Opoczno

Sister cities

• Jarocin
• Sloviansk
• Bytča
• Opočno
• Zviahel

History

First mention of Opoczno comes from 1284, when Prince Leszek II the Black wrote in documents that the village belonged to the Sandomierz Collegiate church. According to historian F. Kiryk, the history of Opoczno as a town date from the mid-13th century, when it was granted town charter by Duke of Sandomierz, Bolesław V the Chaste. For unknown reason, Opoczno declined in the late 13th century, and turned into a village called Staromieście or Old Opoczno. The prosperity for Opoczno began during the reign of King Casimir III the Great. In the year 1347 he decided to move the village to another location, and to found the so-called New Town, located southwest of Staromieście. The New Opoczno had the original area of 6 hectares, and was surrounded with a defensive wall. Staromieście, together with the ancient Mary Magdalene church remained outside of the wall. A new church of St. Bartholomew was built, together with a royal castle, located in southwestern part of the town. Opoczno gained its Magdeburg rights in 1365, and its first starosta was Sobek z Wyszkowic. The defensive wall had the length of 940 meters, with two gates. Opoczno quickly developed, due to convenient location along two busy merchant routes – from Kyiv to Wrocław, and from Toruń to Sandomierz. According to legend, King Kazimierz Wielki favored Opoczno over other towns because it was the birthplace of his legendary mistress Esterka. In the second half of the 14th century Opoczno prospered, and in the 1360s, it was named the capital of a newly created county, which meant that it was no longer subjected to the Castellany of Żarnów. In ca. 1405, the complex of a hospital together with a Holy Spirit church was built. Opoczno was a county seat and royal town administratively located in the Sandomierz…