Rudnik, Cieszyn County

Rudnik
Rudnik
	Village
	Villages' centre Villages' centre
	Coat of arms of Rudnik; Coat of arms
	Coat of arms of Rudnik; Coat of arms
	Rudnik
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Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Silesian
County	Cieszyn
Gmina	Hażlach
First mentioned	1523
Area	4.105 km2 (1.585 sq mi)
Population (2008)	453
• Density	110/km2 (290/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	43-419
Car plates	SCI

Rudnik [ˈrudnik] is a village in Gmina Hażlach, Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland.^[1] It has a population of 453 (2008).

The name of the village is derived from a name of a local stream Rudnik, mentioned as early as 1442 (do potoka jmenem Rudnika), which is a transformation of a word rudy, meaning rdzawy (rusty).^[2]

History

It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Up to recently it was stated that the village was first mentioned in 1566 as Rudnik,^[2] however another documents exists issued by Wenceslaus III Adam, Duke of Cieszyn on 5 November 1608 which retrospectively affirms another document from 1523 that mentioned the village among others obliged to consume ale produced only in Cieszyn.^[3] Politically the village belonged then to the Duchy of Teschen, a fee of the Kingdom of Bohemia, which after 1526 became part of the Habsburg Monarchy.

After World War I, the fall of Austria-Hungary, the Polish–Czechoslovak War and the division of Cieszyn Silesia in 1920, it became a part of Poland. It was then annexed by Nazi Germany at the beginning of World War II. After the war it was restored to Poland.

Geography

Rudnik lies in the southern part of Poland, 11 km (7 mi) north-east of the county seat, Cieszyn, 25 km (16 mi) west of Bielsko-Biała, 55 km (34 mi) south-west of the regional capital Katowice, and 8 km (5.0 mi) east of the border with the Czech Republic.

The village is situated on the geographical border between Ostrava Basin in the east and Oświęcim Basin in the west, between roughly 260–280 m (850–920 ft) above sea level, 16 km (9.9 mi) north-west of the Silesian Beskids. It is drained by several streams, left tributaries of the Knajka, in the watershed of Vistula.