Otmuchów

Otmuchów
Town hall Town hall
Coat of arms of Otmuchów Coat of arms
Otmuchów
Coordinates:
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Opole
County	Nysa
Gmina	Otmuchów
Government
• Mayor	Jan Woźniak
Area
• Total	27.83 km2 (10.75 sq mi)
Elevation	220 m (720 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	5,261
• Density	190/km2 (490/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	48-385
Car plates	ONY
Website	http://www.otmuchow.pl

Otmuchów (pronounced: [ɔtˈmuxuf]) (German: Ottmachau) is a town in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 5,317 inhabitants (2004).

Etymology

The city was mentioned for the first time as "Otemochow" in 1155. The name Othmuchow was also listed in the Chronicles of the Kingdom of Poland written in the years 1455-1480 by Jan Długosz.

In 1613 the Silesian regionalist and historian Nicholas Henkel stated in his own work entitled Fri Silesiographia two names in Latin, Otmuchovia and Othmuchaw.

In 1945 the city's name was changed from Ottmachau to Otmuchów.

History

The first mentioning of the town comes from 1155. During the 14th century the city was surrounded by walls. Establishment of the coat of arms of the city dates back to 1347. The coat of arms is an open city gate in white on a blue field. From the 14th century it was used as the town seal. Destroyed by many wars throughout history, the town lost its importance due to a nearby developing city of Nysa, which was the capital of the principality of the bishop.

Before 1945 the area was part of Germany. During the Second World War a Prisoner of War camp (E276) was based here, at a sugar beet factory. The camp came under the administration of Stalag VIIIB/344 at Lamsdorf (Łambinowice), a camp for English-speaking prisoners of war. In 1944 the men were transferred to the oil refinery at Trzebinia (E738).

After World War II the region was placed under Polish administration and ethnically cleansed according to the post-war Potsdam Agreement. The native German populace was expelled and replaced with Poles.

Sights

• Otmuchów - Kościół pw. św. Mikołaja i Franciszka Ksawerego 01.JPG

  Church. St. Nicholas and St. Francis

• Otmuchów - Pałac.JPG

  Otmuchów Palace

• Urząd Miasta i Gminy w Otmuchowie.JPG

  Urząd Miasta

• Otmuchow1 (js).jpg

  Otmuchów Castle

• Otmuchów, zamek 5.jpg

  Podzamcze (Castle)

• Otmuchów Rynek 17.JPG

  Market Square

• Otmuchów Rynek 16, 17, 18, 19.JPG

  Tenements on the Market Square

• Otmuchów, kościół par. p.w. śś. Mikołaja i Franciszka Ksawerego, 1690-1701.JPG

  Panorama

• Otmuchów Krakowska 6 1.JPG

  Post Office

• Otmuchów Nyska wieża Wróbla.JPG

  Nyska Wieża Wróbla (Defense tower, part of the city walls)

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Twin towns – Sister cities

Otmuchów is twinned with:

• Bernkastel-Kues, Germany
• Javornik, Czech Republic
• Łopatyn, Ukraine
• Milo, Italy

External links

• Jewish Community in Otmuchów on Virtual Shtetl