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57-453: The name is derived from the Czech word ostrá (literally 'sharp', but here figuratively meaning 'fast flowing'). The river was initially called Ostrá. The city of Ostrava was named after the river. The sources of the river are called Bílá Ostravice ('white Ostravice') and Černá Ostravice ('black Ostravice'). The colours in the names of the rivers most often appeared according to the nature of

114-722: A Holocaust memorial to the Jewish victims of Ostrava was built in Milada Horáková Park. During World War II the city was occupied by Germany . The occupiers operated a Gestapo prison in the city, and several forced labour camps, including three labour "education" camps, located in Moravská Ostrava, Vítkovice , and Kunčice , and the E21 subcamp of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp in

171-706: A branch of the Olomouc-based Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office. Ostrava has several sports clubs in various sports, and has hosted many major national and international sports events. In 2014 the city was one of the European Cities of Sport. Ostrava is home to a number of top-level sports clubs, including FC Baník Ostrava (football), HC Vítkovice Steel (ice hockey), NH Ostrava (basketball), 1. SC Vítkovice and FBC Ostrava (floorball), Arrows Ostrava (baseball and softball), and VK Ostrava (volleyball). Sports venues in

228-418: A long-term plan to destroy the city centre entirely and to turn the land over to coal-mining. The 1990s brought a rapid decline in the city's traditional industrial sectors: iron, steel, chemicals and coal-mining. The last coal was mined on 30 June 1994, which was accompanied by major investments to rectify ecological damage done by decades of heavy industry. The projects ultimately brought major improvements in

285-642: A project funding short "health breaks" for children from high-risk areas. One of the most pressing environmental problems currently facing the city concerns the oil lagoons at the site of the former Ostramo chemical plant. In 1996 the Czech government took over the site and drew up plans for a cleanup. The state-owned company Diamo was created to implement these plans. The situation has been the subject of government-level discussions, and Finance Minister Andrej Babiš visited Ostrava in March 2015. Air quality in Ostrava

342-570: A relatively-small scale focusing on the Poruba district and featuring architecture in the Socialist realism style. Later, however, the authorities built larger-scale developments of prefabricated apartment blocks in Poruba and created a series of satellite estates to the south of the city (Ostrava-Jih). The city centre was gradually depopulated, and its people were moved out to the suburbs, as part of

399-556: A special trailer. In the winter there is a similar service for skiers known as the "skibus". There are also several golf courses in the region, including the Šilheřovice golf club in the grounds of the local château, and courses in Čeladná , Ropice and Ostravice . About 30 km (19 mi) from Ostrava is another golf course in Kravaře . Ostrava has a long tradition of hosting top-level European and world championships. The Golden Spike international athletics meeting has been held in

456-463: Is also a major railway hub, sited on Railway Corridors II and III and serving as an important centre for cargo and passenger transport between the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. The city's largest railway stations are the main station ( Ostrava hl.n. ) and Ostrava-Svinov. These stations are important railway junctions. The main line linking Ostrava with Olomouc , Pardubice and Prague

513-690: Is currently very poor, with high concentrations of benzopyrene . The pollution is so serious that it has been described in folklore; local people refer to "Černá Ostrava" (Black Ostrava) and have several songs about it. Ostrava has four permanent theatres: the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre (with two permanent venues, the Antonín Dvořák Theatre and the Jiří Myron Theatre), the Petr Bezruč Theatre,

570-420: Is in the city centre. The most notable structures are theatres, banks, department stores and other public buildings dating from the turn of the 20th century, at the time of Ostrava's greatest boom. The central Masaryk Square, named after the first President of Czechoslovakia Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , features the historic old city hall building and a Marian plague column from 1702. Nearby Smetanovo Square features

627-475: Is mostly low-lying, with a highest point of 280 m (920 ft) above sea level. The city is situated at the meeting point of four rivers: Oder , Opava , Ostravice and Lučina . It differs from most neighbouring regions by the high concentration of industry, dense population and the geographical conditions of the Ostrava Basin. The Poodří Protected Landscape Area extends to the city's territory in

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684-551: Is served by three railway companies: České dráhy , RegioJet and LEO Express . Ostrava's high concentration of heavy industry created various environmental problems in the city, particularly in relation to air quality. Measurements performed by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute show that levels of atmospheric benzopyrene and dust particles are among the highest in the country. Although Ostrava still has to contend with environmental issues,

741-545: Is still burning deep beneath the surface, which gives the slag-heap its own microclimate . On 10 December 2019, a shooting at a hospital in Ostrava left eight people dead, including the perpetrator. Ostrava is located about 270 kilometres (170 mi) east of Prague . It lies mostly in the Ostrava Basin lowland, only the southwestern part of the municipal territory extends into the Moravian Gate . Ostrava

798-399: Is the transport and logistics hub of the north-eastern part of the Czech Republic, located close to the borders with Slovakia and Poland, and with an airport and highway connection nearby. 25 km (16 mi) south of the city centre is an international airport, Leoš Janáček Airport Ostrava , which links the city with several European destinations (IATA code: OSR; ICAO code: LKMT). It is

855-616: The Antonín Dvořák Theatre and the Functionalist Knihcentrum bookstore. To the west are a series of grand, imposing bank buildings and the Elektra Palace on Nádražní Street, while to the north is the New City Hall with its landmark viewing tower, overlooking the large open space of Prokeš Square. The city centre also has two notable religious buildings – the 13th-century Church of St. Wenceslaus and

912-794: The Aréna Chamber Theatre and the Ostrava Puppet Theatre – which hosts the international Spectaculo Interesse festival every odd-numbered year and the Theatre Without Barriers festival every even-numbered year. Ostrava is home to the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra , and hosts a number of international annual or biennial classical music festivals, including Janáček May , the St Wenceslaus Music Festival and

969-735: The Cathedral of the Divine Saviour , the second largest church in Moravia and Czech Silesia . Ostrava's central district contains works by architects including Karel Kotas, Josef Gočár , Ernst Korner and Alexander Graf . Poruba is a large district of Ostrava in the western part of the conurbation, noted for its distinctive 1950s Socialist realist architecture. Inspired by the grandiose buildings of Soviet cities, Poruba also incorporates historical pastiche features drawing on ancient, Renaissance and Classicist models. The main entrance to

1026-573: The Ostrava Days new music festival. Since 2002 Ostrava has been the venue for the annual multi-genre music festival Colours of Ostrava , which features an international line-up of artists and attracts crowds of tens of thousands. Other cultural events in Ostrava include the film and theatre festivals One World , Ostrava Camera Eye ( Czech : Ostrava Kamera Oko ), the International Outdoor Films Festival, and

1083-543: The Austrian empire. During the 20th century it was known as the "steel heart" of Czechoslovakia thanks to its status as a coal-mining and metallurgical centre, but since the Velvet Revolution (the fall of communism in 1989) it has undergone radical and far-reaching changes to its economic base. Industries have been thoroughly restructured, and the last coal was mined in the city in 1994. However, remnants of

1140-618: The Class I roads 11, 56, 58 and 59. The city has a dense public transport network consisting of trams , buses and trolleybuses . The first trams, introduced in 1894, were powered by steam engines. The network was rapidly expanded, and in 1901 it was electrified. New tram lines were built mainly to the south and east of the city centre, where they would not have to cross the narrow-gauge railways linking Ostrava with Karviná and Bohumín . Trolleybuses were introduced in 1952, as in other Czech towns and cities after World War II. Initially there

1197-608: The Moravian-Silesian Region. The District Court is based in a new building on U Soudu St. in the Municipal District of Poruba . Its jurisdiction covers the territory of the City of Ostrava. The district courts of Ostrava and Brno are the largest in the country in terms of the number of judges. In addition to these courts Ostrava is also home to regional and district Public Prosecutor's Offices, as well as

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1254-578: The Morávka and Olešná Reservoir onn the Olešná. The Ostravice is suitable for river tourism only when water is released from Šance Reservoir, which is once or twice a year. About 7 km (4.3 mi) of the river is navigable. Ostrava Ostrava ( Czech: [ˈostrava] ; Polish : Ostrawa , German : Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and

1311-615: The Oder River at an elevation of 199 m (653 ft). It is 64.7 km (40.2 mi) long. Its drainage basin has an area of 826.7 km (319.2 sq mi). The name Ostravice is used from the confluence of the Bílá Ostravice with the Černá Ostravice on the municipal border of Bílá and from this point to the confluence with the Oder, the river is 54.8 km (34.1 mi) long. The sources and longest tributaries of

1368-617: The Ostravice are: The largest settlement on the river is the city of Ostrava . The river flows through the municipal territories of Bílá , Staré Hamry , Ostravice , Frýdlant nad Ostravicí , Pržno , Baška , Staré Město , Frýdek-Místek , Sviadnov , Žabeň , Paskov , Řepiště , Vratimov and Ostrava. In terms of natural regions, the river flows through the Moravian-Silesian Beskids , Moravian-Silesian Foothills and Ostrava Basin . The Bílá Ostravice springs in

1425-574: The Polanská Meadows, both of which form part of the Poodří ( Oder Basin) nature reserve. A rare geological feature found in the city is the granite erratic boulders . Originally from Scandinavia, they were left behind after the last ice age , when the ice sheets retreated. Another feature is the Ema slag heap , an artificial hill made of mining waste (slag) that offers panoramic views. The waste

1482-805: The Summer Shakespeare Festival (held on an outdoor stage at the Silesian Ostrava Castle ). Folklore festivals include the Harmony ( Czech : Souznění ) international festival of Advent and Christmas traditions and crafts, Folklore Without Borders, and the Irish Cultural Festival. Ostrava has several museums and galleries: There are four urban monument zones in Ostrava – Moravská Ostrava (the historic centre), Ostrava-Poruba, Ostrava-Přívoz, and Ostrava-Vítkovice. Much of Ostrava's architectural heritage

1539-512: The area of the Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains , but immediately leaves this region. There are 598 bodies of water in the basin area. The largest of them is the Šance Reservoir with an area of 306 ha (760 acres), built on the Ostravice. It was built in 1964–1969 and its primary purpose is to supply Ostrava and its surroundings with drinking water and protect the area behind the reservoir against floods. Common species of fish in

1596-445: The border of the two historic provinces of Moravia and Silesia. The wider conurbation – which also includes the towns of Bohumín , Havířov , Karviná , Orlová , Petřvald and Rychvald – is home to about 500,000 people, making it the largest urban area in the Czech Republic apart from the capital Prague . Ostrava grew in importance due to its position at the heart of a major coalfield , becoming an important industrial engine of

1653-519: The capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region . It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies 15 km (9 mi) from the border with Poland , at the confluences of four rivers: Oder , Opava , Ostravice and Lučina . Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic in terms of both population and area, the second largest city in the region of Moravia , and the largest city in the historical land of Czech Silesia . It straddles

1710-746: The city every year since 1961. The Ostrava Marathon was established in 1954 and has been held annually since 1974. In 2004, 2015, and 2024 Ostrava co-hosted (with Prague) the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship at the Ostrava Aréna . The Trade Union Stadium was a 60,000 capacity stadium that existed between 1954 and 1999. It was used primarily for motorcycle speedway but also hosted the Spartakiad in 1955 and 1960. Major sporting events to have been hosted in Ostrava include: The first mayor of Moravian Ostrava

1767-703: The city include athletics facilities, football pitches and stadiums, ice rinks and ice stadiums, multi-purpose sports halls, tennis courts, squash clubs, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, among others. The most important facilities are operated by the city-owned company SAREZA. The company's outdoor swimming pool in Ostrava-Poruba is the largest facility of its kind in Central Europe. Ostrava has opportune conditions for cycling, with its generally flat terrain and an extensive network of cycle routes. There are also several popular leisure and recreation areas in

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1824-513: The city with a distinctive architectural heritage include Přívoz (with its grand Art Nouveau buildings) and the Jubilee housing development ( Czech : Jubilejní kolonie ) in Hrabůvka, built as a workers' housing complex in the 1920s. Ostrava's Regional Court is based in a historic building on the Ostravice embankment (Havlíčkovo nábřeží) in the city centre. Its jurisdiction extends to the whole of

1881-468: The city's environment and quality of life. Ostrava became an important tourist centre that offered easy access to the nearby Hrubý Jeseník and Moravian-Silesian Beskids mountains. As well as hundreds of hectares of recultivated former mining land, the city also has numerous natural landscape features of interest, many of which are protected nature reserves. They include the Polanský Forest and

1938-579: The city's industrial past are visible in the Lower Vítkovice area, a former coal-mining, coke production and ironworks complex in the city centre which retains its historic industrial architecture. Lower Vítkovice has applied for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List . Ostrava is home to various cultural facilities including theatres and galleries. Various cultural and sporting events take place in Ostrava throughout

1995-721: The discovery of extensive deposits of high-quality bituminous coal on the Silesian bank of the Ostravice River. In 1828, the owner of the local estates, Rudolf Jan, the archbishop of Olomouc , established an ironworks , which was named after him as the Rudolfshütte. Later, the ironworks passed into the ownership of the Rothschild family and became known as the Vítkovice Ironworks . The company became

2052-417: The division of the city into 22 boroughs, effective 24 November that year. On 1 January 1994, Plesná separated from Poruba and became a separate borough. Since then, the city has been divided into 23 boroughs, further divided into 37 administrative parts: The city's coat of arms features a blue shield with a rearing silver horse standing on a green lawn. The horse wears a golden saddle and a red coverlet. At

2109-651: The driving force behind Ostrava's industrial boom. By the second half of the 20th century, the city was nicknamed the country's "steel heart". In 1931 the Jewish community in Ostrava numbered 6,865 (5.4% of the population). About 8,000 Jews from the Ostrava district were murdered in the Holocaust during the German occupation in World War II . The Nisko Plan included the first deportation train transports of 1,301 Jews from Ostrava on 17 and 26 October 1939. In 1994,

2166-572: The first airport in the Czech Republic to have its own rail link, which opened in 2015. The road infrastructure of the region is centred on the D1 motorway , which runs from Prague via Brno and Ostrava into Poland. Ostrava is 360 km (220 mi) from Prague by motorway, 170 km (110 mi) from Brno, 90 km (56 mi) from the Polish city of Katowice , and 310 km (190 mi) from Vienna . Other major roads which pass through Ostrava are

2223-545: The golden rose probably comes from the family coat-of-arms of the bishop of Olomouc Stanislav I Thurzo . This explanation is supported by most modern literature. Another theory suggests that the Bishop granted Ostrava the right to use the horse in its coat-of-arms out of gratitude for the assistance that the town provided to the people of the Bishop's estate in Hukvaldy when the estate was being looted and pillaged. Apparently

2280-436: The help came so quickly that the pillagers did not have time to attach bridles to their horses before making their escape. There is also a legend which tells of a siege of Ostrava during which the besieged townspeople released unbridled horses to run in circles around the town. This is said to have confused the attacking armies so much that they fled. In 2008, Ostrava's new marketing logo was unveiled. Designed by Studio Najbrt,

2337-453: The logo "OSTRAVA!!!" is used in public presentations of the city both in the Czech Republic and abroad. The three exclamation marks are meant to symbolise the dynamism, energy and self-confidence of Ostrava and its people. The light blue colour of the city's name is based on the heraldic tradition, while the exclamation marks are a contrasting darker blue. The first written mention of Slezská Ostrava (Silesian Ostrava) dates from 1229, when it

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2394-454: The most fluctuating rivers in the Czech Republic in terms of flow, and its high peak flows in combination with the relief were the cause of catastrophic floods. Among the worst floods were those in 1902 and 1903, and after them came a period of gradual flow regulation, culminating in the construction of the Šance Reservoir on the Ostravice, Žermanice Reservoir on the Lučina, Morávka Reservoir on

2451-424: The part of Poruba built at this time is through a grand triumphal arch. The Vítkovice district was for several decades the centre of the local iron and steel industry. The influx of workers led the company to build housing for its employees, plus civic amenities, a town hall and a church. The historic parts of the district are built in the company's distinctive style featuring red-brick façades. Other districts of

2508-613: The present-day district of Petřkovice. After the war, the city's German-speaking population were expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement . 231 German-speaking citizens were killed in a massacre at an internment camp, known as the Hanke Lager Massacres . The liberation of Ostrava by the Red Army led to the city entering its greatest period of expansion. Initially, the new housing projects were on

2565-521: The region surrounding Ostrava; the Beskids and Jeseníky Mountains (about 30 km (19 mi) and 60 km (37 mi) from Ostrava respectively) are popular with skiers in the winter season, and hikers, cyclists and anglers from spring to autumn. A special "cyclebus" shuttles between Ostrava and the Beskydy Mountains from May to September, enabling cyclists to transport their bikes on

2622-442: The river are trout , grayling and common barbel . Among the protected animal species are the common minnow , burbot , European bullhead , alpine bullhead and brook lamprey . The river is a nesting place for the common kingfisher . The Eurasian otter rarely occurs on the middle course of the river. The Ostravice partly formed the border between historical lands of Moravia (left bank) and Cieszyn Silesia (right bank). It

2679-481: The river bed (white = stony river bed, black = muddy river bed). From a water management point of view, the Ostravice and Bílá Ostravice are two different rivers with separate numbering of river kilometres . In a broader point of view, the Ostravice (as Bílá Ostravice) originates in the territory of Bílá on the border between the Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains and Moravian-Silesian Beskids at an elevation of 751 m (2,464 ft) and flows to Ostrava , where it enters

2736-458: The situation has improved over time. In 2015 ArcelorMittal, then one of the biggest polluters in the region, implemented 13 major ecological investment projects worth CZK 3 billion. One new installation filters out 61 tonnes of dust per year. The City of Ostrava is also involved in a range of projects focusing on environmental improvements, including a web portal, www.zdravaova.cz , which enables citizens to monitor current air quality indicators, and

2793-721: The southwest. Ostrava is 20.5 km across from north to south (Antošovice–Nová Bělá), and 20.1 km across from east to west (Bartovice–Krásné Pole). Ostrava has an oceanic ( Köppen : Cfb ) or humid continental ( Dfb ) climate, according with the isotherm 0 °C/-3 °C, the second most common in Europe (the average temperature in month most cold is −1 °C (30 °F)). The climate features hot, humid summers and relatively mild winters, with an average annual temperature of 10.2 °C (50.4 °F) (January: −1.2 °C (29.8 °F) July: 23.5 °C (74.3 °F)) and average annual precipitation of 580 mm. Ostrava

2850-427: The top right of the shield there is a golden rose with green leaves and a red core. The horse in the coat-of-arms wears no bridle. The oldest known depiction of this coat-of-arms is on a seal dating from 1426. The first coloured version dates from 1728. The horse is often interpreted as a symbol of Ostrava's position on a major trade route, or as a figure taken from the coat-of-arms of Ostrava's first vogt (reeve), while

2907-675: The two historic provinces of Moravia and Silesia and on the ancient trade route from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea known as the Amber Road . Its location helped the town to grow and flourish. However, Ostrava began to decline in importance after the Thirty Years' War , and it was occupied by Danish forces in 1626, and by Swedish forces from 1642 to 1650. A turning point in Ostrava's history came in 1763 with

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2964-793: The year, including the Colours of Ostrava music festival, the Janáček May classical music festival, the Summer Shakespeare Festival and NATO Days . Ostrava is home to two public universities: the Technical University of Ostrava and the University of Ostrava . In 2014 Ostrava was a European City of Sport. The city co-hosted (with Prague) the Ice Hockey World Championships in 2004 , 2015 , and 2024 . On 14 September 1990, Ostrava's City Authority approved

3021-527: Was Hermann Zwierzina . The list of mayors and other top city officials of the time includes: Ostrava is twinned with: Mor%C3%A1vka Reservoir Morávka Reservoir ( Czech : vodní nádrž Morávka ) is a water reservoir and dam in Morávka in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic . The reservoir is built on the Morávka River and has a surface of 79.5 ha (196 acres). It

3078-410: Was constructed in 1961–1967. The reservoir is a popular spot for sport fishing and other recreational activities. The reservoir is also used to supply drinking water to nearby towns and to subdue floods on Morávka and Ostravice rivers. This article about a Czech building or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Moravian-Silesian Region location article

3135-532: Was described as a settlement. The first mention of Moravian Ostrava (Moravská Ostrava) in 1267 describes it as a township. Ostrava grew on the banks of the Ostrá River (now the Ostravice ) from which it took its name. The river still divides the city into two main parts: Moravian Ostrava (Moravská Ostrava) and Silesian Ostrava (Slezská Ostrava). The settlement occupied a strategic position on the border between

3192-404: Was first agreed as such in 1261 by a special treaty between Duke Władysław Opolski and King Ottokar II . Later it was confirmed on 2 August 1297 between Duke Mieszko I and Dětřich, bishop of Olomouc . It lost importance as a state border in 1327, when the Duchy of Teschen became a fee of the Kingdom of Bohemia . Before the construction of reservoirs in the basin, the Ostravice was one of

3249-457: Was one trolleybus route which encircled the city centre. The network was gradually expanded in the 1950s and 60s, replacing the narrow-gauge railways . A route to the Fifejdy housing estate was built in the late 1970s. The last expansion of the trolleybus network came in the mid-2010s, when a route was built out to the new terminal in Hranečník. 17 tram lines currently operate in Ostrava. There are 52 bus lines and 14 trolleybus lines. Ostrava

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