Opava

Etymology

The city is named after the Opava River. The name of the river arose from the old Celtic words apa, opa, i.e. 'water'.

Geography

Opava is located about 27 kilometres (17 mi) northwest of Ostrava. Most of its territory lies in the Opava Hilly Land within the Silesian Lowlands, but it also extends to the Nízký Jeseník range in the southeast and northwest. The highest point of the municipal territory is Hůrka at 530 m (1,740 ft) above sea level.

Opava is situated at the confluence of the Opava and Moravice rivers. The Opava River flows through the city centre.

Lake Stříbrné jezero is an artificial lake on the outskirts of the city created by the flooding of the former gypsum quarry. It is used for recreational purposes.

Climate

History

The first written mention of Opava is from 1195. In 1224, Opava received town privileges. After the Duchy of Troppau was established, Opava became its capital.

In 1427–1431, the duchy was ruled by the Hussites. In 1485, it was acquired by Matthias Corvinus and ruled by the Hungarians until 1526. In 1613, Karl I of Liechtenstein became Duke of Opava and merged the duchy with the Duchy of Krnov.

After the majority of Silesia was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia during the War of the Austrian Succession after 1740, the remaining Silesian territory still under the control of the Habsburg monarchy became known as Austrian Silesia, with its capital in Opava (1742–1918). The Congress of Troppau took place here from 24 October to 23 December 1820.

According to the Austrian census of 1910, the town had 30,762 inhabitants, 29,587 of whom had permanent residence there. The census asked people for their native language, which showed that 27,240 (92%) were German-speaking, 2,039 (6.9%) were Czech-speaking and 274 (0.9%) were Polish-speaking. Jews were not allowed to declare Yiddish, and most of them thus declared German as their native language. The main religious group was Roman Catholics with 28,379 (92.2%), followed by Protestants with 1,155 (3.7%) and Jews with 1,112 (3.6%).

After the defeat of Austria-Hungary in World War I, Opava became part of Czechoslovakia in 1919.

In 1938, Opava was ceded to Nazi Germany as a result of the Munich Agreement. It was administered as a part of Reichsgau Sudetenland. On 22 April 1945, Opava was liberated by the Soviet Red Army at the cost of enormous war damage. In 1945–1946, the German population was expelled under terms of Beneš decrees and the city was resettled with Czechs. On 1 January 1946, the municipalities of Jaktař, Kateřinky and Kylešovice were joined to Opava. After the war, entire new residential areas and industrial plants were built.

While the Duchy of Opava has ceased to exist, the title of Duke of Troppau continues, with Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein being the current incumbent.

Demographics

Economy

Opava is home especially to the engineering, food, paper and pharmaceutical industries. The largest company is Teva Czech Industries, a manufacturer of medicinal products, whose predecessor was founded in Opava in 1883. It employs about 1,600 people.

The largest non-industrial employers are the hospital and the psychiatric hospital.

Culture

Opava is an important cultural centre of Opavian Silesia. The Silesian Theatre in Opava was founded in 1805.

Education

Opava is home to the Silesian University, the only public university in the country not situated in a regional capital. It was established in 1991.

Sport

The city's football club SFC Opava plays in the Czech National Football League, the second tier of the Czech football league system.

Sights

One of the two main landmarks of Opava is the city hall on the square Horní náměstí and its white tower, known as Hláska. A one-storey city hall and the tower were built in 1614–1618. However, the less representative town hall building around the tower was demolished in 1902 and replaced with a new one in the Neo-Renaissance style.

The second main landmark is the Co-Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It is the largest building in the Czech Republic built in the so-called Silesian Brick Gothic style. A solid prismatic tower was built in the late 13th century and a higher south tower was built in the early 14th century, both towers were originally intended as part of a city hall. The church building between the towers dates from the mid-14th century. In 1996, the church became the second Episcopal church of the Ostrava-Opava diocese, and therefore a co-cathedral. With 102 metres (335 ft), the southern church tower is the highest tower in Silesia.

There are three monuments, protected as national cultural monuments. Besides the co-cathedral, there is the Chapel of the Holy Cross, which dates from 1394, and the Petr Bezruč City House of Culture; a Neo-Renaissance house, built in 1908–1910 according to the design by Leopold Bauer.

The Silesian Museum, founded in 1814, is the oldest public museum in the Czech Republic. It has about 2,400,000 exhibition items and is the third largest museum in the country.

Notable people

• Martin of Opava (?–1278) historian and cleric
• Johann Palisa (1848–1925), Austrian astronomer
• Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli (1856–1941), Austrian field marshal
• Felix Woyrsch (1860–1944), German composer
• Joseph Maria Olbrich (1867–1908), Austrian architect
• Petr Bezruč (1867–1958), poet
• Max Eschig (1872–1927), French music publisher
• Esther Hoffe (1906–2007), Czech-Israeli secretary
• Franz Bardon (1909–1958), occultist
• Joy Adamson (1910–1980), naturalist and author
• Helmut Niedermeyer (1926–2014), Austrian businessman
• Josef Gebauer (1942–2004), historian
• Boris Rösner (1951–2006), actor
• Pavel Složil (born 1955), tennis player
• Bohdan Sláma (born 1967), film director
• Kamil Mrůzek (born 1977), kayaker
• Nataša Novotná (born 1977), dancer and choreographer
• Zdeněk Pospěch (born 1978), footballer
• Zuzana Ondrášková (born 1980), tennis player
• Lukáš Vondráček (born 1986), pianist
• Libor Kozák (born 1989), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Opava is twinned with:

• Katowice, Poland
• Kearney, United States
• Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia
• Racibórz, Poland
• Roth, Germany
• Zugló (Budapest), Hungary
• Żywiec, Poland