Opava District

Summary

Opava District (Czech: okres Opava) is a district in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Opava.

Opava District
Okres Opava
Location in the Moravian-Silesian Region within the Czech Republic
Location in the Moravian-Silesian Region within the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°53′N 17°53′E / 49.883°N 17.883°E / 49.883; 17.883
Country Czech Republic
RegionMoravian-Silesian
CapitalOpava
Area
 • Total1,115.87 km2 (430.84 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[2]
 • Total175,042
 • Density160/km2 (410/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Municipalities77
* Towns7
* Market towns2

Administrative division edit

Opava District is divided into four administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence: Opava, Hlučín, Kravaře and Vítkov.

List of municipalities edit

Cities and towns are marked in bold and market towns in italics:

Bělá - Bohuslavice - Bolatice - Branka u Opavy - Bratříkovice - Březová - Brumovice - Budišov nad Budišovkou - Budišovice - Čermná ve Slezsku - Chlebičov - Chuchelná - Chvalíkovice - Darkovice - Děhylov - Dobroslavice - Dolní Benešov - Dolní Životice - Háj ve Slezsku - Hať - Hlavnice - Hlubočec - Hlučín - Hněvošice - Holasovice - Hrabyně - Hradec nad Moravicí - Jakartovice - Jezdkovice - Kobeřice - Kozmice - Kravaře - Kružberk - Kyjovice - Lhotka u Litultovic - Litultovice - Ludgeřovice - Markvartovice - Melč - Mikolajice - Mladecko - Mokré Lazce - Moravice - Neplachovice - Nové Lublice - Nové Sedlice - Oldřišov - Opava - Otice - Píšť - Pustá Polom - Radkov - Raduň - Rohov - Šilheřovice - Skřipov - Slavkov - Služovice - Sosnová - Štáblovice - Staré Těchanovice - Stěbořice - Štěpánkovice - Štítina - Strahovice - Sudice - Svatoňovice - Těškovice - Třebom - Uhlířov - Velké Heraltice - Velké Hoštice - Větřkovice - Vítkov - Vřesina - Vršovice - Závada

Geography edit

 
Budišov nad Budišovkou and surrounding landscape

Opava District borders Poland in the north. The territory is hilly, but the average altitude is low. The territory extends into three geomorphological mesoregions: Nízký Jeseník (west and south), Opava Hilly Land (east and north), and Ostrava Basin (a small part in the northeast). The highest point of the district is the hill Červená hora in Budišov nad Budišovkou with an elevation of 749 m (2,457 ft). The lowest point of the district is the river bed of the Oder in Šilheřovice at 198 m (650 ft).

From the total district area of 1,115.9 km2 (430.9 sq mi), agricultural land occupies 682.2 km2 (263.4 sq mi), forests occupy 312.5 km2 (120.7 sq mi), and water area occupies 19.0 km2 (7.3 sq mi). Forests cover 28.0% of the district's area.[1]

The entire district is drained by the Oder River, but this river appears in the territory only briefly. The most important rivers of the district are the Opava, which flows across the district from northwest to east, and the Moravice, which enters the district in the west and joins the Opava near the city of Opava. The largest body of water is Kružberk Reservoir, built on the Moravice.

There are no large-scale protected areas.

Demographics edit

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1869115,560—    
1880125,364+8.5%
1890132,321+5.5%
1900141,959+7.3%
1910149,943+5.6%
YearPop.±%
1921152,943+2.0%
1930161,971+5.9%
1950130,606−19.4%
1961153,562+17.6%
1970161,085+4.9%
YearPop.±%
1980172,981+7.4%
1991177,370+2.5%
2001177,970+0.3%
2011174,901−1.7%
2021171,502−1.9%
Source: Censuses[3][4]

Most populated municipalities edit

Name Population[2] Area (km2)
Opava 55,512 91
Hlučín 13,506 21
Kravaře 6,624 19
Vítkov 5,670 55
Hradec nad Moravicí 5,490 44
Ludgeřovice 4,955 11
Bolatice 4,469 13
Dolní Benešov 3,934 15
Kobeřice 3,225 17
Háj ve Slezsku 3,223 14

Economy edit

The largest employers with headquarters in Opava District and at least 500 employees are:[5]

Economic entity Location Number of employees Main activity
Silesian Hospital in Opava Opava 1,500–1,999 Health care
Teva Czech Industries Opava 1,500–1,999 Manufacture of pharmaceutical products
Brano Hradec nad Moravicí 1,000–1,499 Automotive industry
Isotra Opava 500–999 Manufacture of window blinds
Model Obaly Opava 500–999 Manufacture of paperboard packaging
Ostroj Opava 500–999 Manufacture of machinery for mining
Psychiatric Hospital in Opava Opava 500–999 Health care
Silesian University in Opava Opava 500–999 Education
State Office of Labor Inspection Opava 500–999 Public administration
TEMPO, obchodní družstvo Opava 500–999 Retail sale

Transport edit

The D1 motorway from Ostrava to the Czech-Polish border briefly runs along the eastern district border; otherwise there are no motorway passing through the district. The most important road is the I/11 from Ostrava to Bruntál via Opava.

Sights edit

 
Basilica of the Visitation of Our Lady in Frýdek-Místek

The most important monuments in the district, protected as national cultural monuments, are:[6]

The best-preserved settlements, protected as monument reservations and monument zones, are:[7]

The most visited tourist destinations are the Hradec nad Moravicí Castle and Silesian Museum in Opava.[8][9]

Notable people edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Land use (as at 31 December)". Public database. Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  2. ^ a b "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2023". Czech Statistical Office. 2023-05-23.
  3. ^ "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011 – Okres Opava" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2015-12-21. pp. 1–2.
  4. ^ "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". Public Database. Czech Statistical Office. 2021-03-27.
  5. ^ "Registr ekonomických subjektů". Business Register (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  6. ^ "Výsledky vyhledávání: Národní kulturní památky, okres Opava". Ústřední seznam kulturních památek (in Czech). National Heritage Institute. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  7. ^ "Výsledky vyhledávání: Památkové rezervace, Památkové zóny, okres Opava". Ústřední seznam kulturních památek (in Czech). National Heritage Institute. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  8. ^ "Návštěvnost památek 2021" (in Czech). Národní informační a poradenské středisko pro kulturu. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  9. ^ "Návštěvnost muzeí, galerií a památníků 2021" (in Czech). Národní informační a poradenské středisko pro kulturu. Retrieved 2023-04-19.

External links edit

  • Opava District – profile on the Czech Statistical Office website