Opole (administrative)

The opole (Latin: vicinia)[1] is a historical unit of administration in Poland. An opole was characterised by close geographical ties between a group of settlements and common legal responsibilities collectively affecting all of them. The institution of the opole predates the Kingdom of Poland, and began disappearing around the 13th to 15th centuries. It was the lowest unit of administration in the medieval Polish kingdom, subordinate to the castellany.

A particular opole would be named after its largest, capital settlement[2] called czoło (a word commonly meaning "forehead").[3] Most notably, the term survived as a name of a major city in Poland, Opole, and is also associated with the Opolans tribe.[4]

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  3. ^ [1], p.80
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