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.

Industry and coal mines

Some of the largest Czech industrial concerns lie in the city of Ostrava. The Vítkovice ironworks, located in the suburb of the same name near the city center, concentrates on metallurgy and machine engineering. It was established in 1828 and nowadays, after nearly two hundred years of existence, it is undergoing a major transformation. The oldest part of the concern, called "Dolní oblast" (the "Bottom area"), was closed down and there is an ongoing debate whether this area should be preserved and opened up as an industrial open-air museum or torn down. Nová hu? (the "New ironworks", established in 1951) is another key metallurgical combine in Ostrava.

Related Topics:
Czech - Metallurgy - Engineering - 1828 - 1951

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Contrary to the popular belief among Czechs, Ostrava is not a mining town anymore - all its mines have been closed since the end of Communism.

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