An excerpt from the Wikipedia on-line encyclopedia is below. It
describes a little bit about the history of OPOLE. For a more complete
version, use the link at the bottom of the page:
Opole 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, which 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.
