Szlaki województw śląskiego i opolskiego

Ozimek is a town in the Opole district, located about 21 km east of Opole. Ozimek is situated on the Mała Panew river, on the Opole Plain, on the border of the Silesian Lowland and the Silesian Highland. The town, which is inhabited by nearly 9,000 residents, is the seat of the Ozimek urban-rural municipality. The settlement was initially called Małpanew or Mała Panew (from the name of the river), but over time the name Ozimek became widespread, derived from the surname of the owner of the mill established next to the ironworks. Along with the construction of the ironworks, workers' colonies were established in the town. During World War II, there was a labor camp next to the ironworks for forced laborers from Poland, the USSR, and Czechoslovakia, as well as prisoner-of-war labor camps for Soviet and British prisoners of war. During the offensive of Soviet troops in 1945, the vicinity of Lake Turawa and Ozimek became the most important part of the outer defensive line of the Opole fortress – the so-called bolt. As a result of fierce fighting, the Red Army captured the town. After World War II, the town found itself within the borders of the Polish state. One of the first railway lines in Silesia, leading from Lubliniec to Opole, runs through the town. In 1954, Ozimek obtained the rights of a settlement, and in 1962 – town rights.