Duchy of Opole and Racibórz
Duchy of Opole and Racibórz | |||||||||||
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| 1202–1281 1521–1532 1551–1742 | |||||||||||
Silesia 1217-1230: Duchy of Opole and Racibórz in yellow | |||||||||||
| Status | Silesian duchy Fiefdom of the Bohemian Crown (1532–1742) Part of Prussia (1742–1919) | ||||||||||
| Capital | Opole | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||
| 1202 | |||||||||||
• Split again | 1281/1282 | ||||||||||
• Recreated | 1521 | ||||||||||
• Fell to Bohemia | 1532 | ||||||||||
• Annexed by Prussia | 1742 | ||||||||||
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The Duchy of Opole and Racibórz (Polish: Księstwo opolsko-raciborskie, German: Herzogtum Oppeln und Ratibor) was one of the numerous Duchies of Silesia ruled by the Silesian branch of the royal Polish Piast dynasty. It was formed in 1202 from the union of the Upper Silesian duchies of Opole and the Racibórz, in a rare exception to the continuing feudal fragmentation of the original Duchy of Silesia.
In 1281 it was split again. In 1521 it was recreated by the last Silesian Piast, Duke Jan II the Good. After his heirless death the duchy fell to the Kingdom of Bohemia. It was briefly part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 17th century; eventually like most of the then mainly German-speaking province of Silesia it was annexed by Prussia after the First Silesian War in 1742.