Ostrava

Ostrava {{Audio|Cs-Ostrava.ogg|listen}} (German: Ostrau, Polish: Ostrawa) is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It is located at the junction of the Ostravice, Oder and Opava rivers. Its history and growth were largely affected by exploitation and further usage of the high quality black coal deposits discovered in the locality, giving the town a look of an industrial city and a nickname of the ?steel heart of the republic? during the communist era of Czechoslovakia. Many of the heavy industry companies are being closed down or transformed nowadays.

Geography and climate

Ostrava is located in the north-eastern tip of Czech Republic, very close to the Polish (15km) and Slovak (55km) borders. It spreads over the northern part of the natural north-south valley called the Moravian gate (Moravská brána) with the average elevation of around 210m above the sea level.

Related Topics:
Polish - Slovak - Sea level

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The local climate is temperate with warm summers and cold, cloudy, humid winters. Due to the easterly position of the city the continental climate influences are slightly more prominent compared to the rest of the country. The yearly average of temperature is 8.6°C (January: -2.4°, July: 17.8°), the yearly rainfall is around 600mm.

Related Topics:
Climate - Temperate - Continental climate - Rainfall

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