Opava

Opava stands on the river of the same name in Silesia. First mentioned in 1195, it received town privileges in 1224 and became the capital of the duchy established in 1269. The city was a seat of the dukes of Opava, while its Church of the Assumption took shape in the fourteenth century.

During the fifteenth century the duchy came under Hussite and then Hungarian rule. In 1613 Karl of Liechtenstein became duke and joined it with the duchy of Krnov. After Prussia acquired most of Silesia in the eighteenth century, Opava became the capital of the Silesian territory remaining under the Habsburgs. The Congress of Troppau met there in 1820.