Hrádek Gródek | |
|---|---|
 General view | |
.svg) Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Hrádek Location in the Czech Republic | |
| Coordinates:49°37′0″N18°44′14″E / 49.61667°N 18.73722°E /49.61667; 18.73722 | |
| Country |  Czech Republic |
| Region | Moravian-Silesian |
| District | Frýdek-Místek |
| First mentioned | 1577 |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.77 km2 (3.77 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 353 m (1,158 ft) |
| Population (2025-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 1,917 |
| • Density | 196/km2 (508/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 739 97 |
| Website | www |
Hrádek (Czech pronunciation:[ˈɦraːdɛk];Polish:Gródekⓘ,German:Grudek) is a municipality and village inFrýdek-Místek District in theMoravian-Silesian Region of theCzech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. The municipality has a significantPolish minority.
The name of the municipality is a diminutive form of the wordhradiště in Czech andgród in Polish, meaning 'gord'.
Hrádek is located about 27 kilometres (17 mi) east ofFrýdek-Místek and 37 km (23 mi) southeast ofOstrava, in the historical region ofCieszyn Silesia. The western part of the municipality lies in theJablunkov Furrow and the eastern part lies in theSilesian Beskids. The highest point is near the top of the Loučka mountain at 834 m (2,736 ft) above sea level. TheOlza River flows through the municipality.
The beginnings of Hrádek can be traced back to the first half of the 12th century, when a small fort was built on a trade route running through theJablunkov Pass around 1119. A settlement named Jablunkov grew up around the fort. The small fort and the settlement were completely destroyed by theHungarians in 1447. After these events, a new settlement was founded nearby and named NewJablunkov. In the area of Hrádek, the settlement was renewed and named Old Jablunkov. The first written mention of the village under the name Hrádek (written asGrudek) is from 1577. It belonged to theDuchy of Teschen.[2]
Hrádek began to develop more rapidly at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, when about 900 people working mainly in agriculture lived there. The development was aided by the construction of the road in 1780 and the construction of theKošice–Bohumín Railway a hundred years later. After 1880, stone began to be quarried here. Its quarrying lasted until the outbreak ofWorld War I.[2]
AfterRevolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire a modernmunicipal division was introduced in the re-establishedAustrian Silesia. The village as a municipality was subscribed to thepolitical district ofCieszyn and thelegal district ofJablunkov. According to the censuses conducted in 1880–1910 the population of the municipality grew from 798 in 1880 to 886 in 1910 with the majority being native Polish-speakers (between 98.1% and 100%) accompanied by Czech-speaking (at most 0.7% in 1910) and German-speaking people (at most 0.6% in 1910). In terms of religion in 1910 the majority wereProtestants (74.9%), followed byRoman Catholics (24.9%) andJews (2 people).[3][4]
AfterWorld War I,Polish–Czechoslovak War and the division ofCieszyn Silesia in 1920, Hrádek became a part ofCzechoslovakia. Following theMunich Agreement, in October 1938 together with theTrans-Olza region it was annexed byPoland, administratively adjoined toCieszyn County ofSilesian Voivodeship.[5] The municipality was then annexed byNazi Germany at the beginning ofWorld War II. After the war it was restored toCzechoslovakia.
From 1980 to 1990, Hrádek was an administrative part ofJablunkov.[6]
Polish minority makes up 30.2% of the population.[7]
Historical population | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: Censuses[8][9] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The I/68 road (part of theEuropean route E75), which connects theD48 motorway with the Czech-Slovak border inMosty u Jablunkova, passes through the municipality.
Hrádek is located on the railway lineOstrava–Mosty u Jablunkova.[10]
There are no protectedcultural monuments in the municipality.[11] The main landmark is the Lutheran church.
Belko Rock is a nature landmark above the Olza River. The rock formation was the site of a small fort. According to local legend, it was the home of the infamous knight Belko, who plundered merchants and murdered people, and committed suicide when his conscience overwhelmed him.[12]
