Dolní oblast Vítkovic is expected to attract 200,000 visitors this year

Ostrava - The highest number of national cultural monuments per square kilometer in the Moravian-Silesian Region can be found in the Lower Vítkovice area of Ostrava. On an area of 11 hectares, there are five of them - a blast furnace, the Hlubina mine, a gas holder, the Vítkovice coke plant, and the 6th distribution center. The long-neglected industrial complex is reopening this year in a new guise. This time, however, for tourists and lovers of technical monuments. The operators believe that more than 200,000 visitors will come to the steel giants this year.
    The cultural heritage area has undergone significant changes. The no. 1 blast furnace has become a museum describing the production of iron. Visitors can enjoy the view of Ostrava from the observation platform. They can reach the top using a special skip lift, which once transported materials upwards. Since March 20, hundreds of people have already visited the furnace.
    "We will open the entire complex on May 1. We plan to have an open house day in the still-functioning industrial halls. In addition, the reconstruction of the gas holder will be completed, turning it into a congress and cultural center. On that day alone, we expect more than 30,000 visitors," said Eva Kijonková, spokesperson for Vítkovice Machinery Group, to ČTK. She added that interest from foreign guests has also increased. "For example, we have a group of tourists from the USA scheduled for May," she stated.
    The entire project is backed by the chairman of the supervisory board of the Lower Vítkovice association and CEO of Vítkovice engineering Jan Světlík. "We will showcase the magnificent architecture of the Lower Vítkovice area in all its beauty, presenting its unique atmosphere, where the industrial charm of the past meets the promise of a new future," Světlík previously stated to ČTK.
    The European Union has contributed 500 million crowns to restore the technical monuments in the Lower area. Another 600 million crowns will be allocated for the construction of the World of Technology. In the future, the area will be financed from three sources. One-third of the funds will be provided by members of the eponymous association, another part will come from grants and subsidies from the city or region. The third part of the funds operators aim to earn from entrance fees, rentals, and other services.
    The Moravian-Silesian Region has a whole range of national cultural monuments. Often, these are technical monuments, such as the M 290.001 Slovak Arrow railway motor car in Kopřivnice in the Nový Jičín region or the former coal mine Michal in Ostrava-Michálkovice. Others are associated with World War II, including the memorial to the partisan movement in Morávka, the memorial to the victims of Nazi terror in Havířov, and the memorial to the Red Army in Ostrava.
    There are also historical buildings - the castle in Bruntál, the former laundry building in Krnov, the birthplace of František Palacký in Hodslavice in Nový Jičín, the castle in Hradec nad Moravicí, and the chapel of St. Cross in Opava.