Brzeg

Brzeg (; Latin: Alta Ripa, German: Brieg, Silesian German: Brigg, , ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021) and the capital of Brzeg County. It is situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder river. The town of Brzeg was first mentioned as a trading and fishing settlement in the year 1234. In 1248, Silesian Duke Henry III the White granted the settlement Magdeburg town rights and by the late 13th century the city became fortified. Sometimes referred to as "the garden town", the town's size greatly expanded after the construction of dwelling houses which were located on the city outskirts. From the early 14th to late 17th centuries, the town was ruled by the Piast dynasty as fiefs of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire. Later, as the result of the Silesian Wars, the town became Prussian. After the border shifts of 1945, the town's German populace was expelled and the town became part of Poland. Etymology In older documents, Brzeg was referred to as Civitas Altae Ripae, meaning 'city on the high banks' of the Oder River; its name is derived from Polish brzeg 'shore'. (1841–1895), in his book of the etymology of Silesian localities, states that in a Latin document from 1234 the settlement's name was Visoke breg (, ; literally 'high bank'). A native or resident of Brzeg is known as a brzeżan, brzeżanin (male), brzeżanka (female), brzeżanie and brzeżaninie (plural).