraszek, Barbara Stalmach and Jan Stalmach (2000). Olza od pramene po ujście. Český Těšín: Region Silesia. ISBN 80-238-6081-X. 

• Hosák, Ladislav; and Rudolf Šrámek (1970). Místní jména na Moravě a ve Slezsku I, A-L. Praha: Academia. 

• Owczarzy, Władysław (October 2007). "Zabytek techniki". Zwrot: 49. 

External links

• (English) Website of Darkov Spa
• (Czech) Darkov information with historical and contemporary photos

Coordinates: 49°50′24″N 18°32′34″E / 49.84°N 18.54278°E / 49.84; 18.54278