Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Troppau

TROPPAU (Slavonic Opava), the chief town of Austrian Silesia, is a busy commercial place on the right bank of the Oppa, close to the Prussian border. A well-built town with extensive suburbs, it has two market-places and contains six churches, an old town-house recently restored in the Gothic style, and numerous educational, benevolent, and commercial institutions. The site of the former fortifications is laid out in pleasant promenades. Troppau manufactures large quantities of cloth, especially for the army; and its industrial establishments include a large sugar-refinery and manufactories of machines and stoves. In 1880 the population was 20,562. German is spoken in the town proper, but a dialect of Polish prevails in the suburbs.

Troppau was founded in the 13th century; but almost its only claim to historical mention is the fact that in 1820 the monarchs of Austria, Russia, and Prussia met here to deliberate on the tendencies of the Neapolitan revolution. This congress of Troppau, however, left nearly the whole matter to be considered and decided at Laibach. The former principality of Troppau is now divided between Austria and Prussia, the latter holding the lion's share.