Ostrava

Self-governing districts of Ostrava

Cadastral areas of Ostrava

On 14 September 1990, Ostrava's City Authority approved the division of the city into 22 districts, effective 24 November that year. On 1 January 1994, the district of Plesná separated from the Poruba district and became a separate local authority. Since then, the city has been divided into 23 districts, further divided into 37 administrative parts:

The Church of St. Wenceslaus, one of the oldest and most important monuments of Ostrava

The first written mention of Slezská Ostrava (Silesian Ostrava) dates from 1229, when it was described as a settlement. The first mention of Moravian Ostrava (Moravská Ostrava) in 1267 describes it as a township. Ostrava grew on the banks of the Ostrá River (now the Ostravice) from which it took its name. The river still divides the city into two main parts: Moravian Ostrava (Moravská Ostrava) and Silesian Ostrava (Slezská Ostrava). The settlement occupied a strategic position on the border between the two historic provinces of Moravia and Silesia and on the ancient trade route from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea known as the Amber Road. Its location helped the town to grow and flourish.

However, Ostrava began to decline in importance after the Thirty Years' War, and it was occupied by Danish forces in 1626,[5] and by Swedish forces from 1642 to 1650.[6]

Marian Column (1702) at Masaryk Square

A turning point in Ostrava's history came in 1763 with the discovery of extensive deposits of high-quality bituminous coal on the Silesian bank of the Ostravice River. In 1828, the owner of the local estates, Rudolf Jan, the archbishop of Olomouc, established an ironworks, which was named after him as the Rudolfshütte. Later, the ironworks passed into the ownership of the Rothschild family and became known as the Vítkovice Ironworks. The company became the driving force behind Ostrava's industrial boom. By the second half of the 20th century, the city was nicknamed the country's "steel heart".

The Sophienhütte ironworks, c. 1910

In 1931 the Jewish community in Ostrava numbered 6,865 (5.4% of the population).[7] About 8,000 Jews from the Ostrava district were murdered in the Holocaust during the German occupation in World War II.[8] The Nisko Plan included the first deportation train transports of 1,301 Jews from Ostrava on 17 and 26 October 1939.[9] In 1994, a Holocaust memorial to the Jewish victims of Ostrava was built in Milada Horáková Park.[10][11] During World War II the city was occupied by Germany. The occupiers operated a Gestapo prison in the city,[12] and several forced labour camps, including three labour "education" camps, located in Moravská Ostrava,[13] Vítkovice,[14] and Kunčice,[15] and the E21 subcamp of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp in the present-day district of Petřkovice.[16]

After the war, the city's German-speaking population were expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. At a massacre at an internment camp, 231 German-speaking citizens were killed.[17] The liberation of Ostrava by the Red Army led to the city entering its greatest period of expansion. Initially, the new housing projects were on a relatively-small scale focusing on the Poruba district and featuring architecture in the Socialist realism style. Later, however, the authorities built larger-scale developments of prefabricated apartment blocks in Poruba and created a series of satellite estates to the south of the city (Ostrava-Jih). The city centre was gradually depopulated, and its people were moved out to the suburbs, as part of a long-term plan to destroy the city centre entirely and to turn the land over to coal-mining.

Miloš Sýkora Bridge over the Ostravice River and Silesian Ostrava Town Hall

The 1990s brought a rapid decline in the city's traditional industrial sectors: iron, steel, chemicals and coal-mining. The last coal was mined on 30 June 1994, which was accompanied by major investments to rectify ecological damage done by decades of heavy industry. The projects ultimately brought major improvements in the city's environment and quality of life. Ostrava became an important tourist centre that offered easy access to the nearby Hrubý Jeseník and Moravian-Silesian Beskids mountains.

As well as hundreds of hectares of recultivated former mining land, the city also has numerous natural landscape features of interest, many of which are protected nature reserves. They include the Polanský Forest and the Polanská Meadows, both of which form part of the Poodří (Oder Basin) nature reserve.

A rare geological feature found in the city is the granite erratic boulders. Originally from Scandinavia, they were left behind after the last ice age, when the ice sheets retreated. Another feature is the Ema slag heap, an artificial hill made of mining waste (slag) that offers panoramic views. The waste is still burning deep beneath the surface, which gives the slag-heap its own microclimate.

On 10 December 2019, a shooting at a hospital in Ostrava left eight people dead, including the perpetrator.

Ostrava is situated at the meeting point of four rivers: Oder, Opava, Ostravice and Lučina. Ostrava is mostly located in the Ostrava Basin lowland, the southwestern part od the municipal territory extends into the Moravian Gate. Ostrava is mostly low-lying, with a highest point of 280 m (920 ft) above sea level, and has a Central European climate with typical flora and fauna. It differs from most neighbouring regions by the high concentration of industry, dense population and the geographical conditions of the Ostrava Basin.

Ostrava is 20.5 km across from north to south (Antošovice–Nová Bělá), and 20.1 km across from east to west (Bartovice–Krásné Pole). The total length of the city's road network is 828 km (514 mi).

Leoš Janáček Airport Ostrava

Ostrava is the transport and logistics hub of the north-eastern part of the Czech Republic.

Trams, trolleybuses and buses

Ostrava trams in their traditional blue and white livery at the "Nová Ves vodárna" stop

Further information: Trams in Ostrava

The city has a dense public transport network consisting of trams, buses and trolleybuses. The first trams, introduced in 1894, were powered by steam engines. The network was rapidly expanded, and in 1901 it was electrified. New tram lines were built mainly to the south and east of the city centre, where they would not have to cross the narrow-gauge railways linking Ostrava with Karviná and Bohumín.

Trolleybuses were introduced in 1952, as in other Czech towns and cities after World War II. Initially there was one trolleybus route which encircled the city centre. The network was gradually expanded in the 1950s and 60s, replacing the narrow-gauge railways. A route to the Fifejdy housing estate was built in the late 1970s. The last expansion of the trolleybus network came in the mid-2010s, when a route was built out to the new terminal in Hranečník. 17 tram lines currently operate in Ostrava. There are 52 bus lines and 14 trolleybus lines.[25]

Rail

Railway station Ostrava-Svinov

Ostrava is also a major railway hub, sited on Railway Corridors II and III and serving as an important centre for cargo and passenger transport between the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. The city's largest railway stations are the main station (Ostrava hl.n.) and Ostrava-Svinov. These stations are important railway junctions. The main line linking Ostrava with Olomouc, Pardubice and Prague is served by three railway companies: České dráhy, RegioJet and LEO Express.

Ostrava's high concentration of heavy industry created various environmental problems in the city, particularly in relation to air quality. Measurements performed by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute show that levels of atmospheric benzopyrene and dust particles are among the highest in the country.

The Ostravice River

Although Ostrava still has to contend with environmental issues, the situation has improved over time. In 2015 ArcelorMittal, then one of the biggest polluters in the region, implemented 13 major ecological investment projects worth CZK 3 billion. One new installation filters out 61 tonnes of dust per year. The City of Ostrava is also involved in a range of projects focusing on environmental improvements, including a web portal, www.zdravaova.cz, which enables citizens to monitor current air quality indicators, and a project funding short "health breaks" for children from high-risk areas.

One of the most pressing environmental problems currently facing the city concerns the oil lagoons at the site of the former Ostramo chemical plant. In 1996 the Czech government took over the site and drew up plans for a cleanup. The state-owned company Diamo was created to implement these plans. The situation has been the subject of government-level discussions, and Finance Minister Andrej Babiš visited Ostrava in March 2015.

Air quality in Ostrava is currently very poor, with high concentrations of benzopyrene.[26] The pollution is so serious that it has been described in folklore; local people refer to "Černá Ostrava" (Black Ostrava) and have several songs about it.

• 

  New City Hall
  Ostrava's New City Hall has the tallest tower of any city hall in the Czech Republic, with a viewing platform 73 metres above ground providing a panoramic view of the city.
• Komenského Gardens is a park in the city centre named after the Renaissance-era Czech writer and educator John Amos Comenius, and the site of a statue honouring the Soviet soldiers who liberated Ostrava in 1945.
• The Miniuni World of Miniatures, located at the Černá Louka exhibition grounds, features miniature versions of famous buildings from around the world, including the Pyramids, Eiffel Tower, and Big Ben.
• The fairytale clock at Ostrava's Puppet Theatre features figurines which perform a show at two-hour intervals from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The performance lasts two minutes. It depicts a battle between Kasper the clown and the Grim Reaper, and it also features four other characters – an angel, a king, a queen, and a devil.
• The Silesian Ostrava Castle, close to Masaryk Square, once stood on higher ground, but over time it has sunk by 16 metres due to mine tunnels collapsing underneath it. The castle is located at the confluence of the Lučina and Ostravice rivers. The castle is the venue for the summer Shakespeare festival, among other events.
• Stodolní Street is the city's entertainment district, with more than 60 bars, clubs, restaurants and cafés.
• 

  Masaryk Square
  Masaryk Square is located in Ostrava's historical centre and has a plague column with a figure of the Virgin Mary (1702) and a Baroque statue of Saint Florian, the patron saint of firefighters. There is a series of commemorative paving stones that starts outside the Laso shopping mall, as well as the Schönhof building, known as "the house with seven doors", and the Reisz building designed by the Viennese architect Wunibald Deininger.
• The Karolina Triple Hall (Czech: Trojhalí) is an urban space located next to the Forum Nová Karolina shopping mall. These large historic buildings – formerly part of the Karolina coking plant – have been transformed by the architect Josef Pleskot into a new venue for sports, entertainment and culture.
• Ostrava Zoo is the second largest zoo in the Czech Republic and home to more than 400 different species of animals. In 2014 a new safari park was built, and in 2015 the zoo opened a new pavilion illustrating the process of evolution.
• Lower Vítkovice preserves a historic blast furnace and has a glass elevator to the newly built viewing platform at the top, with panoramic views of Ostrava and the surrounding countryside. There are guided tours describing Vítkovice's history. The blast furnace, the former power station, compressor hall and coal mine are open to the public. The former gas holder has been repurposed into a multi-functional hall called the Gong.
• Ema slag-heap, on the right bank of the Ostravice, is an artificial hill created by piling up slag, or waste material from coal mines. Its top is 315 metres (1,033 ft) above sea level. It has a subtropical micro-climate because the waste material is still burning deep beneath the surface. White smoke comes out of cracks in the ground. Snow never settles here, and flowers grow all year round. A yellow-marked hiking path leads to the top, from where there are panoramic views of the city.

Architecture

Jirásek Square, former chicken market (kuří rynek), in Moravská Ostrava

There are four urban monument zones in Ostrava – Moravská Ostrava (the historic centre), Ostrava-Poruba, Ostrava-Přívoz, and Ostrava-Vítkovice. Much of Ostrava's architectural heritage is in the city centre. The most notable structures are theatres, banks, department stores and other public buildings dating from the turn of the 20th century, at the time of Ostrava's greatest boom. The central Masaryk Square, named after the first President of Czechoslovakia Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, features the historic old city hall building and a Marian plague column from 1702. Nearby Smetanovo Square features the Antonín Dvořák Theatre and the Functionalist Knihcentrum bookstore. To the west are a series of grand, imposing bank buildings and the Elektra Palace on Nádražní Street, while to the north is the New City Hall with its landmark viewing tower, overlooking the large open space of Prokeš Square.

The city centre also has two notable religious buildings – the 13th-century Church of St. Wenceslaus and the Cathedral of the Divine Saviour, the second largest church in Moravia and Czech Silesia. Ostrava's central district contains works by architects including Karel Kotas, Josef Gočár, Ernst Korner and Alexander Graf.

Poruba is a large district of Ostrava in the western part of the conurbation, noted for its distinctive 1950s Socialist realist architecture. Inspired by the grandiose buildings of Soviet cities, Poruba also incorporates historical pastiche features drawing on ancient, Renaissance and Classicist models. The main entrance to the part of Poruba built at this time is through a grand triumphal arch.

The Vítkovice district was for several decades the centre of the local iron and steel industry. The influx of workers led the company to build housing for its employees, plus civic amenities, a town hall and a church. The historic parts of the district are built in the company's distinctive style featuring red-brick façades.

Other districts of the city with a distinctive architectural heritage include Přívoz (with its grand Art Nouveau buildings) and the Jubilee housing development (Czech: Jubilejní kolonie) in Hrabůvka, built as a workers' housing complex in the 1920s.

Ostrava's Regional Court is based in a historic building on the Ostravice embankment (Havlíčkovo nábřeží) in the city centre. Its jurisdiction extends to the whole of the Moravian-Silesian Region. The District Court is based in a new building on U Soudu St. in the Municipal District of Poruba. Its jurisdiction covers the territory of the City of Ostrava. The district courts of Ostrava and Brno are the largest in the country in terms of the number of judges.[29] In addition to these courts Ostrava is also home to regional and district Public Prosecutor's Offices, as well as a branch of the Olomouc-based Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office.

Vítkovice stadium

Ostrava has several sports clubs in various sports, and has hosted many major national and international sports events. In 2014 the city was one of the European Cities of Sport. Ostrava is home to a number of top-level sports clubs, including FC Baník Ostrava (football), HC Vítkovice Steel (ice hockey), NH Ostrava (basketball), 1. SC Vítkovice and FBC Ostrava (floorball), Arrows Ostrava (baseball and softball), and VK Ostrava (volleyball).

Sports venues in the city include athletics facilities, football pitches and stadiums, ice rinks and ice stadiums, multi-purpose sports halls, tennis courts, squash clubs, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, among others. The most important facilities are operated by the City-owned company SAREZA. The company's outdoor swimming pool in Ostrava-Poruba is the largest facility of its kind in Central Europe.

Ostrava has opportune conditions for cycling, with its generally flat terrain and an extensive network of cycle routes. There are also several popular leisure and recreation areas in the region surrounding Ostrava; the Beskids and Jeseníky Mountains (about 30 km (19 mi) and 60 km (37 mi) from Ostrava respectively) are popular with skiers in the winter season, and hikers, cyclists and anglers from spring to autumn. A special "cyclebus" shuttles between Ostrava and the Beskydy Mountains from May to September, enabling cyclists to transport their bikes on a special trailer. In the winter there is a similar service for skiers known as the "skibus".

There are also several golf courses in the region, including the Šilheřovice golf club in the grounds of the local château, and courses in Čeladná, Ropice and Ostravice. About 30 km (19 mi) from Ostrava is another golf course in Kravaře.

Ostrava has a long tradition of hosting top-level European and world championships. The Golden Spike international athletics meeting has been held in the city every year since 1961. The Ostrava Marathon was established in 1954 and has been held annually since 1974. In 2004 and 2015 Ostrava co-hosted (with Prague) the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship at the Ostrava Aréna.

Major sporting events to have been hosted in Ostrava include:

• 1986: Volleyball Women's World Championship
• 1987: World Weightlifting Championship
• 1990: Men's Handball World Championship
• 1992: Bodybuilding European Championship
• 1993: World Junior Ice Hockey Championship
• 2001: Men's European Volleyball Championship
• 2003: UEFA Futsal Championship; World Junior Figure Skating Championship
• 2004: UEFA Futsal Championship; World Junior Latin Dance Championship; Ice Hockey World Championship
• 2005: UEFA Futsal Championship; World Latin Dance Championship
• 2006: Teamgym European Championship; Men's World Bodybuilding Championship
• 2007: First Round, World Group, Davis Cup; IIAF World Youth Championship in Athletics
• 2008: Men's World Floorball Championship – group stage
• 2009: Freestyle Motocross World Championship
• 2009: U20 European Rugby Championship – Group B
• 2010: Basketball World Championship for Women
• 2011: European Athletics U23 Championship
• 2013: Women's World Floorball Championship
• 2015: Davis Cup, Ice Hockey World Championship
• 2018: IAAF Continental Cup Ostrava 2018
• 2019–2020: 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship
• 2020-2022: AGEL Womens Tennis Open, a WTA 500 event[30]

Ostrava is twinned with:[32]

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• Official website (in Czech)
• Official website
• Official guide
• A Short Guide to Ostrava