The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

The highest point is the hill Vysoká Roudná with an elevation of 660 metres (2,170 ft).

[3] Albert of Šternberk colonized the town with German colonist, which led to an ethnically mixed population.

After the death of the last male member of the lords of Kravaře, Šternberk further changed its owners, which were the families of Kostka of Postupice (1466–1480) and Berka of Dubá (1480–1570), Dukes of Münsterberg (1570–1647), and House of Württemberg (1647–1693).

In the 1640s, during the Thirty Years' War, the town was conquered and looted several times by the Swedish army.

[4] In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, it was annexed by Nazi Germany and administered as part of Reichsgau Sudetenland.

The German-speaking population was expelled in 1945–1946 according to the Beneš decrees and replaced by Czech settlers.

After it was used as barracks, a German grammar school and a textile warehouse, the building was repaired and today contains museum expositions and exhibition spaces, including the gallery of painter Johann Christoph Handke.

The chapel is decorated by a rare ceiling painting by Johann Christoph Handke, depicting the history of Šternberk.