Brzeg

Brzeg
Left to right: Brzeg Castle Market Square Odrzańska Gate Town Hall
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  The Garden Town Miasto Ogrodów[1]
Brzeg
Coordinates: 50°52′N 17°29′E / 50.867°N 17.483°E / 50.867; 17.483
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Opole
County	Brzeg
Gmina	Brzeg (urban gmina)
Town rights	1248
Government
• Mayor	Violetta Jaskólska-Palus
Area
• Total	16.0 km2 (6.2 sq mi)
Elevation	150 m (490 ft)
Population  (31 December 2021[2])
• Total	34,778
• Density	2,200/km2 (5,600/sq mi)
Demonym	Brzeżan
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	49-300
Vehicle registration	OB
National roads
Website	https://brzeg.pl

Brzeg ([bʐɛk] ^ⓘ; Latin: Alta Ripa, German: Brieg, Silesian German: Brigg, Silesian: Brzeg, Brzyg, Czech: Břeh) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021)^[2] 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 within fragmented Piast-ruled Poland in 1234.^[3] 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 passed to Prussia, and from 1871 to 1945 it was also part of Germany, before it became again part of Poland after World War II.