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Opava is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a historical capital of Czech Silesia. [edit] 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.[1] 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.[1] 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 April 22 1945, Opava was liberated by the Soviet Red Army at the cost of enormous war damage. In 1945–46, the German population was expelled under terms of Beneš decrees and the city was resettled with Czechs. On 1 January, the municipalities of Jaktař, Kateřinky and Kylešovice were joined to Opava. After the war, entire new residential areas and industrial plants were built.[1] 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. [edit] Research Tips
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