Opole Voivodeship (Polish:województwo opolskie[vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔɔˈpɔlskʲɛ]ⓘ,Silesian:wojewodstwo Ôpole), is the smallest and least populatedvoivodeship (province) ofPoland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city,Opole. It is part ofSilesia. A relatively largeGerman minority lives in the voivodeship, and theGerman language is co-official in 28 communes.
Opole Province's geographic location, economic potential, and its population's level of education make it an attractive business partner for other Polish regions (especiallyLower Silesian andSilesian Voivodeships) and for foreign investors. Formed in 1997, thePraděd/PradziadEuroregion with its headquarter inPrudnik has facilitated economic, cultural and tourist exchanges between the border areas of Poland and theCzech Republic.
Opole Voivodeship was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Opole Voivodeship and parts ofCzęstochowa Voivodeship, pursuant to thePolish local government reforms adopted in 1998.Originally, the government, advised by prominent historians, had wanted to disestablish Opolskie and partition its territory between theLower Silesian andSilesian Voivodeship (easternUpper Silesia and westernLesser Poland). The plan was that Brzeg and Namysłów, as the Western part of the region, were to be transferred to Lower Silesia, while the rest was to become, along with a part of the Częstochowa Voivodeship, an integral part of the new 'Silesian' region. However, the plans resulted in an outcry from theGerman minority population of Opole Voivodeship, who feared that should their region be abolished, they would lose all hope of regional representation (in the proposed Silesian Region, they would have formed a very small minority among a great number of ethnic Poles). To the surprise of many of the ethnic Germans in Opole however, the local Polish Silesian population and groups of ethnic Poles also rose up to oppose the planned reforms; this came about as a result of an overwhelming feeling of attachment to the voivodeships that were scheduled to be 'redrawn', as well as a fear of 'alienation' should one find themselves residing in a new, unfamiliar region.
The solution came in late 1999, whenOlesno was, after 24 years apart, finally reunited with the Opole Voivodeship to form the new legally defined region. A historic moment came in 2006 when the town ofRadłów changed its local laws to make German, alongside Polish, the district's second official language, becoming the first town in the region to do so.
Opole Voivodeship is divided into 12 counties (powiats): 1 city county and 11 land counties. These are further divided into 71gminas.
The counties are listed in the following table (ordering is by decreasing population).
Opole, the voivodeship's capitalNysa, the third-largest town by population in the south-westBrzeg, a popular tourist attraction for itsRenaissanceTown Hall andCastlePrudnik, with its preserved medieval town centreKluczbork serves as a key rail line junction in the north-east of the region
The Opole Voivodeship is the smallest region in the administrative makeup of the country in terms of both area and population.
About 15% of the one million inhabitants of this voivodeship areethnic Germans, which constitutes 90% of all ethnic Germans in Poland. Towns with particularly high concentrations of German speakers include:Strzelce Opolskie;Dobrodzien;Prudnik;Głogówek; andGogolin.[6] As a result,many areas are officially bilingual and the German language and culture play a significant role in education in the region. Ethnic Germans first came to this region during the Late Middle Ages.[7] The area was once part of thePrussianprovince of Silesia.
TheGross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 10.1 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 2.0% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 17,000 euros or 56% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 66% of the EU average.[8]
The Opole Voivodeship is an industrial as well as an agricultural region. With respect tomineral resources, of major importance are deposits of raw materials for building:limestone (Strzelce Opolskie),marl (nearOpole),marble, andbasalt. The favourableclimate, fertile soils, and high farming culture contribute to the development ofagriculture, which is among the most productive in the country.
A total of nineteen industries are represented in the voivodeship. The most important are cement and lime, furniture, food, car manufacturing, and chemical industries. In 1997, the biggest production growth in the area was in companies producing wood and wood products, electrical equipment, machinery and appliances, as well as cellulose and paper products. In 1997, the top company in the region wasZakłady Azotowe S.A. inKędzierzyn-Koźle, whose income was overPLN 860 million. The voivodship's economy consists of more than 53,000 businesses, mostly small and medium-sized, employing over 332,000 people. Manufacturing companies employ over 89,000 people; 95.7% of all the region's business operate in the private sector.
According to theCentral Statistical Office of Poland, Opole Voivodeship is most frequently visited by international tourists from countries located inEurope (94.6%). The rank was followed by tourists fromAsia, compromising 2.4% of the total international tourist figure, followed by that ofNorth America at 1.8%. The general composition of international tourists visiting the Opole Voivodeship remains unchanged, with 46.2% of tourists heading fromGermany.
International tourists visiting Opole Voivodeship with an overnight stay according to country of permanent residence:[14]
Overnight international tourists in Opole Voivodeship (2015)
Country
International tourists (change from 2010)
Austria
600(+33.3%)
Belgium
450(+6.6%)
Czech Republic
2,200(+41.9%)
Denmark
370(+2.7%)
France
1,400(+33.3%)
Germany
18,100(+8.5%)
Hungary
375(+7.1%)
Italy
910(+13.7%)
Netherlands
1,220(-43.4%)
Norway
450(+33.3%)
Romania
450(+44.4%)
Russia
320(-46.0%)
Slovakia
1,000(+40.0%)
Spain
520(+28.9%)
Sweden
320(-12.5%)
Ukraine
5,200(+26.9%)
United Kingdom
950(-24.2%)
United States of America
600(+25.0%)
In 2015, a total of c. 90,800 overnight stays were hosted for international tourists, a figure making up 12.4% of the total amount of overnight stays for Opole Voivodeship. The majority (44.7%) of international overnight stays were hosted in the city ofOpole, followed byKędzierzyn-Koźle County (9.9%) andNysa County at (9.4%).[14]
Opole Główne railway station is a major transportation hub through which much of the region's trade is channelled
The transport route from Germany toUkraine, theA4, runs through Opole. The region has four border crossings, and direct rail connections to all important Polish cities, as well as toFrankfurt,Munich,Budapest,Kyiv, and theBaltic ports.
There are three state-run universities in the region: theOpole University, theOpole University of Technology, and thePublic Higher Medical Professional School in Opole. All of them are based in the voivodeship's capital. Among the region's private schools, the Opole School of Management and Administration has been certified as a degree-granting institution by the Ministry of National Education.
Opole University of Technology
Opole University
State Medical College
Opole School of Management and Administration
Bogdan Jański College
The State Higher Vocational School in Nysa, PWSZ in NYSA
^ab"opole.stat.gov.pl"(PDF).TURYŚCI ZAGRANICZNI KORZYSTAJĄCY Z BAZY NOCLEGOWEJ TURYSTYKI WEDŁUG WYBRANYCH KRAJÓW STAŁEGO ZAMIESZKANIA.Archived(PDF) from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved22 August 2017.
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