Ráj

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Ráj is a part of the Czech city of Karviná in the Moravian-Silesian Region. It covers 7.63 square kilometers and has about 14,500 residents. The area includes a hospital and the football stadium of the local team MFK Karviná. The name Ráj means paradise or fertile land.

Ráj is located in the historic region of Cieszyn Silesia. It was first mentioned around 1305 as Frienstad in Ray, and it served as the foundation ground for Fryštát. It belonged to the Duchy of Teschen, then became a royal duchy under Bohemia, and after 1526 became part of the Habsburg monarchy. After 1848 it was in Austrian Silesia, in the Freistadt district. Following World War I, it became part of Czechoslovakia; it was briefly annexed by Poland in 1938, occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II, and restored to Czechoslovakia after the war.

A Renaissance château once stood in Ráj, built in 1563–1570 with a surrounding park, later rebuilt in Baroque style. It was owned by the Larisch-Mönnich family from 1899 to 1945, then used as miners’ dormitories after World War II and housed a hospital from 1955. The château fell into ruin and was demolished in 1980.

Census data from 1880–1910 show the population grew from 766 to 1,053. Most residents spoke Polish, with smaller numbers of German and Czech speakers. Most were Roman Catholics, with a small Protestant minority. The area was traditionally inhabited by Silesian Lachs people who spoke the Cieszyn Silesian dialect.