Lower Vítkovice is a unique example of industrial architecture and how to change a derelict mining complex into a thriving cultural center. Every year one of the biggest music events in the Czech Republic takes place here – the
Colours of Ostrava Festival. In the future, the former coking plant could become a library and the area a college campus. Today Vítkovice is topped off with
Bolt Tower.
In the shape of fire and bearing the name of a record holder
The tower was built on top of blast furnace 1 and rises 25 meters. Visitors in the glazed superstructure can therefore view the surroundings
from a height of nearly 78 meters. In addition to the café, they will find multifunctional spaces and a club inside – all part of the tour route of the furnace. Fire always burned over it and the
today flames are recalled by the shape of the newly built structure. Another interesting point is the name of the tower –
it was blessed by Jamaican athlete, record holder, world champion and Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, who has looked around Ostrava several times while there for the international athletic meet Golden Spike.
And that’s really not all in Ostrava
Ostrava has long since left its reputation as an ugly industrial city behind and is becoming a rather
sexy destination, where people go for culture, entertainment, sports and science. This includes the part of the
World of Technology located in the above-mentioned Lower Vítkovice complex. Ostrava is not ashamed of its mining past and you can learn everything about at
Landek Museum,
which is the largest in the Czech Republic. If you would like to know more about what it means to be a miner, go to
Michal Mine, a national cultural monument, which has appeared in several films. You can also take your children to see the
zoo in Ostrava and its renowned elephant pavilion. No children are required to party on
Stodolní Street, where the parties and bars have long made it known, even outside Ostrava, as the
place that never sleeps.
