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Opava
Town
Flag Coat-of-arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Moravian-Silesian
District	Opava
River	Opava
Elevation	257 m (843 ft)
Coordinates	49°56′20″N 17°54′9″E / 49.93889, 17.9025
Area	90.61 km² (34.98 sq mi)
Population	59,843 (2005)
Density	660 /km² (1,709 /sq mi)
First mentioned	1195
Mayor	Zbyněk Stanjura
Postal code	746 01
Location in the Czech Republic
Location in the Moravian-Silesian Region
Wikimedia Commons: Opava
Website: www.opava-city.cz

Opava (pronounced [ˈopava] (help·info); German: Troppau, Polish: Opawa) is a city in the northern Czech Republic on the Opava river. The historical capital of Czech Silesia, Opava is now in the Moravian-Silesian Region and has a population of 59,843 as of January 1, 2005.

Opavské Knížectví (cs) Fürstentum Troppau (de) Principality of Troppau State of the Holy Roman Empire ← 1278 – 1506 → Capital Troppau (Opava) Government Principality Historical era Middle Ages  - Established 1278  - Partitioned into three 1366  - Further partitions 1424, 1433 and 1452  - Annexed by Bohemia 1462–1506

Opava was first documented in 1195. It received Magdeburg city rights in 1224 and was the capital of a medieval Silesian duchy. After the majority of Silesia was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia during the War of the Austrian Succession begun in 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 in Opava in 1820. After the defeat of Austria-Hungary in World War I, Opava became part of Czechoslovakia in 1918.

From 1938–45 Opava was occupied by Nazi Germany. A day before Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938, Opava was shorn from its okres and became its own Stadtkreis. After the end of World War II, the German population of Opava was expelled from 1945–46; many of them settled in Bamberg, Germany.

Opava is currently an important business and cultural center. It is the location of several economic and cultural institutions serving the entire region, including the Silesian Land's Museum, the Silesian University of Opava, and the Silesian Institute of the Academy of Science. The city is part of a congested industrial area along with Ostrava and produces mining equipment. Opava also awards its own Cultural Prize. The Silesian Theatre in Opava was founded in year 1805. Plays were performed in German until the end of the Second World War.

• Franz Bardon, magician
• Martin of Opava, historian
• Joy Adamson, naturalist
• Johann Palisa, astronomer
• Petr Bezruč, poet
• Zuzana Ondrášková, tennis player
• Bohdan Sláma, film director
• Lukas Vondraček, pianist
• Boris Rösner, actor
• Gerhard Gerlich, politician
• Joseph Maria Olbrich, architect
• Lucie Weidt, singer
• Pavel Složil, tennis player
• Eduard Freiherr von Böhm-Ermolli, Austrian general
• Pavel Hodula, pipe maker

• Official website
• Up-to-date news
• Opavsko24.cz - Regionální internetové noviny pro Opavu a okolí
• staraopava.cz Old postcards (czech language)

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