In 1232, Polish Duke Henry the Bearded transferred Opatów to Lawrence, Bishop of Lubusz. In 1237, it was granted privileges that regularized the status of its residents and in 1282 it received the status of a city with wide privileges. In the first half of the 14th century, Bishop of Lubusz Stefan II decided to move the center of the town to the hill near the collegiate church. New town was called "Great Opatów" ("Opatów Wielki"), also "Magnum Oppathow" and "Magna Opatow".