The city of Frýdek-Místek lies in the northeastern part of Moravia at the confluence of the rivers Ostravice and Morávka at an average height of 290 m above sea level. It consists of two historically separate cities ? Místek lying on the Moravian side of the Ostravice River, and Frýdek, which can be found in Silesia. Both cities developed separately over the centuries and owe their growth to being at a crossroads for the important trade route between Olomouce and Cracow.

The oldest available written records mention a community in the Beskydy foothills around the mid-13th century. This village called Friedeberg, later Místek, appears in 1267 in the rolls of the Olomouc bishop, Bruno of Schauenburg. Místek is characterized as a market village with 40 tracts of land. Negotiations in 1256 between Czech king Přemysl II Otakar and the Opole prince Vladislav led to a border being drawn between Moravia and the Piastow Opole principality along the Ostravice River. The river formed the boundary between Moravia and Silesia until 1 December 1928. We are not sure about the exact founding of Frýdek, only that during the years 1327 ? 1335 it replaced its predecessor, the village of Jamnici.

The Moravian part of the region suffered from internal struggles following the death of Václav III. Most of the area at that time consisted of fiefs belonging to the bishop. During the civil wars that occurred at the end of the 14th century, Friedeberg was destroyed. A town was built in its place called Newenstetil (?New Town? ? Nové Městko or Místko). In 1402 Místek was added to the domains of Těšín. In the 16th century the combined Frýdek-Místek domains became the subject of dispute, because there was the real threat of Místek being ripped away forever from Moravia and added to Těšín. The situation was resolved in 1581 when Bishop Stanislav Pavlovský bought Místek and Frýdek, whose owner up to that point was Jiří of Lohova. Three years later Bishop Pavlovský sold the Frýdek environs to Bartholomew Bruntálsky of Vrbno and Místek was joined to the Hukvaldy domains, where it remained until 1850.

Until 1580, the Frýdek-Místek surroundings represented 22 communities with 681 settlements. Of this number, the two cities, Frýdek and Místek, had 267 settlements, of which Frýdek alone had 163. It was the seat of the owner of the domains, had toll and mileage rights, and the wool trade predominated among the craftsmen. Místek had more of a farming character. The salt and cattle trade was prosperous for both cities, as well as wood processing and fisheries. Both cities were the victims of destructive fires, plague and wartime suffering. The population suffered from growing feudal responsibilities. Resistance to feudalism led to an increase in the number of brigands. The dutiful son of the bailiff of Janovice, Ondráš, became a legendary figure in this region in connection with his struggle against the Prazmy clan and met his death in 1715 at the hands of his compatriots in a pub in Sviadnov. Afterwards the ownership of the Frýdek environs passed into the hands of the Habsburg family and stayed with them until the founding of the Republic.

In 1832 the first textile factory was founded in Frýdek, a year later, in 1833, the Charles Ironworks in Lískovec, today known as the Frýdek-Místek rolling mill. Textile manufacturing and the iron industry assumed an important role in the coming centuries with the development of industry throughout the entire region.

The two cities, Frýdek and Místek, had their own separate histories until 1 January 1943. Through the power of Nazi bureaucrats, both cities were joined into one under the name Frýdek. After liberation in 1945, meetings by citizens and administrative authorities led to a decision by the Ministry of Interior to give the city the official name of Frýdek-Místek, effective 1 January 1955. On 1 July 2006 Frýdek-Místek became a district seat.

Throughout this time Frýdek-Místek has maintained its unique character, the best example of this lying in the newly reconstructed historical centers of both cities. The most distinctive artifact of its past must certainly be Frýdek Castle, which overlooks the steep bank along the Silesian side of the Ostravice River. But there are plenty of other valuable landmarks, starting with the Basilica Minor (the Basilica of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary), the rococo-style parish church of St. John and Paul in Místek, the Gothic parish church of St. John the Baptist and the late Renaissance chapel of St. Jošta, both in Frýdek. Of the more secular landmarks outside the burgher homes in the immediate vicinity of both squares, there are scores of public buildings dating back to the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. At present they are often the scene of many major cultural actions. In particular National House in Místek and the area around the castle, today?s Museum of the Beskydy, form the main hubs of cultural life, not only in the city, but in the region as well.