Opole (pronounce: Opole.ogg, German Oppeln) is a town in southern Poland on the Oder River. It has a population of 129,553 and is the capital of the Opole Voivodship. It is the historical capital of Upper Silesia. Opole has a large German minority.

As a result of regional division of Poland following the death of Boleslaus III the Wrymouth, since 1283 Opole and all adjoining lands were a separate duchy, that initially shared the fate of Poland and then the fate of the rest of Silesia. Although the last ruler to hold the title of Duke of Opole was Jan Kazimierz II, who abdicated in 1668, the duchy continued to be an unit of administrative division until 1742, ruled by the Austrian Habsburgs as Kings of Bohemia.

Education

• state-run universities and colleges:
  • Technical University of Opole (Politechnika Opolska)
  • University of Opole (Uniwersytet Opolski)
  • State Medical College in Opole (Państwowa Medyczna Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa w Opolu)
• privately-run colleges:
  • Management and Administration College in Opole (Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania i Administracji w Opolu)
  • Bogdan Jański College (Szkoła Wyższa im. Bogdana Jańskiego)

Politics

Opole constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Opole constituency

• Jerzy Czerwiński, LPR
• Andrzej Diakonow, PiS
• Aleksandra Jakubowska, SLD-UP
• Tadeusz Jarmuziewicz, PO
• Leszek Korzeniowski, PO
• Henryk Kroll, German minority
• Andrzej Namysło, SLD-UP
• Helmut Paździor, German minority
• Kazimierz Pietrzyk, SLD-UP
• Józef Pilarczyk, SLD-UP
• Jerzy Szteliga, SLD-UP
• Józef Tomala, Samoobrona
• Zenon Tyma, Samoobrona

See also

• Dukes of Opole

External links

• Official municipal site ( in Polish, English and French )
• web cam showing Krakowska Street in Opole