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| Opole | |||
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  Opole
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country |  Poland |
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| Voivodeship | Opole | ||
| County | city county | ||
| Town rights | 1217 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Ryszard Zembaczyński | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 96.2 km² (37.1 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 176 m (577 ft) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| - City | 128,000 | ||
| - Density | 1,330.6/km² (3,446.1/sq mi) | ||
| - Metro | 267,000 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 45-001 to 45-910 | ||
| Area code(s) | +48 077 | ||
| Car plates | OP | ||
| Website: http://www.opole.pl | |||
Opole [ɔˈpɔlɛ] (
listen) (German: Oppeln ( listen)) is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River (Odra). It has a population of 129,553 and is the capital of the Opole Voivodeship, and also the seat of Opole County. It is the historical capital of Upper Silesia. Today, many German Upper Silesians and Poles of German ancestry live in the Opole region and the city itself.
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History
Before the 5th century Germanic tribe of the Silingii and possibly Burgundians migrated into the region around Opole. After the Germanic tribes left to invade the Roman Empire, Western Slavic tribes moved into the area.
Opole developed since the 10th century as the regional capital of the Slavic Opolanie. Their first settlements were on the Wyspa Pasieka island in the middle of the Odra. At the end of the century Silesia became part of Poland and was ruled by the Piast dynasty; the land of the pagan Opolanie was conquered by Duke Bolesław I in 1012/1013. 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 Wrocławska line in Lower Silesia and the Opolsko-Raciborska of Upper Silesia. Opole would became a duchy in 1172 and would share much in common with the Duchy of Racibórz, with which it was often combined. In 1281 Upper Silesia was divided further between the heirs of the dukes, and the Duchy of Opole was temporarily reestablished in 1290.
While German merchants had earlier established a colony in Opole at the crossing of the Oder, German peasants began arriving in 1217. Opole received German town law in 1254, which was expanded with Neumarkt law in 1327 and Magdeburg rights in 1410. 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 Racibórz (Ratibor) was inherited by the Duchy of Opole, by then already known by the German name Oppeln. With the death of King Louis II of Bohemia at the Battle of Mohács, Silesia was inherited by Ferdinand I, placing Oppeln under the sovereignty of the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria. The Habsburgs took control of the region in 1532 after the line of local Piast dukes died out. Beginning in 1532 the Habsburgs pawned the duchy to different rulers (see Dukes of Opole). With the abdication of King John II Casimir of Poland as the last Duke of Opole in 1668, the region passed to the direct control of the Habsburgs.
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. 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, a plebiscite was held on March 20, 1921 in Oppeln to determine if the city would be in the Weimar Republic or become part of the Second Polish Republic. 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%. However, at the time the voting population consisted only of ethnic Germans.
Oppeln was the administrative seat of the Province of Upper Silesia from 1919–1939. With the defeat of Poland in the Invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II in 1939, eastern Upper Silesia was readded to the Province of Upper Silesa and Oppeln lost its status as provincial capital to Katowice (renamed Kattowitz again).
After the end of the Second World War in 1945, Oppeln was transferred from Germany to Poland according to the Potsdam Conference, and given its old 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 historical eastern Germany ceded to remapped Poland, Opole and the surrounding region's German population remained and was not forcibly expelled as elsewhere, even though many ethnic Germans with right to German citizenship left to West Germany to flee the communist Eastern Bloc. Today Opole, along with the surrounding region, is known as a centre of the German-speaking Silesian minority in Poland.
Historical population
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¹ First census of the city
² 8,320 German nationality (93,7%) and 557 Polish nationality (6,3%)
³ 80% German-speaking, 16% Polish- or Slavic Silesian-speaking, and 4% German- and Polish-speaking
German minority
Alongside German, many citizens of Opole-Oppeln before 1945 used a strongly German-influenced Silesian dialect known as Upper Silesian, Wasserpolnisch, or Wasserpolak. Because of this, the Soviet puppet-state administration after the annexation of Silesia in 1945 did not initiate a general expulsion of German-speakers in Opole, as was done in Lower Silesia, for instance, where the population exclusively spoke the German language. Because they were considered "autochthonous" (Polish), the Wasserpolak-speakers instead received the right to remain in their homeland. Many German-speakers took advantage of this decision, allowing them to remain in their Oppeln, even when they considered themselves to be of German nationality. The city and its surroundings presently contain the largest German and Upper Silesian minorities in Poland. (See also Germans of Poland.)
Attractions
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
- The art nouveau Groschen bridge (Most Groszowy), currently named Green Bridge (Zielony Mostek)
- Piast castle on the island
- a 14th century Franciscan church, a Piast mausoleum
- a 19th century Town Hall
- the Church of our Lady (Kościół NMP)
- the 14th century St. James's Cathedral (Katedra św. Jakuba)
Museums
- a Diocesan Museum (Muzeum Diecezjalne)
- the Opole Regional Museum (Muzeum Śląska Opolskiego)
- the Opole Village Museum (Muzeum Wsi Opolskiej)
Education
- state-run universities and colleges:
- privately run colleges:
Politics
Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Opole constituency
- Dorota Jazłowiecka, PO
- Tadeusz Jarmuziewicz, PO
- Ryszard Knosala, PO
- Leszek Korzeniowski, PO
- Sławomir Kłosowski, PiS
- Teresa Ceglecka-Zielonka, PiS
- Mieczysław Walkiewicz, PiS
- Henryk Kroll, German minority
- Ryszard Galla, German minority
- Józef Stępkowski, Samoobrona
- Sandra Lewandowska, Samoobrona
- Tomasz Garbowski, SLD
- Marek Kawa, LPR
Famous residents
- Władysław Opolczyk, count palatine of Poland 1378
- Leo Baeck (1873-1956), rabbi
- Anna Brzezińska (born 1971), fantasy writer
- Jerzy Buzek (born 1940), academic and politician, prime minister of Poland
- Jerzy Grotowski (1933-1999), theater director
- Jan Kasprowicz (1860-1926), poet
- Paul Kleinert (1837-1920), German theologian
- Miroslav Klose (born 1978), football player (playing in the German national football team)
- Andrzej Jerzy Lech (born 1955), artist and photographer
- Emin Pasha (born Eduard Schnitzer) (1840-1892), explorer and governor of Africa
- Bolesław Polnar (born 1952), graphic artist and painter
- Edwin von Drenkmann, famous German lawyer
- Helmuth James Graf von Moltke, German officer
- Hans-Adolf von Moltke, German diplomat
- Jürgen Peters, president of the German trade union IG Metall.
- Joachim Zeller, district mayor of Berlin-Central.
- Jan Fethke, movie director
- Alfons Hayduk, German author
- Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert, German painter
- Georg Nehrlich, German painter
- Ruth Seydewitz, German journalist and author
- Hugo Ulrich, (1827-1872), musician
- Hans-Busso von Busse, German architect and professor
- Eckart Klein, German lawyer
- Friedrich Münzer (1868-1942), German philologist
- Jürgen Roloff, German protestant theologian
- Emil Friedrich Julius Sommer, professor of German language
- Max Wiener, German-Jewish theologian.
- Kaspar Colonna, German Army officer.
- Ferdinand von Prondzynski, 19th century Prussian general, whose direct descendant Ferdinand von Prondzynski is President of Dublin City University, Ireland.
- Rochus Misch (1917-still alive), communications' chief of the Reichskanzlei and member of the Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler
- Chester Marcol, American Football Placekicker for the Green Bay Packers.
- see also: Dukes of Opole-Oppeln
Twin cities
Alytus Lithuania
Agioi Anargyroi Greece
Bonn Germany
Bruntál Czech Republic
Carrara Italy
Grasse France- Ingolstadt Germany
Kuopio Finland- Mülheim Germany
- Potsdam Germany
Roanoke USA
Székesfehérvár Hungary
Kragujevac Serbia
References
- This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of June 4, 2006.
- The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. "Opole". Columbia University Press. Accessed June 4, 2006.
External links
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