The ancient Slavic farmers gathered their families and tribal bretheren in structures called an “opole” (lit. “around the field”). The opole settlement was constructed with a round central area called the Majdan [Maydan]. The Majdan was the center of the village, place of trade, meetings and worship at least till the Christian era, whereafter Christian churches and chapels would be built outside the Majdan.
Behind each farmhouse, their arable land stretched like rays of the sun out of the center. In Germany the Opole can be found as the “rundling”. Till this day ancient opole-based villages can be found all the way from Britain and Germany in the west via Romania and Hungary and throughout old Rus lands in the east, where the Slavs once lived or still live.
The concept of the opole transformed to a formal/administrative region/term (today’s commune) during the middle ages but was later abondoned in medieval times as feudalism was introduced to the society.
Currently without proof, we speculate the etymology of the greek word “polis” (which likewise means settlement, later city) has its direct origins in the Slavic term “opole’, later also found in the Roman/latinized form of “oppidum”. One form of the Greek “polis” is in fact “ople/opel”, found in cities like former Constatinople/Constantinopel. This would also confirm close contact between the ancient Greeks, Romans, Celts and Slavs/Veneti.
Several regions, towns and villages in Europe still bear the name Opole. We’re mentioning only a few:
Apolda and Oppeln in Germany
Opole and Opole Lubelskie in Poland
Opole Ter in Hungary
Apoldu du Jus/Sus in Romania
Opolye and Apolye in Russia
The German car manufacturer Opel, named after its founder Adam Opel, also bears witness to the term opole.
Toponymic references of the central market-center, the Majdan, can still be found in abundance throughout the entire Slavic world in addition to Romania, Hungary, Iran, Syria, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal to mention a few – such as:
Maidan in Romania
Majdan (street in Pomaz) in Hungary
Meydan in Iran
Maydana in Syria
Maydan in Uzbekistan
Maydan-Wardak and Maydan Shahr in Afghanistan
Maidan in Pakistan
Maidan Garhi in India
Maidan in Nepal
Photo: Von Zdeněk Fiedler – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19947139
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