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Opole (Polish: [ɔˈpɔlɛ] ⓘ; German: Oppeln [ˈɔpl̩n] ⓘ; Silesian: Ôpole; Silesian German: Uppeln) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of Opole County. Its metropolitan area was home to 146,522 inhabitants. It is the largest city in its province.
Opole's history dates to the 8th century. One of the oldest urban centres in Upper Silesia, it originated as an early medieval Slavic stronghold of the Opolans tribe and later became the seat of the Piast Duchy of Opole. The present-day town developed in the early 13th century under German town law during the medieval eastward colonisation. Over the following centuries, it formed part of the Bohemian Crown, the Habsburg monarchy, Prussia, and the German Reich. After World War II, the city was incorporated into Poland. Many German Upper Silesians and Poles of ethnic German ancestry still reside in the Opole region; but, following the 1945–46 expulsions, ethnic Germans now make up less than 3% of the city's 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 is sometimes referred to as "The Venice of Poland", 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 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; 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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. The city's rapid development was facilitated by the establishment of a Regency (Regierungsbezirk) seat in Oppeln in 1816. The first railway connection between Oppeln, Brieg and Breslau was opened in 1843 and the first manufacturing plants were constructed in 1859, which greatly contributed to the city's regional significance.
Under Prussian rule 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 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, 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 had 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%. In the present-day neighbourhoods (then separate localities) of Grudzice, Krzanowice, Malina, Winów and Wrzoski the majority voted for Poland with results ranging from 54.8% in Krzanowice to 74.9% in Wrzoski, whereas in the present-day neighbourhoods of Bierkowice, Brzezie, Chmielowice, Czarnowąsy, Gosławice, Półwieś, Sławice, Szczepanowice, Wójtowa Wieś, Wróblin and Żerkowice the majority voted for Germany with result ranging from 50.3% in Gosławice and Sławice to 94.2% in Brzezie. 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, 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 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, 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 31 August, 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 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 1 September, 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 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 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 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 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 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 the so-called Recovered Territories, Opole and the surrounding region's indigenous population partly remained although the majority was 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 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 later years, however, many Germans (and German Silesians) left for West Germany to flee the communist Eastern Bloc (see Emigration from Poland to Germany after World War II). Today, Opole, along with 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 a part of Opole, increasing 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%.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Opole”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.