Hlučín

Sister cities

• Ružomberok
• Gmina Namysłów
• Namysłów
• Nebelschütz

History

The first written mention of Hlučín is from 1303, when it was part of the Duchy of Opava. The town was probably founded by King Ottokar II in 1256 to ensure peace on the border between Margraviate of Moravia and Duchy of Opole. Until 1521, Hlučín belonged to the Landek estate within the Duchy of Opava. In 1521, it was acquired by the Piast Dukes of Opole. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the town burned down several times. In 1694, it was liberated of its serfdom. In 1742, after the First Silesian War, the town was given to the Kingdom of Prussia by the Treaty of Berlin. In 1845, the Hlučín estate was bought by the Rothschild family. Four annual fairs were held in the town in the late 19th century. The town was administered by the Prussian Province of Silesia until 1920, when it became part of Czechoslovakia after World War I. The transferral of the Hlučín Region sparked controversy between Germans, Czechs and Poles. By a biased interpretation of the law, the new Czechoslovak authorities banned schooling in German even though that was the language spoken by the majority in the town. After the Munich Agreement in 1938, Hlučín was annexed by Nazi Germany and was again made part of the Province of Silesia, and its Germanised name Hultschin was restored. During World War II, the Germans sent prisoners from the military prison in Kłodzko to forced labour in the town. Hlučín was restored to Czechoslovakia in 1945. German-speaking people were expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, some Germans left voluntarily. People who were labelled Czechs, even though they were actually Czech-speaking Germans, were spared expulsion.

Geography

Hlučín is located about north of Ostrava and east of Opava. The northern part of the municipal territory lies in the Opava Hilly Land within the Silesian Lowlands and the southern part extends into the eastern tip of the Nízký Jeseník range. Hlučínské jezero is an artificial lake on the outskirts of the town. The Opava River forms the southeastern municipal border.

Most-observed species

• Daisy

  Bellis perennis L. · Magnoliopsida
  8,939
• Ground-ivy

  Glechoma hederacea L. · Magnoliopsida
  6,421
• Common Nettle

  Urtica dioica L. · Magnoliopsida
  3,917
• Dandelion

  Taraxacum officinale Weber ex F.H.Wigg. · Magnoliopsida
  3,656
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,215
• Garlic Mustard

  Alliaria petiolata (M.Bieb.) Cavara & Grande · Magnoliopsida
  2,102
• Lesser Celandine

  Ficaria verna Huds. · Magnoliopsida
  2,037
• Norway Maple

  Acer platanoides L. · Magnoliopsida
  1,923

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2026-04-09
  1 km WNW of Radlin, Poland
• M 2.9 — 2025-04-29
  4 km WSW of Bytom, Poland
• M 3.2 — 2025-01-27
  1 km NE of Radlin, Poland
• M 2.9 — 2024-07-11
  4 km N of Jejkowice, Poland
• M 3 — 2023-10-04
  2 km W of Murcki, Poland
• M 2.8 — 2023-01-12
  2 km ENE of Karviná, Czechia