Strzelce Opolskie

Template:Short description Template:Infobox settlement Strzelce Opolskie Template:IPAc-pl (Template:Langx, Template:Langx) is a town in southern Poland with 17,900 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Opole Voivodeship.Template:TERYT It is the capital of Strzelce County.

Etymology

The name of the town is of Polish origin and comes from the old Polish word strzelec, which means "hunter" or "archer".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Demographics

Strzelce Opolskie is one of the biggest centers of German minority in Poland.

Transport

The town is located along the major rail line which joins Gliwice and Opole. Until 1999, there was a branch line connecting Strzelce Opolskie with Kędzierzyn Koźle. It closed as part of PKP's cost-cutting 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-ruled Poland. It received town rights probably in the 13th century. Local dukes of the Piast dynasty erected a castle in the town.

From the unification of Germany in 1871 until the end of World War II in 1945, the town was part of Germany. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the town again became part of Poland under the terms of the Potsdam Agreement. In the 18th century, Strzelce Opolskie belonged to the tax inspection region of Prudnik.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to the German census of 1890, it had a population of 5,112, of which 500 (9.8%) were Poles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the Upper Silesia plebiscite held in 1921, the residents were asked to choose between remaining in Germany and rejoining Poland, which just regained independence after World War I. In Groß Strehlitz, 85.7% of the votes were cast in favour of remaining in Germany.

In a secret Sicherheitsdienst report from 1934, the town was named one of the main centers of the Polish movement in western Upper Silesia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Polish activists were persecuted intensively since 1937.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In April and May 1939, multiple German attacks on Poles took place in the town.<ref name="mc">Cygański, p. 26-27</ref> Nazi German militants attacked the actors of the Polish theater from Katowice and the gathered Polish public, and demolished the theater hall of the Polish bank.<ref name="mc" /> The Hitler Youth devastated the headquarters of Polish organizations, Polish enterprises (bank and cooperative) and houses of local Polish activists.<ref name="mc" /> 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.<ref>Cygański, p. 32-34</ref> During World War II, Nazi Germany operated a detention center where it would send prisoners to forced labour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many died from exhaustion and/or starvation. Among the prisoners were Poles arrested for rescuing Jews from the Holocaust.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Germans also operated the E365 labour subcamp of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp at the local lime quarry,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a forced labour camp for Jews.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the defeat of Germany in the war in 1945, the town became again part of Poland.

Sports

The local football club is Piast Strzelce Opolskie with men and women sections.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both sections compete in the lower leagues.

Notable people

Hermann Bix (1914–1986), officer
Piotr Domaradzki (1946–2015), journalist, essayist and historian
Franziskus Eisenbach (1943-2024), Roman Catholic prelate<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Helmuth Förster (1889–1965), general
Arkadiusz Jakubik (born 1969), actor, musician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Heinz Kokott (1900–1976), general
Krzysztof Mehlich (born 1974), hurdler, Olympic participant<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Erich Mende (1916–1998), politician
Gustav Meyer (1850–1900), linguist and notable Albanologist
Mirosław Sekuła (born 1955), chemist and politician
Sławomir Szmal (born 1978), handball player