Former eastern European duchy.
It was originally a principality linked to the Polish duchy of Silesia , and passed in 1526 to the Prussia in 1742, Teschen remained under Habsburg rule until the end of World War I. In 1920 Poland and Czechoslovakia contested and then divided the region; Poland received the eastern district, including the city of Teschen (now Cieszyn), while Czechoslovakia received the rest. The Czechs were forced to cede their section to Poland in 1938. Germany occupied the entire region until after World War II, when the 1920 borders were restored.