Vratimov

Sister cities

• Senj

History

Vratimov was founded during the colonisation of Cieszyn Silesia in the second half of the 13th century. The first written mention is from 1305 under its Latin name Wrothimow. The Czech name was first used in 1598. Politically the village belonged initially to the Duchy of Teschen, formed in 1290 in the process of feudal fragmentation of Poland and was ruled by a local branch of Piast dynasty. In 1327 the duchy became a fee of Kingdom of Bohemia, which after 1526 became part of the Habsburg monarchy. Vratimov was traditionally agricultural. In the 1880s, a pulp mill was established here and soon paper and metallurgical production was established. Industrialisation dramatically changed the character of the town.

Geography

Vratimov is located southeast of Ostrava, in its immediate vicinity. It lies in the Ostrava Basin, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. The town is located on the right bank of the Ostravice River, which forms the western border of the municipal territory.