OSTRAVA

• northeast corner in the CR
• countries near Ostrava: Poland – 15 km

Slovakia – 55 km

• area: 214 sq km
• population: 330000 inhabitans
• second biggest city according to its area, third biggest city according to its population
• it has 23 administrative districts
• rivers: Ostravice, Oder, Opava, Lučina
• it got the name after river Ostravice – ostrá voda – rough water
• heraldic emblem: white horse on a blue field
  • the horses rescued people during a fire
  • the horses were used in mines and became blind
  • Ostrava was the meeting point of many roads
  • The horse of the first bailift of Ostrava

golden rose

• from the family coat of arms of Stanislav Thurz – the Bishop of Olomouc

HISTORY:

• 25000 yrs ago – mammooth hunters lived in Landek. The first people who used coal. When they made fire, put stones around it but it started to burn, because it was coal
• ancient times– Ostrava was on the AMBER ROUTE – a trade route that led from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean
• 1267 – the town statue was established and Ostrava became the private property of Bishop Brune of Olomouc
• 1279 – st. Wenceslas Church – first written documents
• 1297 – silesian Ostrava castle was established
• 1362 – Charles II gave the town the right to hold an anuval market
• 1539 – the Old town hall – first written documents
• 1618 – 1648 – thirty years war – Danish, Swedish troops invaded the town
• 1625 – the plague killed 500 people in Ostrava (half of the population)
• 1763 – coal was discovered in the Busňa Valley in Silesian Ostrava
• 1825 – Rudolph’s Foundry (Vítkovice) was established
• 2^nd half of the 19^th century – industrial expansion
• 1889 – Basilica of the Divine Saviour was built (božského spasitele)
• 1907 – the city theatre was built (Dvořak Theatre)
• 1919 – the National Theatre of Moravia + Silesia was founded (Myron and Dvořak Theatre)
• 1945 – The mining College was moved from Příbram to Ostrava
• 1949 – 51 – the expansion of Nova Huť
• 1950s – 1980s – enormous growth in population and construction boom

Sighseeings:

• ST.WENCESLAS – oldest remaining church in Ostrava (Přívoz)
• THE OLD TOWN HALL – (stará radnice), since 1939 home to the Ostrava museum, before it was toen council hall. First written document from 15839 is there.
• PLAGUE COLUMN OF VIRGIN MARRY – city’s oldest preserved baroque sculpture (morový sloup). Was irrected because 500 people died (half of th epopulation died)
• EVANGELIC CHURCH – českobratrská street. Built in Dutschrenaissance style with bricks. Under the administration of CzechBrethern
• ELEKTRA PALACE – it has statues – 4 miners + cokers because the building was originally coal miner’s centre. Used to be a cafe and a cinema elektra
• NEW TOWN HALL –  largest council office building in the state and the highest clock tower (85,6 m).In front Ikaros statue, flower emblem
• PORISH CHURCH OF ST. PAUL – mírové sq., the tower originally served as a water tower and observation tower for fireman
• SILESIAN OSTRAVA TOWN HALL – near Sykora bridge on Těšínská street, council buiilding of Silesian Ostrava, 1911-1913, designed by V.Šulc
• SILESIAN OSTRAVA CASTLE – built in the 13^th century, remained empty and deserted from 1930s to 2004.Confluence of Ostrava and Lučina take place there.
• CHURCH OF ST.CATHARINE – Hrabová, a wooden church built in folkstyle, burnt down completely in 2002, rebuilt
• LANDEK NATIONAL HERITAGE SIGHT – settlements of Stone age mammoth hunters, statue od Landek (Petřkovice) Venus, coal can be seen on the surface, coal mining museum is nearby (history of mining in Ostrava from 1782 to the present – a shaft is open to the public)
• ZOO – Michálkovice, the largest zoo in th eCR (102 ha), internationally known for the breeding of Lynx Lynx (rys)

Sport facilities:

• SWIMMING POOLS – Poruba, Čapkárna, Hrabůvka, Vřesina
• WINTER STADIUM – Poruba, Čez aréna, Ledňáček, Vítkovice, Bazaly stadium

Cultutral facilities:

• THEATRES – Dvořák, Myron, Bezruč, Aréna, Puppet theatre
• CINEMAS – Cinestar, Luna, Minikino, Kavárna, Art, Vesmír