Louky (Karviná)

) (literally, "meadows upon Olza") is a village in the Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic, now administratively a part of the city of Karviná as "Louky", formerly a separate municipality. It lies on the left bank of the Olza River, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia.

The village is first mentioned in a written document from 1450. It is not clear when the first church was built; the oldest record mentions a wooden church in 1654. Because the Olza frequently flooded the church, a new one was built in 1818. The last church service occurred in 1995.

Historically, the village owed its prosperity to its fortunate position between the important towns of Frysztat and Cieszyn. Its inhabitants engaged mostly in fish farming in the complex of ponds near the village.

Louky nad Olší is a classic example of the devastation wrought by heavy industry, in this case, coal mining. The centre of the village was originally located north of today's settlement. During the Communist era, extensive mining activities irrevocably damaged the original village. Surface waters were polluted, farmland was degraded, the whole area was undermined, new ponds appeared, the water level rose, and mine tailings accumulated. All this sealed the fate of the old village; almost all the houses sank into the ground, and the village was demolished. Today only a Roman Catholic church remains. It structurally unstable, and it is only a matter of time before it too is gone.

Today's village lies south of original location and is much smaller. It is served by a small railway station.

See also

* Polish minority in the Czech Republic
* Zaolzie

References

* cite book
last = Cicha
first = Irena
coauthors = Kazimierz Jaworski, Bronisław Ondraszek, Barbara Stalmach and Jan Stalmach
title = Olza od pramene po ujście
publisher = Region Silesia
year = 2000
location = Český Těšín
pages =
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 80-238-6081-X