Szlaki województw śląskiego i opolskiego

Strzelce Opolskie is a town in Poland located in the Strzelce district and the seat of the Strzelce Opolskie urban-rural municipality. The town is located on the western edge of the Silesian Highland, on the north-eastern slope of Mount St. Anne (Góra Świętej Anny). It is inhabited by 18 thousand people. The name of the settlement, and later the town, derives from the ducal shooters-hunters (strzelcy), organizing hunts for game in the area. The first mentions of the forest market settlement appear in documents as early as the 13th century. Probably, after its destruction in 1273, during the invasion of Duke Bolesław the Chaste, the location of Strzelce was carried out by the Piast Duke of Opole, Bolko I. The town's development was favored by its location on the trade route leading from Kraków to Dresden. In the first half of the 14th century, the town was surrounded by defensive walls with two gates – Opole and Kraków. During this period, the town became part of an independent duchy ruled by the Dukes of Opole or Niemodlin. Until 1532, the town was in the possession of Piast dukes, and after the line died out – it passed under Austrian rule. From the 18th century, the town was part of Prussia. After the entry of Soviet troops into the town, the center of Strzelce was destroyed in almost 90%. After the end of World War II, the town found itself within the borders of the Polish state. Among the municipal monuments is the Church of St. Lawrence with a bell tower, the Corpus Christi Church, and the castle complex from the 14th century.