The Ostrava´s most…
When surveying the City of Ostrava to determine what makes it special, we came across many superlatives, some of them serious, many of them humorous, some of them reminders of the past, others marking important steps to the future.
We came across wonders of nature, examples of industrial accomplishment, cultural idiosyncrasies, and much more. But most importantly, we have come up with a colourful mosaic of Ostrava, one we are sure you will enjoy.
So come to Ostrava, and add a few superlatives of your own!
The highest City Hall Viewing Tower
The highest concentration of clubs in one area
The oldest pedestrian zone in the country
The largest mining museum
The largest exhibition of mining rescue equipment
The earliest use of coal
The deepest coal mine
The largest industrial monument zone
The longest piping of spa water
The most original indoor astronomical clock
The largest natural swimming pool
The largest ice stadium playing surface
The most modern puppet theatre
The largest errant boulders
The unique jewish ceremonial hall
The largest university campus
The most modern conservatory
The highest City Hall Viewing Tower
Not every city hall has a tower. Ostrava's New City Hall is unique, because it is the Czech Republic's largest, and has the highest viewing tower - 85.6m above Prokeš Square (Prokešovo náměstí). From the lookout deck, 72m above the ground, there is an unbelievable view of the Beskydy Mountains, the Opava region, and parts of Poland. Visitors, especially from abroad, are constantly surprised to discover how much greenery there is in place of the old heavy industry sites. In fact, there is an average of 30m² of parkland per person in the city.
www.ostravainfo.cz
The highest concentration of clubs in one area
"The Stodolní Phenomenon" is what residents of Ostrava and visitors have called one of the most interesting streets in the city. Once majestic town houses fell into disrepute in the 1980's. The dilapidated street attracted the interests of the young, the resourceful, and the zealous. Today, there are around 60 clubs in and around Stodolní. Whether clubbing, dining, listening to concerts or lectures, or meeting with artists at various exhibitions, there is always something to do on the “Street that never sleeps”.
www.stodolni.cz
The oldest pedestrian zone in the country
In 1967, the City of Ostrava decided to create the Czech Republic's first pedestrian zone. The backbone of the zone was established along Gottwald Avenue, today called 28th of October Street (ulice 28. října). The pedestrian zone was more a question of organisation than rebuilding. The 300 x 400m zone was blocked off to traffic and covered with asphalt. Later, the pedestrian zone modernised. In the 1990's, the walkways around Jirásek Square (Jiráskovo náměstí) received new cobblestone paving and greenery. And work continues. Masaryk Square will be the next to receive a face lift, and the pedestrian zone will continue on to Karolina, where a new city centre is scheduled to be built.
The largest mining museum
The former mine at Anselm, under Landek Hill in Ostrava-Petřkovice, will be of use for years to come. While other mines around Ostrava have had to close for good, the Anselm mine was turned into the Czech Republic's largest mining museum in 1993. It has on display a collection of old mining and rescue equipment, including lamps and other unique objects. Visitors can descend the shafts to the original coal seams, see the difficult working conditions the miners had to endure, and even try out some of the equipment for themselves. The area around the museum is now used for various celebrations and sports events, the main hall also presents concerts and exhibitions. The legendary Harenda pub is the place to stop for a real miner's meal.
www.muzeumokd.cz
The largest exhibition of mining rescue equipment
One of the many interesting exhibitions of the OKD Mining Museum below Landek Hill is the unique exhibition of mining rescue equipment, the largest of its kind in the world. Visitors can see a range of rescue breathing and resuscitating equipment, from the oldest preserved pieces dating from 1884 until 1942, and breathing, resuscitating and diving equipment from the period after 1942. Part of the exhibition includes a miner’s rescue base, anti-explosion walls in the gangways with steel and wooden supports, a training rescue polygon, where different kinds of mines and operating noise inside the mines are simulated, and, last but not least, a sacred memorial commemorating fallen rescue workers.
www.muzeumokd.cz
The earliest use of coal
A part of the Mining Museum in Ostrava displays a unique exposition that proves primeval mammoth hunters in the area used coal to make fire more than 25 000 years ago. The top of Landek Hill is an interwave of wavy carbon layers with a large number of coal seams that lead to the surface. This is a geological rarity. A tourist trail leads to the top of Landek, with markers along the way explaining the natural curiosities of the area, as well as its rich history. In 1953, an archaeological dig unearthed an haematite statue of a woman -- the Venus of Landek, the only one of the discovered artefacts to display the body of a young woman.
www.muzeumokd.cz
The deepest coal mine
Coal was discovered in the modern era in the Silesian, or Polish, part of Ostrava in the Burňa Valley in 1763. The real beginnings of modern coal mining in the area began in the 1840's with the creation of the Tereza mine, later renamed the Petr Bezruč mine in the mid 20th century, after the famous Silesian poet. Although there were dozens of similar mines in the area, the Bezruč mine reached depths of 1200 metres below the surface, the deepest in the Czech Republic, in inhospitably high temperatures. Coal mining ended in Ostrava in 1994, the Bezruč mine, like others, closed.
The largest industrial monument zone
The Vítkovice Area takes up almost 300ha of former industrial land. It forms the typical southern panorama of the town and is also referred to as “ Ostrava ’s Hradčany” (in honour of Prague ’s Hradčany Castle ]. The blast furnaces, coke-oven batteries and the mine, put out of operation a long time ago, were declared objects of the National Cultural Heritage. The blast furnaces, coking plant, and mine were declared national cultural monuments in 2002. A unique industrial piece, a large piston blower used to supply blast furnaces with compressed air. The TG 178 machine weighs 900 tons. The diameter of the flywheel is 8 m , and the diameters of the piston and the piston rod are 3250 and 410 mm , respectively. The cylinder-displacement is 13.87 sq. m , with a stroke of 1700 mm and output of 3800 kW.
The longest piping of spa water
Detritus water dating back to the Tertiary period is brought up from carbon layers under the earth's surface. The highly ionised water is rich in bromide and other elements used in the treatment of joints, neurological illnesses, skin problems, and gynaecological and circulatory disorders. It is a natural disinfectant, and sublimates like sea air. The Klimkovice Spa was founded on the use of such water, which is drilled 11 kilometres away in Polanka nad Odrou. The 400-500 m drills, and accompanying piping system is the longest of any spa in the Czech Republic.
www.sanatoria-klimkovice.cz
The most original indoor astronomical clock
Jan Mašek was a technician at the Vítkovice Steelworks from 1924-1935. But he worked on his technical skills even after normal working hours. Ostrava is a beneficiary of that work, receiving the giant indoor astronomical clock that he made. Measuring 225 cm in height, and with 2 500 working parts, the clock has an 8kg counter weight that is automatically driven by electric current. The pendulum keeps strict time. The clock has 51 functions in 4 parts, for regular time, a calendar, an astronomical part and a planetary part. Mr. Mašek donated the clock to the City of Ostrava in 1967, to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the first written documentation mentioning the city.
www.ostrmuz.cz
The largest natural swimming pool
Once you have been here, it's hard to resist coming back again and again. The pool has a water surface of 41 000m² and a giant 55m slide, surrounded by 70 000m² of greenery. There is also a minigolf course, as well as tennis, streetball and volleyball courts, a rental office, and several snack bars. The pool is 380m long and 220m wide. It is the largest such pool in the Czech Republic, and one of the largest in Central Europe. During the hot summer months, up to 20 000 people visit the pool on a daily basis. Anyone who wants to swim the English Channel would do well to practice here.
www.sareza.cz
The most modern puppet theatre
The Puppet Theatre is an ideal cure-all for bad moods. Ostrava has had professional puppet theatre since 1953. In the 1990's, the Ostrava Puppet Theatre started hosting the bi-annual Spectaculo Interesse International Puppet Theatre Festival, the largest of its kind in the Czech Republic. In 1999, the Puppet Theatre moved into a new custom-built building, considered the most modern and best equipped in Central Europe. It received the title of Ostrava's "Building of the Year, 1999".
www.dlo-ostrava.cz
The largest errant boulders
Long ago, at some time during the quaternary, “Mother Nature” decided everything was a little too warm, and sent glaciers from Scandinavia to the Czech Republic. When the glaciers later retreated, they left not only moraines, but a trail of rocks, today known as "errant boulders". Wonderful pieces of Swedish granite can be found right in the centre of Ostrava at the Černá louka Exhibition grounds. The Czech Republic's largest such boulder, measuring 320x250x155cm and a volume of 6.5m³ can be found in Ostrava-Kunčice.
The unique jewish ceremonial hall
The Ostrava Central Cemetery in Silesian Ostrava has a unique building and place of worship. In the 1980's, Ostrava's old Jewish Cemetery was systematically and senselessly destroyed. The Jewish community was forced to collect the valuable remaining gravestones and move them a newly defined area, the central cemetery in Silesian Ostrava. Today, there is a Jewish ceremonial hall, the only one of its kind in the Czech Republic after 1938.
The largest university campus
Approximately 23 000 students attend the seven faculties of the Technical University of Ostrava known as Báňská as well. This requires space, and the university has plenty of it. It has the largest campus in the Czech Republic, and is the only one to have such facilities as the J. Palisa Observatory and Planetarium and the unique geologic collections in the F. Pošepný Geological Pavilion. The Central Analytical Laboratory is the best equipped facility of its kind in the country, thanks in large part to EU sponsorship.
The most modern conservatory
In 1996, Ostrava opened a new building for the Janáček Conservatory, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2003. The students of the Conservatory have an opportunity unique in Central Europe to choose from four fields of study - vocal arts, dance, acting, and music. The school has many talented students that have won honours at national and international competitions. The Conservatory can also be proud of its concert hall, with the most modern organ in Central Europe, made by Rieger-Kloss in Krnov. It is completely automatic, with 41 programs, 2 keyboards, and 2 computers.
