Visit Ostrava

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Location of the City

www.ostrava.cz

Location of the City

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City Map

Prague

380km

Slovakia

50km

15kmPoland

D1

D1

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Ostrava3rd largest city in the Czech Republic

• Metropolis of the Moravian-Silesian Region

• Area: 214 km2

• Nearly 311,000 inhabitants • Strategic location between Poland (15 km

to the border) and Slovakia (50 km to the border)

• International Airport 25 km from the city centre

• Adjacent to the D1 highway and railway corridor

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History• Ostrava owes its name to the river Ostravice, which divides the city

into the Moravian and Silesian parts• 1267 – first mention of the town – in the testament of Bruno of

Schauenburg, bishop of Olomouc• 1763 – discovery of coal, revival of economic life• 1828 – setting up of steelworks, rapid growth of the agglomeration• 1918 (after the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic) – thanks

to its steelworks and coal mines, Ostrava gained an important economic position and slowly grew into an administration, social and cultural centre

• 1989 – major economic and political changes, restructuring of industry• 1994 – closing down of black coal mines in Ostrava

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Ostrava is changing• Industrial manufacture geared

exclusively towards heavy industry has subsided

• Ostrava is a green city – there is 30 m2 of greenery per inhabitant

• Original mines have been transformed into unique industrial monuments unlike anything else in the Czech Republic

• Ostrava is an entertainment Mecca and home to many international cultural and sporting events

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Technical monuments• Lower area of Vítkovice or the Hlubina

Mine, Blast Furnaces and Coking Plant of the Vítkovice Ironworks - a unique industrial complex listed as a European Cultural Heritage Site

• Michal Mine – national cultural monument, whose tour route enables visitors to walk in the footsteps of miners as they made their way down to work each day

• Landek park with the exposition of mining museum – the largest museum of its kind in the Czech Republic, offering visitors the chance to head down into the coal seam or examine the world’s largest mine rescue services exhibit

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Tourist attractions• Silesian-Ostrava Castle• World of miniatures Miniuni• Fairytale Ghost Cellar• Zoo Ostrava• The Ostrava Museum• The Fire-fighting Museum of Ostrava• Brewery Museum• Zither Museum• Museum of Keltička the Blacksmith• Observatory and Planetarium of Johann

Palisa• Geological Pavilion of Professor F.

Pošepný• New City Hall Viewing Tower• Ema Slag Heap• Ostrava Sea Aquarium

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Architecture• numerous and varied architectural

styles – both historizing and modern• 4 urban monument zones – Moravská

Ostrava, Ostrava-Přívoz, Ostrava-Vítkovice and Ostrava-Poruba

• churches – Church of St. Wenceslas (oldest in Ostrava), Cathedral of the Devine Saviour, wooden Church of St. Catherine, Church of St. Paul, Evangelist Church

• Buildings built by famous architects (Mendelsohn, Kotas, Sitte, Hilbert, Korner, Gočár …)

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EntertainmentStodolní – the street that never sleeps• over 60 bars and clubs with

various themes• center of entertainment and

nightlife

Not just Stodolní• There are several fantastic places

found off of Stodolní street, like clubs (ex. Parník, Fabric, Atlantic), coffee shops (ex. Beseda, Daniel, Minikino kavárna, Sedmé nebe) and entertainment centers (ex. Zuzana, Alexandria, Koruna)

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Culture• Fantastic festivals and cultural

events~ The International Janáček’s May

Festival ~ The Spectaculo Interesse Puppet

Festival~ The International Colours of

Ostrava Music Festival

• 5 theatres, 1 world-class puppet theatre

• several galleries (Ostrava House of Fine Arts, Beseda, Chagall, etc.)

• The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra

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Sport • Sport event of international

importance~ The Golden Spike Ostrava

International Athletics Championship~ Davis Cup~ Ice Hockey World Championship in

2004 and many others• Multi-purpose sports halls, tennis

courts, squash clubs, indoor/outdoor swimming-pools, horse riding

• The largest natural swimming pool in the country

• 5 golf courses close to the city• The Beskydy Mountains and the

Jeseníky Mountains

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Nature • Protected Landscape Area Poodří• National Nature Reserve Polanská Niva• Landek National Natural Monument• Nature Reserve Rezavka• Štěpán Pond Nature Reserve • Nature Reserve Přemyšov• Nature Reserve Turkov• Ema Slag Heap• Wandering boulders• hiking, cycling and water routes

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Accommodations• wide and diverse range of

accommodations facilities • 4* hotels (Clarion Congress

Hotel, Brioni, Hotel Park Inn, Ruby blue, Jan Maria, Zámek Zábřeh, MaMaison Business&Conference Hotel Imperial, Hotel Mercure Ostrava Center)

• 1 - 3* hotels• guesthouses, boarding

houses, hotel houses, dormitories

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Incentives, conferences, exhibitions• long exhibition tradition• venue for holding many workshops,

seminars, conferences and congresses (ex. Investment & Business Forum, the international congress TICCIH, Transport, etc.)

• many places to choose from for conferences and exhibitions:

~ Black Meadow Exhibition Grounds~ ČEZ ARENA~ Technical University of Ostrava

auditorium~ Landek park with the exposition of

mining museum~ hotels and houses of culture

• Project for a hall with 1,500 person capacity in former gas container of the so-called Lower area of Vítkovice

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Transport• The Czech Republic’s north-eastern

hub for transportation and logistics• Leoš Janáček Ostrava International

Airport (25 km from the city centre) ~ The largest regional airport in the Czech

Republic~ regular travel links

• The D1 highway ~ part of TEN’s Multiple Mode Corridor

No. VI, ~ a north-south link from the Czech-

Polish border, through Ostrava to the D1 highway to Brno

~ the D1 highway will join up with the Polish A1 motorway through Katowice – Gdaňsk and on to Helsinki

• Important railway hub for both regional and international trains

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Shopping• Moravian Silesian Region

shopping center

• several shopping malls and plazas (ex. Avion Shopping Park, OC Futurum, OC Galerie)

• shopping zone in the city center

• hypermarkets, specialized shops

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Summary• 3rd largest city in the Czech Republic• Rich mining history – today’s unique technical monuments• Tourist attractions• Architectural wonders• Entertainment centers• Numerous sports opportunities and international competitions• Nature• Wide range of accommodation facilities• Venue for workshops, seminars, conferences and congresses • The Czech Republic’s north-eastern hub for transportation and

logistics• Moravian Silesian Region shopping center

www.ostrava.cz

www.ostrava.cz