Opava consists of eightself-governing city parts in the suburbs and the central part that is directly administered.[2] In addition, Opava consists of 14 municipal parts, whose borders do not respect the boundaries of the city parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):[3]
Opava is located about 27 km (17 mi) northwest ofOstrava. Most of its territory lies in theOpava Hilly Land within theSilesian Lowlands, but it also extends to theNízký 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 theOpava andMoravice rivers. The Opava River flows through the city centre.
Stříbrné Lake is an artificial lake on the outskirts of the city created by the flooding of the formergypsum quarry. It is used for recreational purposes.[5]
The first written mention of Opava is from 1195. In 1224, Opava receivedtown privileges. After theDuchy of Troppau was established, Opava became its capital.[13]
According to theAustrian 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 declareYiddish, and most of them thus declared German as their native language. The main religious group wasRoman Catholics with 28,379 (92.2%), followed byProtestants with 1,155 (3.7%) andJews with 1,112 (3.6%).[14]
In 1938, Opava was ceded toNazi Germany as a result of theMunich agreement. It was administered as a part ofReichsgau Sudetenland. On 22 April 1945, Opava was liberated by the SovietRed Army at the cost of enormous war damage. In 1945–1946, the German population wasexpelled under terms ofBeneš 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.[13]
While the Duchy of Opava has ceased to exist, the title of Duke of Troppau continues, withHans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein being the current incumbent.
Opava is home especially to the engineering, food, paper and pharmaceutical industries.[13] The largest company isTeva Czech Industries, a manufacturer of medicinal products, whose predecessor was founded in Opava in 1883. It employs about 1,600 people.[17]
The largest non-industrial employers are the hospital and the psychiatric hospital.
One of the two main landmarks of Opava is the city hall on the Horní Square and its white tower, known as Hláska.[19] 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.[20]
The second main landmark is theCo-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 theOstrava-Opava diocese, and therefore a co-cathedral. With 102 metres (335 ft), the southern church tower is the highest tower in Silesia.[19][21]
There are three monuments, protected asnational cultural monuments of the Czech Republic. 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 byLeopold Bauer.[22]
TheSilesian 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.[23]
