Opole County, Opole Voivodeship

Opole (Polish: [ɔˈpɔlɛ] ; German: Oppeln [ˈɔpl̩n] ; Silesian: Ôpole) 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 built-up (or metro area) was home to 146,522 inhabitants. It is the largest city in its province. 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 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 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 is sometimes referred to as "Polish Venice", because of its picturesque Old Town and several canals and bridges connecting parts of the city.

The Opole Medical School (Polish name: PMWSZ - Państwowa Medyczna Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa) is a state-owned medical school in Opole. The school was established on 1 May 2003. PMWSZ teaches in the following areas: obstetrics nursing physiotherapy public health cosmetologyand, with the consent of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland: medical emergencyRector: Tomasz Halski, MD, PhD

The University of Opole (Polish: Uniwersytet Opolski) is a public university in the city of Opole. It was founded in 1994 from a merger of two parallel educational institutions. The university has 17,500 students completing 32 academic majors and 53 specializations. The staff numbers 1,380 - among them are 203 professors and habilitated doctors and 327 doctors. The university confers Licentiate, Master's, doctoral, and post-doctoral degrees. It educates students in forty-seven primary fields of study, both in full-time and part-time programs. For several years, the University of Opole has been an interdisciplinary institution with a predominance of humanities courses. It consists of twelve faculties, twenty institutes, and twelve intercollegiate units, including the Main Library, the Foreign Language Centre, and the Physical Education and Sports Centre.

Ryszard Kowalczyk (20 February 1937 – 17 October 2017) and his younger brother Jerzy Kowalczyk (born 1942) were Polish brothers who planted a bomb as a protest against communist rule in Poland. The Kowalczyk brothers were scientists at Opole University. They planted a bomb there on 6 October 1971 as a protest against the violence perpetrated by the communist authorities against the workers' protest. A big celebration for the Służba Bezpieczeństwa and Milicja Obywatelska was to take place at the university in the morning of the following day. The explosion destroyed the big university hall where the celebrations were to take place. Although no-one was injured, a wide investigation was launched and the Kowalczyks were quickly arrested. On 8 September 1972 the court in Opole sentenced Jerzy to death and Ryszard as his helper to 25 years in prison. The sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court on 18 December 1972. Such severe sentences resulted in protests from Jan Józef Szczepański, Wisława Szymborska, Jerzy Szacki, Stanisław Lem, Daniel Olbrychski and Catholic authorities. On 19 January 1973 the Council of State reduced Jerzy Kowalczyk's sentence to 25 years in prison. With the rise of Solidarity in the 1980s, pardons were issued and the brothers were freed for good behavior: Ryszard in 1983 and Jerzy in 1985. In 1991 President Lech Wałęsa decided that their sentences were legally forgotten which would allow them to work again. Still this declaration and following it legal procedure, has not been confirmed by the Supreme Court, which in January 2002 ruled that the conviction of the Kowalczyks could not be appealed, justifying it mainly but not uniquely by the reasons of the legal procedure. The ruling closed the appeal possibilities in this case.

Opole Główne (Polish for Opole main station) is a major railway station in the southern Polish city of Opole. It also is the biggest station in Opole Voivodeship, with connections to all major Polish cities, several local towns of the area, as well as international locations, such as Berlin and Hamburg. The first station building for Opole Główne was completed in 1853, and back then it was called Oppeln Hauptbahnhof, as the city belonged to the German Empire. However, the original building was destroyed and another one was built in around 1899. It is still in use, and in 1926 underground access to platforms was constructed, together with the second building housing the entrance hall. The station building is in the eclectic style with neo-Gothic, neo-Renaissance, secession and neo-classical elements.The station is a crucial rail junction, as it serves several connections, including the major lines to Wrocław, Częstochowa, Kędzierzyn-Koźle, and Strzelce Opolskie. Furthermore, it serves local lines to Nysa, and Kluczbork.

Solaris Center is a commercial and entertainment complex in Opole, Poland, located on the Copernicus Square (pl. Plac Kopernika), next to the University of Opole. The Center was opened on March 4, 2009.

Opole Town Hall - a town hall built in the Neo-Renaissance architectural style in the Śródmieście borough in Opole. The town hall was built on the exemplar of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy.

New Synagogue was a synagogue in Oppeln, Germany (today Opole, Poland). It 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.

The Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Polish: Katedra Podwyższenia Krzyża Świętego) also called Opole Cathedral is a religious building affiliated with the Catholic Church that serves as a parish church and the cathedral city of Opole in Poland. The church belongs to the parish of the Holy Cross in Opole in the deanery of Opole, part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Opole (established in 1972). On April 3, 1964, the temple was entered in the register of regional monuments of Opole under number 763/64. The current church was built in the fifteenth century on the site where before there was a structure of the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. It was rebuilt several times. With towers with a height of 73 meters is the tallest structure in the city. In the temple there is a painting of the Virgin of Opole, brought there permanently in 1702. The Cathedral contains the Piast Chapel, which is the burial site of Duke Jan II the Good of the Piast dynasty.

The Diocese of Opole (Latin: Dioecesis Opoliensis) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Opole in the ecclesiastical province of Katowice in Poland.

Duchy of Opole (Polish: Księstwo opolskie; German: Herzogtum Oppeln; Czech: Opolské knížectví) was one of the duchies of Silesia ruled by the branch of Polish Piast dynasty. Its capital was Opole (Oppeln, Opolí) in Upper Silesia.

The Duchy of Opole and Racibórz (Polish: Księstwo opolsko-raciborskie, German: Herzogtum Oppeln und Ratibor) was one of the numerous Duchies of Silesia ruled by the Silesian branch of the royal Polish Piast dynasty. It was formed in 1202 from the union of the Upper Silesian duchies of Opole and the Racibórz, in a rare exception to the continuing feudal fragmentation of the original Duchy of Silesia. In 1281 it was split again. In 1521 it was recreated by the last Silesian Piast, Duke Jan II the Good. After his heirless death the duchy fell to the Kingdom of Bohemia. It was briefly part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 17th century; eventually like most of the then mainly German-speaking province of Silesia it was annexed by Prussia after the First Silesian War in 1742.