Sobek’s Palace

The Baroque palace was built in 1733 by Karel Josef Rogojský of Rohožník in the place of three houses. The palace was reconstructed in 1758 after it had burned down. The front facade features a pillar portal with sculptural work. Above the portal there is a balcony with a Rococo trellis. On the ground floor of the palace Baroque vaults have been preserved. At the end of the 19th century the palace was owned by Count Sternberg. Today the building is owned a private company.

Soví hrádek (Owl Castle)

Designed by the architect Adalbert Bartel and built in the years 1904–1906 by the constructor Viktor Bartel for his private use, the house is an example of romantic architecture. The house combines Art-Noveau elements with modern progressive architecture that stands above the average. The half-timbered attic and main entrance are adorned with owl reliefs, which gave the house its name Owl Castle. After World War II the house was the seat of a Boy Scout branch for a few years.

Provincial Archive

The vast complex of buildings surrounding St. Adalbert’s Church in Dolní Square is the seat of the Provincial Archive, the third oldest and the third largest archive in today’s Czech Republic. In its 300-year-old history the buildings served as the seat of several institutions.

The complex of buildings used to belong to the Jesuit Order, which came to Opava in the 1620s at the invitation of Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein. In the 1670s the order built the Baroque St. George’s Church (later renamed St. Adalbert’s Church) in the place of the former Gothic church. In the years 1711–1713 the Jesuits rebuilt and expanded the original grammar school and college attended among others by the musical composer Josef Vejvanovský and Bohuslav Balbín. The new complex of buildings with a large garden adjacent to the church was designed by Hans Georg Hausrucker and Josef Reid. The north wing with the grammar school was completed in 1730. The facade of the compact building was segmented by pilasters and rectangular windows. A corridor with windows facing the yard connected the buildings. The Baroque barrel vaults ended with lunettes. The east wing with a triaxial avant-corps originally ended with a low triangle gable.

When the Jesuit Order dissolved in 1773, the buildings were vacated with the exception of the grammar school, where some of the Jesuit teachers worked until 1821. In the first half of the 19th century outstanding personalities studied at the grammar school, such as the founder of genetics Johan Gregor Mendel, musical composer Pavel Křížkovský, or doctor and politician Hans Kudlich. Although the school was German, in the second half of the 19th century Czech teachers, such as Antonín Vašek, Jan Lepař, or Vincenc Prasek taught there as well. From 1814 the building served as the oldest museum in the Czech lands. A library was also housed in the building.

The changes in occupancy of the building required adaptation and reorganization of the space. In the years 1813–1815 the complex was rebuilt in the Classicistic style according to the project by Anton Englisch. The reconstruction included also the construction of a new imposing staircase that led to the conference hall of the Silesian Convent of the Estates, which held meetings in the building at the beginning of the 19th century. Until World War II the buildings were also used by the provincial archive. Franz Joseph I, the Emperor of Austria stayed in the building during the Congress of Opava in 1820.

When Silesia separated from Moravia in 1850 and became an independent and autonomous unit, the Provincial Government as well as the Provincial Diet with 31 members were formed in 1861. A reminder of this fact is the adjacent Sněmovní (Parliamentary) Street. The building underwent further reconstruction at the end of the 19th century, durich which a new staircase, portico at the main entrance, and an attic storey were built. The north wing was shortened to make space for the newly built tram tracks. The facade facing the square was newly constructed.

Between the wars the building housed the library of Matice opavská. During World War II the German occupation authority had its seat there. In 1950 the building turned once again into archive, which at first shared the space with the museum.

When the west wing of the archive collapsed, which resulted in loss of some of the archived items, the building underwent a reconstruction which lasted more than ten years. Today the Provincial Archive in Opava and its branch in Olomouc administer documents related to Silesia, as well as documents related to the area of former North-Moravian Region. The Moravian-Silesian and Olomouc Region archives fall under the administration of the archive in Opava.