Cieszyn Vlachs

Cieszyn Vlachs (Polish: Wałasi cieszyńscy, Czech: Těšínští Valaši) are a Polish ethnographic group (subgroup of Silesians) living around the towns of Cieszyn and Skoczów,[1] one of the four major ethnographic groups in Cieszyn Silesia, the one mostly associated with wearing Cieszyn folk costume[1] but not the only one speaking Cieszyn Silesian dialect. The name, identical to Vlachs (Polish: Wołosi/Wałasi), is probably not directly associated with that group (as Gorals are) but was coined by adjacent groups as a nickname.[2]

Cieszyn Vlachs
Wałasi cieszyńscy
Regions with significant populations
 Poland: Cieszyn Silesia
 Czech Republic: Zaolzie
Languages
standard Polish, Cieszyn Silesian dialect
Religion
Roman Catholic, Lutheran
Related ethnic groups
Silesians
Approximate extent of Cieszyn Vlachs within Cieszyn Silesia

The culture of this group blossomed in the second half of the 19th century.[2] The exact extent of its habitat is hard to determine due to overlapping of various cultural elements with adjacent groups, especially on the borderlands. Cieszyn Vlachs dwell on Silesian Foothills and on the north-western slopes of Silesian Beskids[2] in the watershed of Vistula and Olza rivers, within Cieszyn Silesia[3] (also in the Zaolzie region). Their neighbours include Silesian Lachs to north west,[4] and Silesian Gorals to south.

  • Jakub Alt: "Around Cieszyn" (1840)
  • Henryk Jastrzembski: peasants from around Cieszyn (1846)
  • A woman in Cieszyn folk costume (1914)
  • A woman in Cieszyn folk costume
  • Women in folk costumes in Skoczów (1938)
  • Olza folklore group on a parade
  • A traditional wooden house of Cieszyn Vlach in Dębowiec

References
  1. "Zróżnicowanie etnograficzne obecnego województwa śląskiego". Śląskie Centrum Dziedzictwa Kulturowego w Katowicach. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  2. Marian Dembiniok (2010). "Wałasi cieszyńscy". O Góralach, Wałachach, Lachach i Jackach na Śląsku Cieszyńskim. REGIO. p. 47. ISBN 978-80-904230-4-6.
  3. Malicki, Longin (1956). Strój Górali Śląskich. Atlas polskich strojów ludowych ; cz. 3. Śląsk ; z. 3. Wrocław: Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze. p. 23., a: Fierla, Gustaw (1969). Strój Lachów Śląskich. Atlas polskich strojów ludowych. cz. 3, Śląsk ; z. 4. Wrocław: Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze. p. 19.
  4. Bystroń, Jan Stanisław (1925). Ugrupowanie etniczne ludu polskiego. Kraków: Orbis. p. 11.
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