Opava

Opava was the capital of the Duchy of Troppau and then of Austrian Silesia, the part of Silesia that stayed Habsburg when Prussia took the rest in 1742, and it functioned as the administrative and cultural centre of that remnant, which is why a town of this size has the institutions it does. The Silesian Museum was founded in 1814, which makes it the oldest public museum in the Czech lands and one of the older in Central Europe, and it holds natural history, art and the Silesian regional collections in a monumental building of 1895. The concert hall and theatre date from the same period of confidence. The Gothic church of the Assumption is a large brick building with twin towers, and the Holy Ghost church has a Minorite monastery. Opava was heavily damaged in 1945 and rebuilt, so the historic buildings stand among postwar work.

History

The city takes its name from the Opava river, whose name comes from old Celtic words for water. Opava is first mentioned in 1195, received town privileges in 1224, and became the capital of the Duchy of Troppau. The Hussites ruled the duchy in 1427-1431, Matthias Corvinus acquired it in 1485 and the Hungarians held it until 1526, and in 1613 Karl I of Liechtenstein became Duke of Opava and merged the duchy with Krnov. After Prussia annexed most of Silesia during the War of the Austrian Succession, the part left to the Habsburgs became Austrian Silesia, with Opava as its capital from 1742 to 1918, and the Congress of Troppau met here from 24 October to 23 December 1820. The Chapel of the Holy Cross dates from 1394 (Wikipedia, Opava).

What's there

• The oldest public museum here - the Silesian Museum, founded in 1814.
• An Austrian Silesian capital - the administrative centre of the Habsburg remnant.
• A brick Gothic church - the twin-towered Assumption in the centre.
• A rebuilt town - historic buildings standing among postwar reconstruction.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Things to know

The centre is largely postwar and the historic fabric is scattered. Museum sections have separate tickets and close on Mondays. It is a working regional town rather than a tourist one.

Nearby

Hradec nad Moravici is south; Ostrava is east.

Key facts