Opole [ɔˈpɔlɛ] ( listen) (German: Oppeln, Silesian German: Uppeln, Silesian: Uopole) is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River (Odra). It has a population of 125,992 (June 2009) and is the capital of the Upper Silesia, Opole Voivodeship and, also the seat of Opole County. Today, many German Upper Silesians and Poles of German ancestry live in the Opole region; in the city itself, Germans make up less than 3% of population.

The name Opole likely originated from the medieval Slavic term for a group of settlements.

Opole's history begins in the 8th century. It this time, according to the archeological excavations, the first Slavic settlement was founded on the Ostrówek - the northern part of the Pasieka island in the middle of the Odra river. In the early 10th century it developed into one of the main gróds of the Slavic Opolanie. At the end of the century Silesia became part of Poland and was ruled by the Piast dynasty; the land of the pagan Opolanie was conquered by Duke Mieszko I in 992. From the 11th-12th centuries it was also a castellany. After the death of Duke Władysław II the Exile, Silesia was divided in 1163 between two Piast lines- the Wrocławska line in Lower Silesia and the Opolsko-Raciborska of Upper Silesia. Opole would became a duchy in 1172 and would share much in common with the Duchy of Racibórz, with which it was often combined. In 1281 Upper Silesia was divided further between the heirs of the dukes. The Duchy of Opole was temporarily reestablished in 1290.

Maciej Stuhr (born 23 June 1975) is a Polish actor, comedian and impressionist, also a psychologist. He established the cabaret Po Żarcie.

He is the son of Jerzy Stuhr.

Best known for role Kuba Brenner in Chłopaki nie płaczą and Piotr in Krzysztof Kieslowski's Decalogue X.

Stan Borys or Stanislaw Guzek (was born September 3, 1941 in Załęże (now a district of Rzeszów)) is a Polish singer-songwriter, actor, director and poet.

He is a charismatic person and a versatile artist who has a broad musical taste, acting and directing capabilities. In his over 50-year-long (celebrated 2011) musical career he has recorded 8 albums, has been a performer at many festivals, and won many awards.

Since his early years he has been interested in poetry. At the age of 20 he won a countrywide recitation competition. Gifted with a very strong voice and a good diction he started an acting career at the theatre in his hometown and then moved to the capital city of Poland, Warsaw.

In 1965 he met Tadeusz Nalepa, with whom he created the band "Blackout". After two years of playing together he split with the "Blackout" and started playing with band "Bizony". As a vocalist with this band he changed his name, stage appearance and recorded his big holiday hit song "Spacer Dziką Plażą" (Walking on a Sandy Beach).

Halina Mlynkova (b. June 22, 1977 in Návsí) is a Czech-born Polish singer, from 1999 to 2003 leader of a popular Polish folk-rock group Brathanki.

She was born in Zaolzie as a daughter of Władysław and Anna Młynek. She graduated from Medical High School in Cieszyn and Jagiellonian University in Cracow.

She was married to Polish actor Łukasz Nowicki for nine years. They divorced on May 25th, 2012. Łukasz and Halina have a son Piotr. Mlynkova is a Lutheran.

Anna Viktoria German (February 14, 1936 – August 26, 1982) was a popular Soviet-born Polish-Russian singer of German/Dutch origin.

Anna German was born in Urgench, a city with a 22-thousand population and a rich history of Middle Asia in northwestern Uzbek SSR, USSR. Her mother, Irma Martens, was the descendent of Dutch Mennonites invited to Russia by Catherine II. Her father, Eugeniusz Hörmann, was an accountant of German descent, born in Łódź, Poland. In 1937 he was executed by the NKVD in Urgench on the charges of spying. Thereafter, Anna and her mother were deported to Kyrgyz SSR.

In 1946 she with her mother, who married a Polish Army officer, settled in Nowa Ruda, before moving to Wrocław in 1949.

Anna graduated from the Geological Institute of Wroclaw University. During her university years, she began her music career at the Kalambur theater. Anna finally became successful when she won the 1964 II Festival of Polish Songs in Opole with her song Tańczące Eurydyki. One year later, she placed first in the international song contest in Sopot. She was invited to perform in Italy in the prestigious Sanremo Music Festival in 1967. In Italy Anna German survived a hard car crash, and fully came back to the stage only in 1972, after a long rehabilitation period.