Ostrava (Polish Ostrawa, German Ostrau) is a statutory, regional
and university city in the north-east of the Czech Republic in the
Moravian-Silesian Region, near the border with Poland. It is located
at the confluence of the Odra, Opava, Ostravice and Lučina rivers.
Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic in terms of
population and area, the second largest city in Moravia and the
largest city in Czech Silesia (it lies on the border of these two
historical countries). Approximately 280,000 people live here, but
almost 1 million people live in the entire Ostrava agglomeration,
which is the second largest agglomeration in the Czech Republic
after Prague. Together with Katowice in Poland, it forms the Silesia
metropolitan area with 5.3 million inhabitants.
Ostrava grew
up as an industrial center of the black coal basin. Known in the
past as the "steel heart of the republic" for its mining and
metallurgical industry, it underwent significant changes after 1989.
As a result of the restructuring of the industry, mining activity
was dampened and the last coal was mined in the city's territory in
1994. The Lower Vítkovice region is a witness to the mining past. a
former industrial site with a unique set of industrial architecture
aspiring to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are
many theaters, galleries and cultural centers in Ostrava. Among the
most famous cultural events organized in the city are the music
festivals Colors of Ostrava and Beats for Love, the classical music
festivals Janáčková máj and the St. Wenceslaus music festival, and
the Shakespeare festival. The Zlatá tretra athletics race is also
held every year. Higher education in Ostrava is represented by
Vysoká škola baňská - Technical University of Ostrava and the more
generally oriented University of Ostrava.
For 2014, Ostrava
was the European City of Sport. In 2004 and 2015, together with
Prague, it organized the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. At the
beginning of 2017, the European Figure Skating Championships were
held in Ostrava, and in September 2018, the IIAF Continental Cup
took place at the Municipal Stadium. At the turn of 2019 and 2020,
Ostrava hosted the World Junior Hockey Championship together with
Třinec.
The name (Moravian and Silesian) Ostrava was taken from the river Ostrava, which was the medieval name of the lower course of Ostravice.
Heraldic emblem
The city coat of arms is blazoned: In a blue
shield on a green lawn, a silver horse galloping with a golden saddle
and red cover, accompanied at the top right by a golden rose with green
sepals and a dark red seed. The horse in the coat of arms has no bridle.
The oldest depiction of the coat of arms is on a seal from 1426, the
colored coat of arms is documented as late as 1728. The horse is often
interpreted as a symbol of the transit position of the city or as a
figure from the coat of arms of the first foyt in Moravian Ostrava, the
golden rose apparently comes from the family coat of arms of Olomouc
bishop Stanislav Thurz ( contemporary historical literature is most
inclined to this version). According to another theory, the Bishop of
Ostrava gave a horse as a sign for helping the Hukvalds; their
assistance was so swift that the enemies had not time to bridle their
horses. One can also come across a legend according to which the
Ostravas released unbridled horses through the gate during the siege of
the city, which confused the besiegers so much that they ran away.
The first mention of Silesian Ostrava dates from 1229, when it is
mentioned as a settlement, while Moravian Ostrava is mentioned in 1267
and is referred to as a small town.
Originally a small settlement
was established above the river Ostrá (today Ostravice), which gave it
its name and still divides it into two basic parts, Moravian Ostrava and
Silesian Ostrava. The position on the land border in the place where the
amber trail passed led to the development of the town in the Middle
Ages; however, after the Thirty Years' War, when it was occupied by the
Swedes between 1621 and 1645, the importance of Ostrava declined. In
1763, a rich deposit of high-quality black coal was discovered in the
Silesian part of Ostrava, which heralded a significant transformation of
the city. In 1828, the owner of the estate, Archbishop Rudolf Jan of
Olomouc, founded a smelter named Rudolfovy after him. Later, these
smelters became the property of the Rothschild family and received the
name Vítkovice. They became the core of the city's extensive industrial
boom, a reflection of which was also (in the second half of the 20th
century) the city's nickname: the steel heart of the republic. After the
Second World War, when Ostrava was liberated by the Red Army, there was
the largest construction boom in residential construction, first a
smaller development only in Poruba (today's heritage-protected houses in
the style of socialist realism), later massive urbanization of
lower-quality buildings in Poruba and on South.
After a
large-scale decline in the metallurgical and chemical industry, combined
with the closing of mines (no mining in the city's territory since June
30, 1994) and large-scale investments in the repair of environmental
damage, Ostrava has become significantly cleaner. Engineering activity
and other fields are gaining more emphasis. At the same time, it becomes
the starting point for the Jeseníky and Beskydy tourist regions. In
addition to hundreds of hectares of reclaimed land, the city has a
number of original natural locations, many of which are maintained as
protected areas. These are, for example, the areas Polanský les and
Polanská niva, which are part of the Poodří protected landscape area.
Stray boulders made of Swedish granite (originating from Scandinavia)
also belong to the natural rarities in the city. The Ema heap in
Silesian Ostrava is also unique.
On another now non-existent heap
in the territory of today's Černá louka, there was probably the first
roller coaster in what was then Czechoslovakia, it was a coaster called
Tivoli. The date of creation is not clear, but it stood there in 1931.
It disappeared together with the heap in the 1950s.
Significant
historical events in data
1229: the village of (Silesian) Ostrawa is
mentioned in a document of Pope Gregory IX.
1267 (November 29): the
mentioned settlement (Moravian) Ostrava in the will of Bishop Bruno of
Olomouc
before 1279: elevation of Moravian Ostrava to a city, first
written documents about the church of St. Wenceslas
1297: the
Silesian-Ostrava princely castle is mentioned in writing for the first
time
1763: discovery of coal (Burňa valley)
1782: coal mining
began in Ostrava
1828: establishment of ironworks (Rudolf's
ironworks, later Vítkovice ironworks)
1835: banker S. M. Rothschild
became the owner of Rudolf's smelter
1840: the first coking oven was
built in Ostrava
1889: the construction of the Church of the Divine
Savior was completed
1894: operation of modern urban transport
started, Czech National House opened
1898: the first bank in Moravská
Ostrava opened and the Public Library and Reading Room opened
1919:
Moravian-Silesian National Theater and SK Slavoj Vítkovice founded
1922: SK Slezská Ostrava founded
1924 (January 29): Great Ostrava is
established (7 neighboring municipalities were added to the original
urban core), in August the official visit of President T. G. Masaryk to
the city
1926: House of Arts opened
1928: SSK Vítkovice was
founded
1930: New Town Hall opened
1941 (July 1): continuation of
the integration process of the city – joining 8 Silesian and 4 Moravian
municipalities to Moravian Ostrava
1945: April 30, the day of the
liberation of Ostrava by the Red Army, the Mining College was relocated
from Příbram to Ostrava, construction of the New Smelter began
1946
(June 28): Moravská Ostrava with Ministry of the Interior decree number
1522/1946 Ú. l. I renamed to Ostrava, later confirmed by Decree No.
123/1947 Coll.
1951: the State Scientific Library in Ostrava was
established
1952: trolleybus service started
1952: the ZSJ Sokol
VŽKG team won the first national title in the Czechoslovak Hockey League
in the 1951/1952 season.
1953: the Higher Music and Pedagogical
School in Ostrava was founded, from 1959 a conservatory, in 1996 the
name Janáček Conservatory was granted
1954: creation of the Janáček
Philharmonic Ostrava from a radio orchestra
1955: the Ostrava studio
of the Czechoslovak Television enters broadcasting as the second
television studio in the territory of Czechoslovakia (and today's Czech
Republic)
1959: establishment of the Pedagogical Institute, which in
1964 becomes an independent Faculty of Pedagogy, since 1991 the
University of Ostrava; Ostrava-Mošnov airport opened
1961: the
Vítkovice House of Culture opened
1981: the TJ Vítkovice team won the
2nd national championship title in the Czechoslovak Hockey League in the
1980/1981 season.
1986: Palace of Culture and Sports opened (now
Ostravar Arena)
1991: 89% of the population claimed Czech
nationality, Ostrava one of the few cities in Moravia where the vast
majority of the population considered themselves Czech in the 1990s.
1994: Establishment of the Ostrava Steelers American football team
1994: the last mined coal in the territory of the city of Ostrava
1995: preparations for the construction of the Ostrava-Mošnov business
complex began
1996: creation of the Ostrava-Opava diocese by the bull
Ad Christifidelium spirituali
1997: 150-year flood on the Oder, Opava
and Ostrava, most of the lower-lying parts of Ostrava were flooded, the
city of Ostrava and partners founded the Ostrava Science and Technology
Park
1998: termination of operation of blast furnaces and production
of pig iron in Vítkovice
2000: creation of the Ostrava (since 2001
Moravian-Silesian) region with headquarters in Ostrava
2004: the
city, in cooperation with the company CTP Invest, begins to build the
Ostrava-Hrabová industrial zone, hosting the World Ice Hockey
Championship
2007: Ostrava-město district expanded to include some
surrounding municipalities
2009: Ostrava connected to the highway
network
2012: completion of the first phase of the revitalization of
the Lower Vítkovice area and the new city center
2014: opening of the
memorial building Trojhalí after reconstruction, rail connection to Leoš
Janáček Airport
2015: Ostrava hosts the Ice Hockey World
Championship, a superstructure was built on blast furnace No. 1, named
Bolt Tower
2017: Ostrava celebrates 750 years since the first written
mention and hosts the European Figure Skating Championships
Land
borders
The territorial borders here are formed by the rivers Odra
and Ostravice. Between these rivers is the Morava, and the rest is the
territory under České Silesia. The larger part of the city lies in
Silesia, but most of the important parts of the city, including the
center, lie in Moravia.
Within Silesia, Ostrava belonged to the
Principality of Těšín (the right bank of Ostravice) and the Principality
of Opava (the left bank of the Odra). Some Silesian parts of Ostrava
(namely Antošovice, Koblov, Petřkovice, Lhotka and Hošťálkovice) were in
the years 1742–1920 part of Prussian Silesia or German Empire.
Some North Moravian districts - namely Moravská Ostrava (the city
center), Mariánské Hory and Přívoz - fell into the Hukvald estate, which
with its offices was under the sovereign rule of the (arch)bishop of
Olomouc, who was the vassal of the Czech kings. This estate ceased to
exist in 1852, when it was converted into a large estate.
Ostrava lies at the confluence of Lučina, Odra, Opava and Ostravice. Due to its location in the Moravian Gate, Ostrava falls into a warm climate area with an average altitude of 210 m above sea level, which is home to a number of species of fauna and flora typical of Central Europe. Compared to other regions, it also differs in certain peculiarities, caused by the high concentration of industry, dense construction and the specific conditions of the Ostrava basin. Thanks to this, there is a climate with hot, humid summers and mild winters. The average annual temperature is 10.2 °C (January: −1.2 °C, July: 23.5 °C) with an annual average rainfall of around 580 mm. From north to south (Antošovice-Nová Bělá) Ostrava measures 20.5 km, from east to west (Bartovice-Krásné Pole) 20.1 km. The length of local roads is 828 km.
Ostrava is a transport and logistics hub in the northeastern part of
the Czech Republic. At a distance of 25 km from the city center, there
is the Leoš Janáček Ostrava International Airport, which connects
Ostrava with a number of European capitals (IATA code: OSR, ICAO code:
LKMT). It is the very first airport in the Czech Republic accessible by
rail. Regular flights to London and Warsaw depart from Ostrava several
times a week. In the summer season, the destinations are complemented by
mainly Mediterranean resorts.
The backbone of the road
infrastructure is the D1 highway, which carries traffic from the Czech
interior via Ostrava to Poland. Ostrava is 360 km by highway from the
capital city of Prague, 170 km from Brno, 90 km from Katowice in Poland
and 310 km from Vienna. Class I roads No. 11, 56, 58 and 59 pass through
Ostrava. European roads E75 and E462 pass near Ostrava.
Ostrava
is also an important railway junction, located on II. and III. railway
corridor and long-distance passenger and freight transport from the
Czech Republic to Poland and Slovakia runs through it. The most
important Ostrava railway stations are Ostrava Hlavní nádraží and
Ostrava-Svinov. Ostrava was the first city in the Czech Republic to
introduce a railway connection to the airport. There are direct trains
from Ostrava.
Trams started running in Ostrava in 1894, when
steam trams began operating. The gradually expanding network was
electrified in 1901. The new lines were built primarily to the south and
east of the city center so as not to overlap with the network of
narrow-gauge railways between Ostrava, Karvina and Bohumín. In 1934, the
railway in Vítkovice was electrified, which was operated by the
Vítkovice mining and metallurgical company. At the turn of the 1940s and
1950s, all companies operating electric railways in Ostrava were merged
into the Transport Company of the City of Ostrava. Under socialism,
lines were built to housing estates (Poruba) and to factories (Nová
huť). After the coup in 1989, the construction of the tracks was
stopped. At the end of the 1990s, the section along Místecká Street was
still open. Today, the construction of a new section of the tram line is
planned, from the intersection "U Slovanů" (VŠB rectorate stop) to
today's Opavská bus loop (near the Globus department store). The project
was approved by the city council as part of the city's strategic
development plan. Part of the modernization and greening of public
transport in Ostrava also includes the covering of tram tracks with
absorbent rubber and subsequent grassing.
In 2018, forty trams
developed for Ostrava by the Stadler company began to be put into
operation gradually. With their quiet ride, air conditioning, USB
sockets, capacity of 190 seats, maximum speed of 80 km/h, wi-fi
connection, the cars bearing the name Stadler Tango NF2 nOVA are the
most modern trams in the Czech Republic at the time. The price of one
tram was 28.5 million crowns. The purchase of these trams, as well as
the planned (2020) purchase of forty Škoda 39T trams of the new
generation by Škoda Transportation for 1.9 billion crowns, is part of
the project of a large-scale change of the vehicle fleet in the city.
From the beginning of this change to 2022, the vehicle fleet is to be
completely replaced, while public transport in the city is planned to be
significantly more ecological after this date, e.g. completely without
diesel engines. Part of this change is, for example, the replacement of
diesel buses with CNG-powered ones and electric buses, the purchase of
partial and two-link trolleybuses, the purchase of CNG minibuses and
electric minibuses, and double-deckers with CNG drive are also planned.
All new vehicles are put into service in a new color design, namely
light blue/turquoise with reflective white accessories. Currently,
Ostrava's tram transport is one of the most modern in the Czech
Republic.
The operation of trolleybuses began, like in many other
Czech cities after the Second World War, specifically in 1952, when a
circular track around the city center was put into operation. In the
1950s and 1960s, trolleybus traffic gradually pushed the narrow-gauge
railways out of the city. At the end of the 1970s, a line was built to
the Fifejdy housing estate. In the nineties, the line to Koblov was
opened. Subsequently, there was a slowdown in the expansion of
trolleybus traffic, which ended in 2013, when the line to Nova Karolina
was opened. In 2015, a short line to Hulváky was opened. On Sunday,
February 28, 2016, the trolleybus line to Hranečník was put into
operation, where the Hranečník interchange was created.
It is
also planned to connect Ostrava with the Oder waterway as part of the
construction of the Danube-Odra-Labe canal.
Although Ostrava does not have the best results from the statistics,
the environment in the city is constantly improving. A number of city
projects also address the state of the environment in Ostrava. One of
them is the special website dycham.ostrava.cz, which allows citizens to
monitor the current state of the air or remedial stays intended for
children at risk of air pollution.
The oil lagoons of the former
Ostramo chemical plant are also a big problem. Their removal will begin
in the fall of 2017. Definitive disposal should be completed by 2020.
Culture, art, architecture
There are five permanent theaters in Ostrava. These include the
Moravian-Silesian National Theatre, which has three stages (Antonín
Dvořák Theatre, Jiří Myron Theater and "12" Theater), as well as the
Petr Bezruč Theatre, the Arena Chamber Stage, the Mír Theater and the
Ostrava Puppet Theater, which organizes an international puppet festival
in odd years Spectaculo Interesse Ostrava.
The internationally
recognized Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava operates in Ostrava.
International classical music festivals Janáčkův maj, St. Wenceslaus
Music Festival and Ostrava Days - Festival of New Music take place every
year here. The House of Culture of the City of Ostrava is an important
place that hosts a number of events connected with the Janáček
Philharmonic and the aforementioned music festivals.
Since 2002,
the multi-genre music festival Colors of Ostrava has been held in
Ostrava, which brings a number of stars and tens of thousands of
visitors to Ostrava every year. The Dolní Vítkovice region has hosted
the dance music festival Beats for Love since 2013, which is visited by
over 40,000 visitors every year. In Ostrava-Plesná, the Májová Plesná
folklore festival and the Plesná International Sculpture Symposium are
traditionally held in Ostrava-Plesná, whose products today decorate not
only the Plesen park, but also some places in the center (e.g. St.
Wenceslas' church), Poruba or even in Třebovice.
Other important
cultural events in Ostrava include the film and theater festivals One
World, Ostrava Kamera Oko, the International Festival of Outdoor Films
or the popular Summer Shakespeare Festival, which takes place in the
open air at Silesian Ostrava Castle. The International Festival of
Advent and Christmas customs, carols and crafts Souznění, the Folklore
Without Borders festival or the Irish Cultural Festival, which brings
Irish culture closer together, are devoted to customs and traditions.
Since 2006, the national Christian television TV Noe has had its
headquarters in Ostrava.
You can also visit a number of museums
and galleries in Ostrava:
The Ostrava Museum is located in the Old
Town Hall building from the 16th century. Permanent exhibitions are
dedicated to the history of the city, nature and the landscape of
Ostrava.
The House of Arts is one of the architectural highlights of
the city. The quality of the collections makes the gallery one of the
five most important collection-creating institutions in the Czech
Republic.
The small world of U6 technology allows you to test
scientific and technical laws on your own (e.g. drive a train, generate
electricity by riding a bicycle, fly through an airplane, play a melting
pot in a factory, a space cosmonaut or Captain Nemo).
The big world
of technology offers other attractions that entertain and educate in
various areas of life, natural and technical sciences. On an area of
14,000 m², there are a total of four "worlds" with permanent
exhibitions and one "world" intended for temporary exhibitions.
The
Michal mine is the best-preserved mine site in Ostrava. During the tour,
you walk the same route that the miners used to walk every day when
coming to work. There is a chain system of dressing rooms, bathrooms,
changing rooms, control room, engine room with preserved mining machines
and compressors. However, it does not go straight to the mines.
Landek (national natural monument), a forested hill above the confluence
of the Odra and Ostravice, located in the Silesian part of Ostrava
between Koblov and Petřkovice. It is a world-renowned location in the
fields of archaeology, geology, history and mining. The site of the
discovery of the Petřkovica Venus, the settlement of mammoth hunters and
the first documented use of black coal as fuel. On the site of the
former Landek Castle, there is a lookout tower with a view of Moravská
Ostrava and Přívoz or further to the Moravian Gate.
The Landek Park
Mining Museum, on the other hand, offers an authentic tour of the Anselm
coal mine with a guide-miner.
A toy museum that has uniques and
rarities from more than 60 countries, as well as the oldest toys from
the mid-19th century.
Railway museum with models of trains or
original documents from the times of Austria-Hungary.
The Brewery
Museum – a tour with a tasting allows you to get to know the processes
of beer production and its history.
The Fire Museum is located in the
Art Nouveau building of the former German volunteer fire brigade in
Ostrava-Přívoz. Part of the exhibition is a video projection showing the
work of firefighters.
The Keltička Forge Museum, where the blacksmith
Keltička allegedly lived - according to a traditional legend, the
discoverer of black coal in Ostrava. In front of the house there is a
monument to the blacksmith Keltička, and a small exhibition inside maps
the early beginnings of mining in Ostrava. It contains, for example, a
collection of lamps and lamps from the 17th century and other mining and
blacksmithing exhibits.
Geological pavilion of prof. František
Pošepného, presenting around 15,000 exhibits of mineralogical,
petrographic and paleontological collections, as well as a collection of
mineral resources.
Plato Ostrava – it is an institution without its
own collection fund, focused on contemporary domestic and foreign art.
A number of important buildings are located in the Moravská Ostrava
city monument zone. Architecturally high-quality buildings serving
mainly public life were built at the turn of the 19th and 20th
centuries. In addition to Masaryk Square with the Old Town Hall
building, the Marian Plague Column from 1702 and the Art Nouveau
multi-functional building Café Habsburg with a cafe, Smetanovo Square
with the Antonín Dvořák Theater building and the functionalist
Knihcentrum department store, Dr. E. Beneš with the Elektra palace and
banking palaces, or Prokešovo náměstí, where the New Town Hall building
with an observation tower extends. Church buildings are also worth
mentioning: the oldest Ostrava church of St. Wenceslas from the 13th
century or the second largest temple in Moravia and Silesia – the
Cathedral of the Divine Savior. The buildings in this part of the city
are associated with the names of famous architects such as Karel Kotas,
Josef Gočár, Ernst Korner or Alexander Graf. At the beginning of 2012,
the Forum Nová Karolina shopping center was built near the center of
Ostrava.
There is also valuable architecture in the suburban
areas, for example the development of modernist villas in Stará Bělá
near Bělské Les. But the most significant is the urban district of
Ostrava-Porub, with its architecture in the style of socialist realism
of the 1950s (so-called sorela), which was inspired by the appearance of
large Soviet cities, but at the same time contains elements of
antiquity, renaissance and classicism. The entrance to the housing
development is the well-known Arch. The Ostrava-Vítkovice district is
connected with heavy industry in Ostrava. With the growing number of
employees of the former Vítkovice ironworks, workers' colonies were
established here together with social facilities, a town hall and a
church. All with plain unplastered masonry. You can also visit the city
monument zone in Ostrava-Přívoz with Art Nouveau buildings or the
Jubilee Colony in Ostrava-Hrabůvka, a complex of former workers'
apartments built in the 1920s.
Sacred monuments
Evangelical
Church of Christ
St. Anne's Church (Ostrava-Polanka nad Odrou)
St.
Bartholomew's Church (Ostrava-Nová Ves)
Church of St. Cyril and
Methodius (Ostrava-Pustkovec)
Church of the Holy Spirit
(Ostrava-Zábřeh)
Church of St. John of Nepomuck (Ostrava-Stará Bělá)
Church of Saint James the Elder (Ostrava-Plesná)
St. Joseph's Church
(Silesian Ostrava)
St. Joseph's Church (Moravian Ostrava)
St.
Catherine's Church (Ostrava-Hrabová)
Church of Christ the King
(Ostrava-Svinov)
Saint Nicholas Church (Ostrava-Poruba)
Church of
the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Ostrava-Michálkovice)
Church of
the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Ostrava-Třebovice)
Church of the
Visitation of the Virgin Mary (Ostrava-Zábřeh)
Church of the
Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary (Ostrava-Radvanice)
Church
of Our Lady the Queen
Church of the Virgin Mary
Church of St.
Francis and Victor
St. Paul's Church
Cathedral of the Divine
Savior
Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary in
Přívoz
St. Wenceslas Church
Defunct buildings
Crematorium
in Moravská Ostrava
Ostrava has an industrial character, the Dolní region of Vítkovice,
Důl Michal or Landek Park are particularly interesting for tourists. The
city can also be explored thanks to the adventure game Code Salomon, in
which it is the story of Baron Rothschild. While walking around the
city, you can easily come across a film crew currently shooting a new
movie, series or video clip. Because of its atmosphere, Ostrava is
increasingly sought after by film productions. The most common
destinations besides museums and galleries are:
The new town hall
on Prokešov náměstí, with the highest observation tower. From the
walkway at a height of 73 m you can see Ostrava from a bird's eye view.
The view with commentary introduces both the history of the city and its
present.
Comenius Gardens, a place where you can come across statues
of Soviet heroes, practicing yogis, dancing mothers and athletes. There
is also an Ostrava beach and a cafe.
The world of miniuni miniatures
at the Černá louka exhibition center, where a small world is full of
well-known world buildings, e.g. the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Egyptian
pyramids or London's Big Ben.
A fairy-tale astronomical clock that
can be seen from eight o'clock in the morning to eight o'clock in the
evening, always in two-hour intervals. In the windows of the puppet
gallery, a fight between Kašpárk and the Death Eater takes place for
about two minutes, in which four other characters - an angel, a king, a
queen and a devil - take part.
The Silesia-Ostrava Castle, which sank
by 16 m due to mining activity. It is located near Masaryk Square and
the confluence of the Lučina and Ostravice rivers. The castle hosts many
events throughout the year, especially for children and their parents,
as well as the well-known Summer Shakespeare Festival.
Stodolní
Street, a legendary place with over 60 bars, clubs, restaurants and
cafes.
Masaryk Square, the historic center of the city, is guarded by
a Marian column with a statue of the Virgin Mary Immaculate from 1702
and a baroque statue of St. Florian nearby. The bust of President T. G.
Masaryk was moved to the square from the foyer of the New Town Hall.
There is also the Laso Department Store, the Schönhof House nicknamed
the "House with Seven Entrances" or the House of the Heirs of I. Reisz
by the Viennese architect Wunibald Deininger and other landmarks.
Poruba, a historical urban district built in "sorele" to replace the
city center. The oldest part of Poruba was built as part of monumental
grand plans, which for financial reasons were not realized in their
entirety, but only the main points.
Karolina Triple Hall. Historic
buildings between the center of Ostrava and the Lower Vítkovice area in
the area after the former Karolina coke plant are being transformed
according to the design of the architect Josef Pleskot into a place
where people go for sports and entertainment.
Zoologická zahrada
Ostrava – the second largest zoo in the Czech Republic by area, is home
to 400 species of animals. There are modern exhibitions, new pavilions,
paddocks, evening tours, guided feeding, but also winter cross-country
skiing. Since 2014, it has been a new part of the Safari of Asian
ungulates, and since 2015, the Evolution Pavilion.
The lower area of
Vítkovice (a national cultural monument) is a classic industrial area
in the heart of the city. Vysoká pec No. 1 Bolt Tower with a restaurant
can be reached by a glass elevator, which offers a view not only of the
entire area, but also of Ostrava and its surroundings. A guide is
available, which introduces visitors not only to the history of the
Rothschild family, but also to the VI buildings. Power stations,
compressor rooms, old mining bathrooms or perhaps Gong, a hall built
from a former gas plant.
The Michal mine is the best-preserved mine
site in Ostrava.
Landek Park Mining Museum with the former Anselm
mine.
Planetarium Ostrava, where you can expand your knowledge about
space or just listen to music under the starry sky.
The Ema heap
(also called Terezie Ema or Ostrava Volcano) on the right bank of the
Ostravice River with a height of 315 (from the original 327) m above sea
level, where a subtropical climate prevails, as the heap is still
working.
DinoPark Ostrava