A merchant settlement that grew up, probably in the twelfth century, by a ford of the Opava river on the trade road from Moravia by Hradec into Poland; first named in 1195 as 'Opavia'.
It receives a town statute in 1215, and in 1224 King Ottokar I grants it Magdeburg law and makes it a royal town. The Teutonic Order is settled there by the 1230s (its parish church of the Assumption is attested in 1237); the Hospitallers come too, at a date not given.
Who holds it
- Name
- The castellan of Hradec, for the lord of the province (not pinned)
- Title
- Lord
- Since
- not pinned
- Confidence
- medium
German Wikipedia (Opava); English Wikipedia (Opava); German Wikipedia (Herzogtum Troppau).
Lord in 1200
The castellan of Hradec, for the lord of the province (not pinned)
How things stand that morning
A merchant settlement at a ford, not a chartered town; under the castle of Hradec.
Charter
None in 1200. Town statute 1215; Magdeburg law and royal town 1224 (Ottokar I).
Council
None: the place is governed by the prince's or the bishop's officers.
Militia
None of its own; the men of the castle district serve under the castellan.
Trade and crafts
Merchants on the road from Moravia through Hradec to Poland; the ford of the Opava.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: German Wikipedia (Opava); English Wikipedia (Opava); German Wikipedia (Herzogtum Troppau).
Primary sources for Moravia
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
- The Austrian and Salzburg annals (kept in the 12th and 13th centuries, with continuations to the late 13th century). A family of monastic annals from Austria, Styria and Salzburg, printed together. Read online
- Charters and letters of the kingdom of Bohemia, volume 2, 1198 to 1230 (documents of 1198 to 1230, edited 1912). The critical edition of every Bohemian and Moravian charter and letter from Ottokar I's accession to 1230.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.