Strzelce Opolskie () is a town in southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

with 17,900 inhabitants (2019), situated in the

Opole Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship ( , , ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Silesia. A relatively lar ...

. It is the capital of

Strzelce County __NOTOC__ Strzelce County () 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 reforms passed in 1998 ...

Etymology

The name of the town is of Polish origin and comes from the old Polish word ''strzelec'', which means "hunter" or "archer".

Demographics

Strzelce Opolskie is one of the biggest centers of

German minority in Poland The registered German minority in Poland (; ) is a group of German people that inhabit Poland, being the largest minority of the country. As of 2021, it had a population of 144,177. The German language is spoken in certain areas in Opole Voiv ...

Transport

The town is located along the major rail line which joins

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

and

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

. Until 1999, there was a branch line connecting Strzelce Opolskie with Kędzierzyn Koźle. It closed as part of PKP's

cost-cutting Cost reduction is the process used by organisations aiming to reduce their costs and increase their profits, or to accommodate reduced income. Depending on a company’s services or products, the strategies can vary. Every decision in the produ ...

measures, although the rails still (2006) remain in site. The town is located on the Polish National road No. 94, and the Voivodeship roads 409 and 426.

History

The settlement was mentioned in 13th-century documents, when it was part of

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...

-ruled

. It received town rights probably in the 13th century. Local dukes of the Piast dynasty erected a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the town. The town was annexed by

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in the 18th century, and then from 1871 to 1945 it was also part of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In the 18th century, Strzelce Opolskie belonged to the tax inspection region of

Prudnik Prudnik (, , , ) is a town in southern Poland, located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the administrative seat of Prudnik County and Gmina Prudnik. Its population numbers 21,368 inhabitant ...

. According to the German census of 1890, it had a population of 5,112, of which 500 (9.8%) were

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

. In the

Upper Silesia plebiscite The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty and carried out on 20 March 1921 to determine ownership of the province of Upper Silesia between Weimar Germany and the Second Polish Republic. The region was ethni ...

held in 1921, the residents were asked to choose between remaining in

and rejoining

, which just regained independence after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In Groß Strehlitz, 85.7% of the votes were cast in favour of remaining in Germany. In a secret ''

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, "Security Service"), full title ' ("Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''"), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the Schutzstaffel, SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence ...

'' report from 1934, the town was named one of the main centers of the Polish movement in western Upper Silesia. Polish activists were persecuted intensively since 1937. In April and May 1939, multiple German attacks on Poles took place in the town.Cygański, p. 26-27 Nazi German militants attacked the actors of the Polish theater from

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

and the gathered Polish public, and demolished the theater hall of the Polish bank. The

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

devastated the headquarters of Polish organizations, Polish enterprises (bank and cooperative) and houses of local Polish activists. In August and September 1939, the Germans carried out arrests of prominent local Poles, including chairmen of the Polish bank, cooperative and local branch of the "Sokół" Polish Gymnastic Society, and confiscated the assets of the Polish bank. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Nazi Germany operated a detention center where it would send prisoners to

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

. Many died from exhaustion and/or starvation. Among the prisoners were Poles arrested for rescuing Jews from the Holocaust. The Germans also operated the E365 labour subcamp of the Stalag VIII-B/344

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

at the local lime quarry, and a forced labour camp for

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. After the defeat of Germany in the war in 1945, the town became again part of Poland.

Sports

The local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club is Piast Strzelce Opolskie with men and women sections. Both sections compete in the lower leagues.

Notable people

Gustav Meyer Gustav Meyer (25 November 1850 – 28 August 1900) was a German linguist and Indo-European scholar, considered to be one of the most important Albanologists of his time, most importantly by proving that the Albanian language belongs to the Indo-E ...

(1850–1900), linguist and notable Albanologist *

Helmuth Förster Helmuth Förster (19 April 1889 – 7 April 1965) was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II. A decorated World War I aviator, he returned to military service in 1934 as an ''Oberstleutnant'' in the Luftwaffe. Promoted to ''Oberst'' ...

(1889–1965), general *

Heinz Kokott Heinz Kokott (14 November 1900 – 29 May 1976) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Kokott took part in the siege of Bastogne in December 1944. ...

(1900–1976), general * Hermann Bix (1914–1986), officer *

Erich Mende Erich Mende (28 October 1916 – 6 May 1998) was a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He was the leader of FDP from 1960 to 1968 and the vice chancellor of Germany from 1963 to 1966. Ea ...

(1916–1998), politician * Piotr Domaradzki (1946–2015), journalist, essayist and historian *

Mirosław Sekuła Mirosław Sekuła (born 20 June 1955, in Strzelce Opolskie) is a Polish chemist and politician. A member of the Sejm between 1997 and 2001 and again between 2007 and 2011, Sekuła also served as President of the Supreme Audit Office (Poland), Supr ...

(born 1955), chemist and politician * Sławomir Szmal (born 1978), handball player

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Strzelce Opolskie.

Gallery

File:Strzelecki ratusz.jpg, Town hall File:Jesień w strzeleckim parku.JPG, Castle park File:Ruiny zamku w Strzelcach Opolskich.JPG, Ruins of the Piast Dukes' Castle, 14th century File:Strzelce Opolskie Masztalarnia 2.jpg, Old stable of the castle complex File:Strzelce Opolskie, pomnik Ofiarom Wojen i Przemocy.JPG, Monument to the victims of wars

References

External links

Jewish Community in Strzelce Opolskie
on Virtual Shtetl {{Authority control Cities and towns in Opole Voivodeship Strzelce County Cities in Silesia