Orlová (; ; ) is a town in Karviná District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Orlová is made up of four town parts: Lazy, Lutyně, Město and Poruba. Etymology The name is most probably possessive in origin, derived from the personal Slavic name Orel / Orzeł (literally "eagle" in English), although it may also be of topographic origins. Geography Orlová is located about east of Ostrava, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. It lies in the Ostrava Basin. The town is situated at the confluence of the streams Rychvaldská Stružka and Petřvaldská Stružka. There are several ponds in the territory. History 12th–18th centuries According to legend, Duke Mieszko IV Tanglefoot went hunting with his pregnant wife Ludmila. As they rested upon a hill, an eagle suddenly took flight, frightening the couple. The eagle dropped his prey, which fell to earth near them. Ludmila prematurely gave birth to her child, Casimir I of Opole. The couple, seeing a sign from God in this incident, founded a chapel on that spot and later named the subsequent settlement after the eagle (, ). The first written mention of Orlová is from 1223, when a settlement in this locality was mentioned in a deed of bishop Wawrzyniec. The name of Orlova was first used in a document of Pope Gregory IX issued on 7 December 1227 for Benedictine abbey in Tyniec. Between 1268 and 1291, a separate but dependent from Tyniec Benedictine monastery was founded. Politically it belonged then to the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz and the Castellany of Cieszyn, which was in 1290 formed in the process of feudal fragmentation of Poland into the Duchy of Teschen, ruled by a local branch of Silesian Piast dynasty. In 1327 the duchy became a fee of the Kingdom of Bohemia, which after 1526 became a part of the Habsburg monarchy. For centuries, the settlement had mostly agricultural character, although there were also crafts, especially linen. After the secularization of the monastery property in 1560, Orlová was acquired by the Cikán of Slupek family, who held it until 1619. From 1619 to 1838 it was owned by the Bludovský of Bludov family, who had built here a castle in 1765. 19th–20th centuries The first attempts of coal mining took place in 1817. In 1838 Orlová was acquired by the House of Mattencloit. In 1844,