1545-1568 - Introduction of Lutheranism by Prince Wenceslas the Third Adam

The announcement of the 95 theses by Martin Luther in 1517 in Wittenberg, gave rise to religious changes in Europe. These changes also included Silesia, which at that time was part of the Habsburg monarchy. The taking over of the rule in the Duchy of Cieszyn by Prince Wenceslaus III Adam (1545-1579) and his reforms gradually changed the religious face of the duchy. The conversion of the prince to Lutheranism took place at the turn of the 1560s. The culmination of these changes was the announcement by the dynast in 1567 of a church ordinance on the confessionalisation of the duchy in the spirit of Lutheranism. Most of the inhabitants of the duchy adopted the new confession, while some of them remained faithful to Catholicism. The villages of Czechowice and Grodziec remained Catholic in the 16th century. In addition, smaller groups lived in Cieszyn and other towns.