Basic facts
Ostrava is the capital city of Moravian-Silesian region of Czech Republic and the third largest city in the whole country.
Ostrava is situated in the northeast of the republic near the Polish border and consists of two historical territories - Moravia and Silesia.
The city has about 285 000 inhabitants.
The region grew as an industrial center of the Republic .
The Saint Václav’s church
Brief history
In 1229 Silesian Ostrava was mentioned a first time in the document of the pope.
In 1267 the oldest building in Ostrava - the church of saint Václav in Moravian Ostrava - was mentioned
In the end of 13th century the famous castle of Silesian Ostrava was built.
1782 - The coal mining has started and Ostrava became more important for the country.
In the middle of the1800s the family of Rothschield bought the main smelter and Vítkovice district started to become more important and monumental.
1924 - The connection of Moravian Ostrava and the neighboring villages to one big city was done.
Ostrava became very important for the country after 1948 when the communist regime started - industry was very important for the economy .
The population increased a lot and in these times many suburbs were built.
After the Velvet revolution in 1989 the majority of the indrusty was stopped and the population declined.
Highlights and monuments
Lower Vítkovice is the largest historical mining area accesible now for tourists. There are also two large and famous music festivals - Beats for love with electronical music and the Colours of Ostrava with different styles of music from around the world.
The castle is the second oldest building in Ostrava. In the past it was always property of nobles and was recently reconstructed after the damages from coal mining.
Now the whole area accesable for the tourists and city holds a lot of cultural events there.
The heap Ema is made out of tons of excavated tailings from deep mining. It emits carbon dioxid and still smolders. However how strange it may sound, there is a beautiful view of Ostrava from the top and it is a truly unique phenomenon.