Havířov (;
Polish: ,
Cieszyn Silesian: ) is a city in the
Karviná District,
Moravian-Silesian Region of the
Czech Republic. It has 82,768 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the region. It is the largest town in the country without a university. Havířov lies in the historical region of
Cieszyn Silesia.
Havířov was founded after
World War II (thus being the youngest city in today's Czech Republic) as a
coal mining town. Havířov officially became a town in 1955. It was built on top of several villages with significant
Polish populations. The local people were given apartments in the newly built city, and most of their old houses were demolished to make room for new urban buildings. The majority of the population of Havířov immigrated from other parts of
Czechoslovakia, many of them from
Slovakia, as migrant workers, thus substantially altering the ethnic structure of the area. Today, the original villages are administratively part of the city and mostly lie on the outskirts of urban Havířov.
International relations
Twin towns - Sister cities
Havířov is
twinned with:
