Karvina is an important centre of Karvina region lying northwest of Silesia. About one half of the town area is situated on the border with Poland. The district, industrial, spa and university town Karvina is divided into 9 parts (Frystat, Doly, Darkov, Raj, The Old Town, The New Town, Mizerov, Hranice, Louky) with more than 68 000 inhabitants. In the suburbs there are concentrated coal mining, power, steel and other industries.
The Darkov iodine spa with more than one hundred years tradition and The Rehabilitation Sanatorium Hranice play an important role in the life of the town. Karvina is also a big centre of education with its wide range of specialised secondary schools and, especially the Faculty of Commerce and Business of Silesian University, which is established in 1991.
The area of this town was settled in the early 13
th century, the first document concerning the part of the town called Solca was written in 1268. In the past Frystat played the principal role, it became a town in 1327. It became a secondary municipal govern centre of Tesin part of Silesia because of being the big centre of crafts and commerce connecting former Hungary with areas with northern Silesia and the Baltic area. In 1776 the black coal was discovered in Karvina and the rapid industrial growth went on and it has created an industrial character of this town and the whole region for many next years.
The great number of historical objects concentrated mostly in the town sights zone recommend the rich history and so they are worth seeing. We can see here some precious sacral and municipal buildings, valuable baroque plastics, gravestones of former town owners, and many interesting town houses of the 19
th century with fascinating stuccowork decorations and other sights.
Karvina lies in the north-eastern part of the Czech Republic, approximately 20 kilometres from Ostrava. It has earned the descriptions "district," "mining," "university," "spa," and "border," and is comprised of the following nine municipal districts - Frystat, Doly, Darkov, Raj, Stare Mesto, Nove Mesto, Mizerov, Hranice, and Louky. Currently it is home to 68,370 people and occupies an area of 58 square kilometres.
The area around Karvina was one of
the firsts in the entire region to be settled. The first written mention of the city comes from a 1268 document of the Duke Vladislav of Opolsko. The so-called Tithes of Vratislav of 1302-1315 verify that the city existed at that
time.
Frystat has held city status since 1327, when it was the seat of the Piastovec Dynasty of Tesin. Due to its strategic location on the trade route from Hungary to the Baltic region, it became an important center of business and trade.
The city experienced an economic boom under the rule of the Tesin Duke Bolek II., and further development of the city was guaranteed by the privileges granted it in 1473 by Kazimir, who verified the rights of the city and allowed it to conduct market fairs.
In 1792, Frystat was purchased by the noble family Larisch-Monnich. Subsequent discovery of black coal brought about significant changes in both the city's and area's development. Mining activities influenced the establishment of other industries, and development was also bolstered by favorable transportation conditions.
Because of its strong economic potential, Karvina became important for the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire at the beginning of the 20
th century. After the Czecho-Slovak Republic was founded, Karvina gained city status by governmental decree in 1923. The administrative basis for the contemporary, unified city was created in 1948 when the villages of Frystat, Karvina, Darkov, Raj, and Stare Mesto were consolidated into one municipal unit with the name of Karvina.
Within the city are several well-known artistic and historic monuments that are mainly concentrated in the city's historic landmark zone. The Parish Church of the Elevated Cross, with a Gothic sanctuary dating from the 1300's, is located in Karvina-Frystat. Valuable Napoleonic style architecture is represented by
the 18th century chateau that was established on an original 14
th century site. The Frystat main square is also decorated by a Napoleonic town hall, which has a
Renaissance tower dating from the end of the 1500's. Tourism in Karvina is supplemented by the oldest iodine-bromide spa in the country, located in Darkov. The spa produces fantastic results in treatment of limbs damaged by surgery or accidents, and the services are supplemented by a rehabilitation sanatorium.
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