The Watchtowers
The Viewing Tower of the New City Hall
The Viewing Tower is one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. On a clear day, it is possible to see the entire city, the nearby Beskydy Mountains, and even neighbouring Poland.
"From the tower, there is a magnificent view of the entire Ostrava basin, framed by the impressive Beskydy Mountains in the south, the magnanimous Jeseníky Mountains to the west, and the upper-Silesian plateau to the east. The view exceeds that of Landek Hill (270m above sea level), and more comfortable than from the top of Hladnov Hill (290m above sea level) in Silesian Ostrava..." (Municipal archive - From the history the Moravian Ostrava City Hall).
The Viewing Tower has dominated the Ostrava skyline since it was built at the New City Hall (the largest in the Czech Republic) in 1930. The strict functionalist style of the tower creates, in the opinion of its designers, a noble beacon of concrete, metal and glass. The tower reaches 298.05 metres above sea level, or roughly 85.60 metres above ground level. The tower is equipped with an illuminated clock face, an elevator, and a lookout deck 72 metres above the ground.
The Ostrava City Information Centre, located directly beneath the tower, provides all sorts of information about the city, in several languages. The lookout deck is open daily.
The Viewing Tower of the New City Hall ( Vyhlídková věž Nové radnice)
Prokešovo náměstí 8
729 30 Ostrava
tel.: +420 599 443 096
www.ostravainfo.cz
The Watchtower in Landek Hill
The watchtower is situated on a hill called Landek, which was proclaimed a National Nature Landmark in 1992. The five-metre high wooden construction was built in the style of a historic hillfort watchtower in place of a former castle.
The castle was probably founded by King Přemysl Otakar II after 1253, to protect the inadequately fortified frontier with the Opolsko Duchy, which in 1241 was subject to Tartar incursions. Most historians believe that Landek was built after the horrible Tartar incursion, which also devastated the Opava and the Hlučín regions. After the Tartars were repelled, it became obvious that fortifying the country was a necessity, if incursions, such as those carried out by the troops of the Duke of Opole, Krakow and Galicia in 1253, were to be prevented. Therefore, construction began of strong castles in places difficult to approach, mainly on the provincial boundaries. This is when also Landek Castle was built. The first written documentation of Landek, however, dates back to 1297. In 1518, records described it as a mere ruin. The only reminder of it today is just a small part of the medieval wall.
It offers a nice view not only of Ostrava, but of the surrounding Těšínské Beskydy Mountains. The lookout forms part of the nature trail near the Mining Museum.
The Watchtower in Landek Hill
(close to the Mining Museum and Pod Landekem street)
