Ozimek (german: Malapane; szl, Uoźimek) is a town in

Opole County __NOTOC__ Opole County ( pl, powiat opolski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reform ...

Opole Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship, or Opole Province ( pl, województwo opolskie ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Upper Si ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, with 8,657 inhabitants (2019).

History

Ozimek dates back to an early modern settlement. It was named both ''Ozimek'' and ''Małapanew'', with both names being of Polish origin. The former name is derived either from a local mill owner named Ozimek or from

winter cereal Winter cereals, also called winter grains, fall cereals, fall grains, or autumn-sown grains, are biennial cereal crops sown in the autumn. They germinate before winter comes, may partially grow during mild winters or simply persevere under a suffi ...

(''rośliny ozime'' in Polish),Heinrich Adamy, ''Die Schlesischen Ortsnamen ihre entstechung und bedeutung'', 1888, s. 81 while the latter comes from the river Mała Panew. Polish Baroque poet mentioned it under the latter name in his 1612 poem ''Officina ferraria, abo huta y warstat z kuźniami szlachetnego dzieła żelaznego''. In 1742 it was annexed by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

, and in German it was named ''Malapanew''. In 1753 the first steelworks in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

was opened there. In the mid-19th century, Ozimek was located on the major rail route

Lubliniec Lubliniec (german: Lublinitz) is a town in southern Poland with 23,784 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Lubliniec County, part of Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Częstochowa Voivodeship (1975–1998). Geograp ...

– Opole and the town quickly developed. However, it was not officially incorporated as a town until 1962. From 1871 to 1945 it was part of Germany, although in the 19th century it was inhabited predominantly by

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

and

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...

, mostly of

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

confession.''Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich'', Tom VII, Warszawa, 1886, p. 789 (in Polish) During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

the Germans established two forced labour camps and three

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

labour units in the village. After the defeat of Nazi Germany in the war, Ozimek became part of Poland. The local populace was expelled.

Landmarks

Among objects of interest, there is the Ozimek Suspension Bridge, one of the oldest wrought iron suspension bridges in Europe, opened in 1827 and listed as a Historic Monument of Poland. There is also the Museum of Metallurgy of the Mała Panew Valley ('' Muzeum Hutnictwa Doliny Małej Panwi'').

Sports

football club is based in the town. It competes in the lower leagues. Polish international players

Waldemar Sobota Waldemar Sobota (born 19 May 1987) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder and is currently a free agent. Club career Sobota was born in Ozimek. He joined Śląsk Wrocław on a four-year contract deal in June 2010 ...

, Paweł Olkowski and Adam Ledwoń started their careers in the club.

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Ozimek.

References

Cities and towns in Opole Voivodeship Opole County Cities in Silesia {{OpoleCounty-geo-stub