page_title: Ostrava
section_title: Other tourist attractions
hierarchical_section_title: Ostrava / Culture / Other tourist attractions
caption_attribution_description: English: Town hall in Ostrava
context_page_description: Ostrava is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It is 15 km from the border with Poland, at the meeting point of four rivers: the Odra, Opava, Ostravice and Lučina. In terms of both population and area Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic, the second largest city in Moravia, and the largest city in Czech Silesia. It straddles the border of the two historic provinces of Moravia and Silesia. The population is almost 300,000 people. The wider conurbation – which also includes the towns of Bohumín, Doubrava, 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 centre. It was previously known as the country's "steel heart" thanks to its status as a coal-mining and metallurgical centre, but since the Velvet Revolution 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.
context_section_description: Ostrava’s New City Hall (Czech: Nová radnice) has the tallest tower of any city hall in the Czech Republic, with a viewing platform 73 metres above ground providing a panoramic view of the city.
  Comenius Gardens (Czech: Komenského sady) is a park in the city centre named after the Renaissance-era Czech writer and educator Jan Amos Comenius, and the site of a statue honouring the Soviet soldiers who liberated Ostrava in 1945.
  The Miniuni World of Miniatures, located at the Black Meadow (Černá Louka) exhibition grounds, features miniature versions of famous buildings from around the world, including the Pyramids, Eiffel Tower, and Big Ben.
  The fairytale clock at Ostrava's Puppet Theatre features figurines which perform a show at two-hour intervals from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The performance lasts two minutes. It depicts a battle between Kasper the clown and the Grim Reaper, and it also features four other characters – an angel, a king, a queen, and a devil.
  The Silesian Ostrava Castle, close to Masaryk Square, once stood on higher ground, but over time it has sunk by 16 metres due to mine tunnels collapsing underneath it. The castle is located at the confluence of the Lučina and Ostravice rivers. The castle is the venue for the summer Shakespeare festival, among other events.
  Stodolní Street is the city's entertainment district, with more than 60 bars, clubs, restaurants and cafés.
  Masaryk Square (Czech: Masarykovo náměstí) is located in Ostrava's historical centre and has a plague column with a figure of the Virgin Mary (1702) and a Baroque statue of St Florian, the patron saint of firefighters. There is a series of commemorative paving stones that starts outside the Laso shopping mall, as well as the Schönhof building, known as "the house with seven doors", and the Reisz building designed by the Viennese architect Wunibald Deininger.
  The Karolina Triple Hall (Czech: Trojhalí) is an urban space located next to the Forum Nová Karolina shopping mall. These large historic buildings – formerly part of the Karolina coking plant – have been transformed by the architect Josef Pleskot into a new venue for sports, entertainment and culture.
  Ostrava Zoo is the second largest zoo in the Czech Republic and home to more than 400 different species of animals. In 2014 a new safari park was built, and in 2015 the zoo opened a new pavilion illustrating the process of evolution.
  Lower Vítkovice preserves a historic blast furnace and has a glass elevator to the newly built viewing platform at the top, with panoramic views of Ostrava and the surrounding countryside. There are guided tours describing Vítkovice's history. The blast furnace, the former power station, compressor hall and coal mine are open to the public. The former gas holder has been repurposed into a multi-functional hall called the Gong.
  Ema slag-heap, on the right bank of the Ostravice River, is an artificial hill created by piling up slag, or waste material from coal mines. Its top is 315 metres (1,033 ft) above sea level. It has a subtropical micro-climate because the waste material is still burning deep beneath the surface. White smoke comes out of cracks in the ground. Snow never settles here, and flowers grow all year round. A yellow-marked hiking path leads to the top, from where there are panoramic views of the city.
  The city has developed a mobile app called The Salomon Code, which helps users learn about Ostrava's history based around the story of Baron Rothschild.
caption: New Town Hall
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