Brzeg

Industrial town (chemicals, electrical goods) in Opole province, Poland, on the River Oder, 43 km/27 mi northwest of Opole; population (2002) 39,000. In 1311 it became a duchy of the Piast dynasty (first historical rulers of Poland), passing to the Habsburgs 1675. Before 1945 it was part of Silesia with a large German population.

The castle of the dukes of Brzeg 1545-60 is one of the earliest Renaissance buildings in Poland.