Virtual tours of CZECH REPUBLIC

Ostrava (German: Ostrau, Polish: Ostrawa) is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region and of the Municipality with Extended Competence. It is located at the confluence of the Ostravice, Oder and Opava rivers, in the north-eastern tip of the Czech Republic, very close to the Polish and Slovak borders. Its population is about 315 thousand inhabitants. Ostrava covers an area of 212 km².

There are a number of interesting places to see and things to do in Ostrava. The Museum of mining is presenting a unique collection of the coal mining machinery and equipment. Going down the shaft to see the 250m long underground corridors and an original mining gallery from the 19th century is also part of the exhibition. Another attraction, becoming more and more popular mainly among young people, is the Stodolni street (Stodolní ulice) which is actually a bunch of streets just next to the center, full of bars, pubs and clubs, bringing night-life to the city and thousands of visitors all year long. The New city hall viewing tower provides visitors a panoramic view of the city and surroundings from about 72 meters of height. The recently restored Silesian-Ostrava Castle is one of the city's most historic cultural monuments. It was built in the eighties and nineties of the 13th century, in 1534, the gothic castle was rebuilt into a renaissance chateau. You can also visit a zoological garden located in Stromovka park in Slezská Ostrava.

History

Its history and growth have been largely affected by exploitation and further usage of the high quality black coal deposits discovered in the locality, giving the town a look of an industrial city and a nickname of the “steel heart of the republic” during the communist era of Czechoslovakia. Many of the heavy industry companies are being closed down or transformed nowadays.

Ostrava was an important crossroads of prehistoric trading routes, namely the Amber Road. The area around Ostrava has been permanently inhabited for 25,000 years. The town itself was founded in 1267. Until the late 18th century, Ostrava was a small provincial town with a population around one thousand inhabitants engaged in handicraft until 1763, when large deposits of black coal were discovered, leading to an industrial boom and a flood of new immigrants in the following centuries. During the 19th century, several mine towers were raised in and around the city and the first steel works were established. Industrial growth was made possible by the completion of Kaiser-Ferdinands-Nordbahn from Vienna in 1847. The 20th century saw further industrial expansion of the city accompanied by an increase in population and the quality of civic services and culture. However, during World War II, Ostrava - as an important source of steel for the army industry - suffered several massive bombing campaigns bringing large amounts of damage to the city.

Since the Velvet revolution in 1989 the city is going through big changes. A thorough restructuring of industry is taking place - coal mining in the area of the city was stopped in 1994 and a large part of the Vítkovice ironworks near the city center was closed down in 1998, both improving the environment dramatically, although the Mittal Steel plant (ex-Nová Huť) continues to heavily pollute the Radvanice district.