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60-717: Its history dates to the 8th century, and Opole is one of the oldest cities in Poland. An important stronghold in Poland, it became a capital of a duchy within medieval Poland in 1172, and in 1217 it was granted city rights by Duke Casimir I of Opole , the great-grandson of Polish Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth . During the Medieval Period and the Renaissance , the city was known as a centre of commerce; several main trade routes intersected here, which helped to generate steady profits from transit trade. The rapid development of

120-665: A plebiscite was held on 20 March 1921 in Oppeln to determine if the city would be in the Weimar Republic or become part of the Second Polish Republic , which just regained independence. 20,816 (94.7%) votes were cast for Germany, 1,098 (5.0%) for Poland, and 70 (0.3%) votes were declared invalid. Voter participation was 95.9%. Results of the plebiscite in the Oppeln-Land county were different, with 30% of

180-464: A kind of family federation. One became Duke of Greater Poland (around Gniezno ), another Silesia , another Lesser Poland (around Kraków ), another, half-heathen Masovia . The rising local magnates, dowered with estates, preferred provincial princes. But the division of loyalties among these princes brought on a long period of dynastic struggle, intrigue, and national weakness. By this time Silesia had been divided into sixteen minuscule principalities and

240-424: A new town regarded the original model as a Rechtsvorort , or roughly a legal sponsor of the newly chartered town. For instance, Magdeburg became the sponsor of towns using Magdeburg Rights, and its lay judges could rule in ambiguous legal cases in towns using such rights. Certain city rights became known under different names, although they originally came from the same source; the name of some city variants designates

300-474: A part of Opole, enlargening its population by about 9,500, and its area by over 5,300 ha, despite the protests of inhabitants. In the early 20th century the number of Polish and bilingual citizens of Opole, according to the official German statistics, varied from 25 to 31%. Alongside German and Polish , many citizens of the city before 1945 used a strongly German-influenced Silesian dialect (sometimes called wasserpolnisch or wasserpolak ). Because of this,

360-503: A plethora of other major supermarket chains, namely: the Polish supermarket chains Biedronka , Lidl , Aldi and Netto . Other major brand stores include the shoe retailer Deichmann and Rossmann drugstores . Furthermore, the city has three major shopping centres. The Solaris Center , with a total of 86 shops, opened in May 2009 and is located in the centre of Mikołaj Kopernik Square. In

420-418: A total of 50 stores. Other shopping centres include Galeria Opolanin , built between 1974 and 1981 and upon its completion, was the largest shopping centre in Poland. Among the city's sports team are: Opole is twinned with: Duchy of Opole Duchy of Opole ( Polish : Księstwo opolskie ; Czech : Opolské knížectví ; German : Herzogtum Oppeln ) was one of the duchies of Silesia ruled by

480-628: Is a local Polish variant of the Magdeburg rights, modelled after the town rights of Środa Śląska in Lower Silesia , granted in 1235 by Polish ruler Henry the Bearded of the Piast dynasty . The purpose of creating the Środa law was to conform the so-called German law to the interests of Polish authority. Major cities chartered with Środa law were Kalisz , Legnica and Radom . Resulting from

540-631: Is one of the warmest cities in Poland. The national all-time heat record was measured in Prószków, near Opole. The climate is oceanic with sizeable continental influences. Members of Parliament ( Sejm ) elected from Opole constituency Opole is the Opole Voivodeship 's centre for commerce, banking, industrial complexes and other major service sector industries. Prior to World War II , due to major limestone deposits in Opole's vicinity,

600-426: Is sometimes referred to as "Polish Venice", because of its picturesque Old Town and several canals and bridges connecting parts of the city. The name Opole likely originated from the medieval Slavic term for a group of settlements . Names for the city in other relevant languages include Lower Silesian : Uppeln , Czech : Opolí , Latin : Oppelia , Oppolia or Opulia . Opole's history begins in

660-782: The Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, almost all of the 51 reichsfrei cities of the Holy Roman Empire were mediatised by the territorial princes; the remaining imperial free cities of Frankfurt , Bremen , Hamburg , and Lübeck became sovereign city-states . The only remnants of medieval town rights (statutes) included in the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch of 1 January 1900 were single articles concerning family and inheritance laws. The cities of Hamburg, Bremen, and Berlin are currently administered under Landesrechte , or laws of

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720-991: The House of Hohenzollern , who had signed his inheritance treaty with Duke Jan in 1522 with the consent of the Bohemian king Ferdinand I of Habsburg . Between 1645 and 1666 as part of the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz it was held in feu by the Polish House of Vasa , reverting afterwards to the Habsburg kings of Bohemia. In 1742 it was annexed and incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia . 50°40′25″N 17°55′18″E  /  50.673521°N 17.921660°E  / 50.673521; 17.921660 German town law The German town law ( German : Deutsches Stadtrecht ) or German municipal concerns ( Deutsches Städtewesen )

780-711: The Kristallnacht on 9–10 November 1938 Nazis forced Rabbi Hans Hirschberg to set the building on fire. After the end of the Second World War in 1945, Oppeln was transferred from Germany to Poland, pursuant to the agreements of the Potsdam Conference , and given its original Slavic name of Opole. Opole became part of the Katowice Voivodeship from 1946–1950, after which it became part of the Opole Voivodeship . Unlike other parts of

840-569: The Rechtsvorort they became famous from, not necessarily that that specific style of rights originated from the Rechtsvorort . As territorial borders changed through the passage of time, changes to German city rights were inevitable. During the course of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, the town laws of many places were modified with aspects of Roman law by legal experts. Ultimately, the older towns' laws, along with local autonomy and jurisdiction, gave way to landed territorial rulers. With

900-683: The Swedish invasion of Poland , in 1655 the King of Poland, John II Casimir Vasa , stayed with his entire court in Opole. In Opole in November 1655, the Universal of Opole ( Uniwersał opolski ) was issued by the King, calling for Poles to rise against the Swedes, who at that time occupied a large part of Poland. With the abdication of King John II Casimir of Poland as the last Duke of Opole in 1668,

960-478: The Westphalian towns of Soest , Dortmund , Minden , and Münster . As Germans began settling eastward, the colonists modelled their town laws on the pre-existing 12th century laws of Cologne in the west, Lübeck in the north ( Lübeck law ), Magdeburg in the east ( Magdeburg rights ), and either Nuremberg or Vienna in the south. The granting of German city rights modelled after an established town to

1020-516: The federal states of Germany . Many towns granted German city rights had already existed for some time, but the granting of town law codified the legal status of the settlement. Many European localities date their foundation to their reception of a town charter, even though they had existed as a settlement beforehand. German town law was frequently applied during the Ostsiedlung of Central and Eastern Europe by German colonists beginning in

1080-404: The 13th century. As Germans began establishing towns throughout northern Europe as early as the 10th century, they often received town privileges granting them autonomy from local secular or religious rulers. Such privileges often included the right to self-governance, economic autonomy, criminal courts, and militia . Town laws were more or less entirely copied from neighboring towns, such as

1140-609: The 14th century. In the 15th century, many towns in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were chartered with the Środa town law used in much of Poland, although this was done through the duplication of Polish administrative methods instead of German colonization. In the 16th century Muscovy granted or reaffirmed Magdeburg rights to various towns along the Dnieper acquired from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . After

1200-637: The 8th century. At this time, according to the archeological excavations, the first settlement was founded on the Ostrówek – the northern part of the Pasieka Island in the middle of the Oder river . In the early 10th century it developed into one of the main " gords " of the Lechitic (Polish) Opolans tribe. At the end of the century Silesia became part of Poland and was ruled by the Piast dynasty ;

1260-548: The Duchy of Opole and Racibórz and the Duchy of Opole was recreated for Casimir and his brother Bolko I , contemporaneously with the establishment of the duchies of Cieszyn and Bytom on former Racibórz territory. In 1327 King John the Blind of Bohemia reasserted his influence over the Duchy of Opole in an attempt to stabilise the situation. The Duchy underwent various future territorial changes, becoming increasingly small until

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1320-905: The German valve manufacturer Kludi; the German men's fashion manufacturer Ahlers and the American automotive manufacturer Tower Automative. As is the case with the entire Opole Voivodeship , there is a strong presence of food industry services in the city. The largest companies in the food sector include: Zott , the Dutch baby food and nutrition company Nutricia , part of the Danone food-products corporation. Opole has branches of all major banks, including: PKO , Pekao , Deutsche Bank and Raiffeisen Zentralbank . The retail sector in Opole includes major Metro AG brand stores: Metro Cash and Carry and Media-Saturn-Holding , as well as Real . The city has

1380-481: The German police and Gestapo , and the assets of the local Polish bank were confiscated. On 13 September and 4 October 1939, arrested Poles were deported from the city to concentration camps, men to Buchenwald and women to Ravensbrück . Some local Poles avoided arrest by escaping earlier to Poland. The German 10th Army and 14th Army attacked Poland from the city, and the Einsatzgruppe I and II followed

1440-492: The German-held part of Upper Silesia, participated in espionage and sabotage in the Polish part of Silesia and prepared border provocations against Poland. There was strong anti-Polish propaganda in the city and region. The local Polish newspaper Nowiny Codzienne was frequently confiscated from 1937 and its editors were harassed, its work obstructed, its distributors persecuted, and its readers threatened. In 1938–1939,

1500-441: The Opole lands reverted to his still living father Bolesław and were briefly incorporated into the Duchy of Wrocław. Bolesław himself however died shortly afterwards and in 1202 Opole was taken by his brother Duke Mieszko I Tanglefoot of Racibórz, who merged it with his duchy, creating the united Upper Silesian Duchy of Opole and Racibórz . After the death of Mieszko's grandson Duke Władysław Opolski in 1281, his sons again divided

1560-471: The Polish nation. Additionally, many Poles displaced from the former Polish Kresy annexed by the USSR (for example Lwów ) came to Opole and the surrounding area and settled here after the Second World War. In the later years however many Germans (and German Silesians) left to West Germany to flee the communist Eastern Bloc (see Emigration from Poland to Germany after World War II ). Today Opole, along with

1620-708: The Teutonic Order in Prussia and along the lower Vistula in Eastern Pomerania, and in the Duchy of Masovia . Other variants included Brandenburg, Litoměřice, and Olomouc law. Litoměřice law and codes based on that of Nuremberg , such as Old Prague and Cheb law, were introduced into Bohemia during the reign of King Wenceslaus I , while German colonists introduced Brünn (Brno) and Olmütz (Olomouc) law in Moravia . South German law, broadly referring to

1680-531: The armies from Opole to various Polish cities to commit crimes against the Polish people . After the defeat of Poland, Polish Eastern Upper Silesia was re-annexed to the Province of Upper Silesia and Oppeln lost its status as provincial capital to German-occupied Katowice (renamed Kattowitz ). Polish prisoners from the city co-founded the secret resistance movement in Buchenwald, while Polish escapees from

1740-405: The arrested Poles were activists, entrepreneurs, journalists, editors, scout leaders, the director of the local Polish bank and the director of the local Polish library. The Nowiny Codzienne newspaper was closed down on September 1, and its editorial team, including editor-in-chief Jan Łangowski, was deported to concentration camps . In September 1939, local Polish organizations were closed down by

1800-670: The basis of Riga law in Riga , used for some towns in the lands of the Livonian Order in Livonia , Estonia , and Courland . Magdeburg law was popular around the March of Meissen and Upper Saxony and was the source of several variants, including Neumarkt law ( Środa Śląska ) in Poland, used extensively in central and southern Poland, and Kulm law (Chełmno law), used in the State of

1860-536: The branch of Polish Piast dynasty , formed during the medieval fragmentation of Poland into provincial duchies. Its capital was Opole in Upper Silesia . Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth had restored Polish fortunes to some extent but having endured terrific internal strife, he decreed in his will (1138) that the Polish kingdom would be better divided into four hereditary principalities for each of his four sons as

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1920-452: The castle that was built in place of the old city. Former inhabitants of Ostrówek, together with German merchants that immigrated from the West, received the first town rights probably as early as around 1217, although this date is disputed. Opole received German town law in 1254, which was expanded with Neumarkt law in 1327. Opole developed during the rule of duke Bolko I of Opole . The castle

1980-544: The castle tower was saved from demolition. Nowadays called the Piast Tower it is one of the city's landmarks. In 1929, a Polish theatre from Katowice came to Opole to perform the opera Halka by Stanisław Moniuszko . After the performance, the actors were brutally beaten by a German militia with the silent consent of the German police. Local Polish activists were intensively persecuted from 1937 onwards. The local Gestapo terrorized and spied on Polish activities in

2040-515: The city developed as a centre for cement production in Germany , with the Cementownia "Odra" being active till this day. The French building materials company Lafarge is also active in the area, having its roofing division, Lafarge Roofing, together with its German subsidiary Schiedel (chimney manufacturing) based in Opole. Other companies in the city include: IT company - Atmoterm SA,

2100-536: The city participated in the Polish resistance in occupied Poland . Local members of the Polish resistance were expelled from the city. During the war, the Nazis operated thirteen forced labour subcamps of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs in the city, and two in the present-day district of Groszowice. The New Synagogue was built in 1893–1897, designed by Felix Henry. During

2160-538: The city's suburbs, by Wrocławska Street ( ul. Wrocławska ) is the location of Karolinka Shopping Centre ( Centrum Handlowe Karolinka ). The shopping centre, which opened in September 2008, has a total area of 38,000 m, with a total of 99 stores, including fashion, hardware and electronics stores. To the east of the city, by the National Road 46, is the smallest of the three shopping centres, Turawa Park, with

2220-632: The codes of Nuremberg and Vienna , was used in Bavaria , Austria , and Slovenia , and was introduced into the Kingdom of Hungary during the rule of King Béla IV . Jihlava law was a variant used frequently by mining communities in Bohemia, Moravia, the mountains of Upper Hungary , and Transylvania . Other town laws were only suitable for or were modified to fit local conditions, such as Głubczyce , Görlitz , Goslar, Lüneburg, Lwówek Śląski , Nysa , Spiš, and Székesfehérvár laws. The Środa/Neumarkt law

2280-430: The early 13th century. Because many areas were considered underpopulated or underdeveloped, local rulers offered urban privileges to peasants from German lands to induce them to immigrate eastward. Some towns which received a German town law charter were based on pre-existing settlements, while others were constructed anew by colonists. Many towns were formed in conjunction with the settlement of nearby rural communities, but

2340-683: The end of World War II. Many German Upper Silesians and Poles of ethnic German ancestry still reside in the Opole region; but, following the 1945–46 expulsions , in the city of the 21st century, ethnic Germans make up less than 3% of the population. There are four higher education establishments in the city: the Opole University , Opole University of Technology , a Medical College and the private Higher College of Management and Administration. The National Festival of Polish Song has been held here annually since 1963. Each year new regular events, fairs, shows and competitions take place. Opole

2400-536: The ethnic structure of the city began to change. In the early 20th century the number of Polish and bilingual citizens of Opole, according to the official German statistics, varied between 25% and 31%. Nonetheless, Opole remained an important cultural, social and political center for the Poles of Upper Silesia. From 1849 the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wiejska dla Górnego Śląska was published in Opole. Polish reporter and opponent of Germanisation Bronisław Koraszewski founded

2460-399: The intention to bequest the Duchy of Wrocław as a whole to his son of his second marriage Henry I the Bearded , which caused the protest of his eldest son Jarosław . After a long-term dispute in 1172 the Duchy of Opole was formed with Jarosław becoming the first duke . In turn he was obliged to an ecclesiastical career and became Bishop of Wrocław in 1198. When Duke Jarosław died in 1201,

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2520-592: The land of the pagan Opolanie was conquered by Duke Mieszko I in 992. From the 11th–12th centuries it was also a castellany . After the death of Duke Władysław II the Exile , Silesia was divided in 1163 between two Piast lines – the Wrocław line in Lower Silesia and the Opole- Racibórz of Upper Silesia. Opole would become a duchy in 1172 and would share much in common with the Duchy of Racibórz , with which it

2580-550: The largest German and Upper Silesian minorities in Poland. However, Opole itself is only 2.46% German. (See also Germans of Poland .) Opole hosts the annual National Festival of Polish Song . The city is also known for its 10th-century Church of St. Adalbert and the 14th-century Church of the Holy Cross . There is a zoo, the Ogród Zoologiczny w Opolu . Structures and buildings Museums Cemetery Opole

2640-574: The local Gestapo carried out expulsions of Polish activists from the region, which the local Polish press could still report. On 2 July 1939 a Nazi militia attacked and severely beat Poles going to a Polish service in the Saint Sebastian Church. On August 31, the day before the German invasion of Poland that began World War II , the Germans began mass arrests of prominent Poles in the city, which were continued in September. Among

2700-583: The mid-15th century, when it would start to expand again, resulting in the recreation of the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz under Duke Jan II the Good in 1521. Jan however died without issue in 1532 and the Opole line of the Piasts became extinct, whereafter Opole and Racibórz as feudal fiefdoms reverted to the sovereignty of the Bohemian Crown. It would then fall to Margrave George of Brandenburg-Ansbach from

2760-693: The newspaper Gazeta Opolska in 1890 and the People's Bank in Opole ( Opolski Bank Ludowy ) in 1897. Another Polish newspaper, the Nowiny was founded by Franciszek Kurpierz in 1911. From 1816–1945 Opole was the capital of Regierungsbezirk Oppeln within Prussia. The city became part of the German Empire during the unification of Germany in 1871. After the defeat of Imperial Germany in World War I ,

2820-634: The population voting for Poland. The local newspaper Oppelner Nachrichten was published in Oppeln. Oppeln was the administrative seat of the Province of Upper Silesia from 1919–1939. In the years 1928–1931, by the decision of the German regional administration, the Piast Castle was demolished. Thanks to the strong opposition of the local Polish community and protests of the Union of Poles in Germany ,

2880-771: The post-war Polish state administration after the annexation of Silesia in 1945 did not initiate a general expulsion of all former inhabitants of Opole, as was done in Lower Silesia, for instance, where the population almost exclusively spoke the German language. Because they were considered " autochthonous " (Polish), the Wasserpolak-speakers instead received the right to remain in their homeland after declaring themselves as Poles. Some German speakers took advantage of this decision, allowing them to remain in Opole, even when they considered themselves to be of German nationality. The city surroundings currently contain

2940-521: The region in 1532 after the last Piast duke of Opole, Jan II the Good , died. At that time the city was still mainly Polish-speaking (around 63%), with other nationalities represented mainly by Germans, Czechs and Jews. The last two dukes of Opole, Nicholas II and Janusz II the Good, did not master the German language. Beginning in 1532 the Habsburgs pawned the duchy to different rulers including several monarchs of Poland (see Dukes of Opole ). After

3000-421: The region passed to the direct control of the Habsburgs. At the beginning of the 18th century, the German population of Opole was estimated at 20%. King Frederick II of Prussia conquered most of Silesia from Austria in 1740 during the Silesian Wars ; Prussian control was confirmed in the Peace of Breslau in 1742. In the 18th century, Opole belonged to the tax inspection region of Prudnik . Under Prussian rule

3060-442: The reign of King Casimir III of Poland , numerous towns were chartered with Środa town law throughout the Kingdom of Poland in the 14th century, especially in Masovia , Galicia , and Volhynia . By 1477, 132 towns and thousands of villages in Poland were granted Środa law. Many Transylvanian Saxon settlements in Transylvania, especially in the regions of Altland , Burzenland , and Nösnerland , received South German town law in

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3120-452: The so-called Recovered Territories , Opole and the surrounding region's indigenous population partly remained and was only partly expelled as elsewhere . Over 1 million Silesians who considered themselves Poles or were treated as such by the authorities due to their language and customs were allowed to stay after they were verified as Poles in a special verification process. It involved declaring Polish nationality and an oath of allegiance to

3180-487: The surrounding region, is known as a centre of the German minority in Poland that recruits mainly from the descendants of the positively verified autochthons. In the city itself however only 2.46% of the inhabitants declared German nationality according to the last national census of 2002. On 1 January 2017 Borki , Chmielowice , Czarnowąsy , Krzanowice , Sławice , Świerkle , Winów , Wrzoski , Żerkowice as well as parts of Brzezie , Dobrzeń Mały and Karczów became

3240-510: The town was also caused by the establishment of a seat of regency in Opole in 1816. The first railway connection between Opole, Brzeg and Wrocław was opened in 1843 and the first manufacturing plants were constructed in 1859, which greatly contributed to the city's regional significance. The city's extensive heritage entails several cultures of Central Europe, as it was under periods of Polish, Bohemian (Czech) , Prussian , and German rule. Opole formally became part of Poland again in 1945 after

3300-432: The towns' urban rights were jealously guarded. Initially German town law was applied only to ethnic Germans, but gradually in most localities all town-dwellers were regarded as citizens, regardless of ethnic origin. Lübeck law spread rapidly among the maritime settlements along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and was used in northern Mecklenburg , Western Pomerania , and parts of Pomerelia and Warmia . It formed

3360-400: Was a set of early town privileges based on the Magdeburg rights developed by Otto I . The Magdeburg law became the inspiration for regional town charters not only in Germany, but also in Central and Eastern Europe who modified it during the Middle Ages . The German town law (based on the Magdeburg rights) was used in the founding of many German cities, towns, and villages beginning in

3420-406: Was finally annexed by Bohemia . Civil wars followed which encouraged foreign intervention. Boleslaus IV (1146–1173) submitted (1157) as vassal of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor . The disputes, however, continued. Duke Bolesław I the Tall and his younger brother Mieszko I Tanglefoot divided the territory among themselves into the two duchies of Wrocław and Racibórz . Bolesław originally had

3480-439: Was finally completed around this time and new buildings, including the city walls and the Holy Cross Church, were constructed. Along with most of Silesia , in 1327 the Duchy of Opole came under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bohemia , itself part of the Holy Roman Empire . In 1521 the Duchy of Opole inherited the Duchy of Racibórz ( Ratibor ), by then also known by its German equivalent – Oppeln. The second castle of Opole

3540-444: Was often combined. In 1281 Upper Silesia was divided further between the heirs of the dukes. The Duchy of Opole was temporarily reestablished in 1290. In the early 13th century, Duke Casimir I of Opole decided to move the settlement from the Pasieka Island to the right shore of the Oder river (since the 17th century, the old stream bed of the Oder, known as the Młynówka). All of the inhabitants had to be moved in order to accommodate

3600-407: Was probably founded in the 14th century by duke Vladislaus II , though some sources claim that it was originally a wooden stronghold of Opole's castellan dating into 12th century. With the death of King Ludvík II of Bohemia at the Battle of Mohács , Silesia was inherited by Ferdinand I , placing Opole under the sovereignty of the Habsburg monarchy of Austria . The Habsburgs took control of

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