Venice of Cieszyn

It is a section of contemporary Przykopa Street (formerly Nad Młynówką) which comprises buildings from the 18th-19th century, many of them with bridges over the course of Młynówka (an artificial canal).

[1] In the past the buildings over Młynówka belonged to craftsmen: tanners, weavers, clothiers, leather-dressers and smiths, who needed constant access to water for their craft.

In the said book from 1692 Przedmieście is described as: Bey der Wasser thor und an den Mühlgraben, which meant literally: By the Water Gate and at Młynówka.

[3] In the Middle Ages near the so-called Water Gate and a bridge located near the castle there were baths, which operated here from the end of the 14th century to the 1670s.

[3] The most important economic object of Przedmieście Przykopa was the so-called Great Mill, mentioned in 1461 in a document of the Duke of Cieszyn Przemysław II.

In 1932-1939 the mill was owned by a Jewish married couple Leon and Maria Hochsteinn who opened a water power station there.

After World War II the facility was taken over by Knitting Industry Plant Juwenia, and the power station was liquidated in 1965.

After 1945 there was one more change in the character of the quarter - three industrial plants were built there: Electrical Machinery Factory Celma (near the Freedom Bridge), specialising in the production of motors, a Paints and Varnishes Factory (the middle part of Przykopa quarter) and the Juwenia facility (located next to the Friendship Bridge), based on the company of the Kohn family.

The performance was put on by actors of Teatr Gry and Ludzie from Katowice as a part of the “Alternative off-stage” that operated simultaneously with the 20th edition of the International Theatre Festival “Without Borders”.