Havířov, Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic

🇨🇿 Havířov is a city in the Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It is the second-largest city in the region. Havířov lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Havířov was founded in 1955 and is the youngest Czech city. It is an industrial city, historically associated with hard coal mining in the region.

Administrative parts The city is made up of eight administrative parts: • Bludovice • Dolní Datyně • Dolní Suchá • Město • Podlesí • Prostřední Suchá • Šumbark • Životice

Etymology In a competition to name the city in 1956, various names were suggested, such as Stalin, Gottwaldův Horníkov (after Klement Gottwald), Zápotockýgrad (after Antonín Zápotocký) and "Čestprácov" (derived from the Socialist-era greeting čest práci). Eventually it was decided that the city should be named Havířov.

Geography Havířov is located about 8 km (5 mi) east of Ostrava and is urbanistically fused with neighbouring Šenov. It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. It lies mostly in the Ostrava Basin lowland, but in the south, the municipal territory also extends into the Moravian-Silesian Foothills. The Lučina River flows through the town.

History The first written mention of settlements in today's Havířov area is from 1305 (Horní Suchá and Dolní Suchá). Bludovice was first mentioned in 1335 and Šumbark in 1438.

Havířov was founded on top of several villages with significant Polish populations after the World War II as a coal mining town to restore hard coal mining in the region. Building of first housing estates for miners and their families began in 1947. Havířov was officially established in 1955 and in the same year received the status of a town.

Today, the original villages are administrative parts of the city and mostly lie on the outskirts of urban Havířov. In 1975–1990, Horní Suchá, now a separate municipality, was a part of Havířov.

Most of the buildings of the new city were built in the style of socialist realism.

Economy The city is historically connected with the mining of hard coal in the region. In the territory of Dolní Suchá was the Dukla coal mine, which was in operation between 1907 and 2007.

Transport Havířov lies on the railway line of national importance to Prague via Ostrava and Olomouc. It also lies on a railway line heading from Český Těšín to Opava.

Sport The city's football club, MFK Havířov, competes in the Czech Fourth Division. In the past, the team appeared for several seasons in Czech 2. Liga. Football club MFK Havířov was founded in 1922 as ČSK Moravská Suchá. MFK Havířov has two pitches and one artificial pitch. They have nickname which is "indians" according to American bikers. Their matches are played on pitches in Prostřední Suchá.

The ice hockey club AZ Havířov appears in the 1st Czech Republic Hockey League, the second-tier league of ice hockey in the country.

The town is also represented by RC Havířov in rugby. The club used to play in the highest Czech division of rugby.

Havířov hosted the prologue and the third stage, both an individual time trial, of the 2012 and 2013 Gracia-Orlová.

Sights The most important monument is the memorial to the victims of Nazi terror, protected as a national cultural monument. It was built in 1949. The monument consists of a granite wall with a sandstone sculpture of a woman with a child.

There are three churches, protected as cultural monuments. The Church of Saint Anne was built in the Empire style in 1841–1845. The Church of Saint Margaret the Virgin in Bludovice was built in 1786–1792. It is a typical Baroque rural church. The Lutheran church in Bludovice was built in 1782–1784 and is the oldest church in Havířov. The tower was added in 1850–1852.

The Šumbark Castle was originally a medieval fortress, rebuilt into a Renaissance castle in the 16th century and then baroque rebuilt in the 18th century. Today it is a hotel.

A unique remnant of the original villages before the founding of the city is Kotula's log cabin. It dates from 1781. Today it is a small museum with an exhibition of folk housing in the region. Next to the log cabin is a barn from the late 17th century and a windmill.