<MUSEum+ requests a grant for an industrial museum in the area of the Ostrava blast furnaces>

Ostrava - MUSEum+, a state cultural organization based in Ostrava, has submitted a grant application from the Operational Program for Just Transformation. With an amount of about 1.3 billion crowns, a museum representing the industrial past, present, and future of Ostrava is to be created from blast furnaces 4 and 6, which are part of a national cultural monument. Jakub Jareš, head of the museum's expert department, communicated this to ČTK. The transformation of the industrial complex is proposed by architect Josef Pleskot, who has already worked on several projects in the Lower Vítkovice area of Ostrava.

Nearly 19 billion crowns are designated for the region in the transformation program. So far, about ten projects have applied for the funds. Financing has already been approved, for example, in the case of the Ostrava Black Cube - Center for Digitization, Science, and Innovation, which will also serve as the headquarters of the Moravian-Silesian Scientific Library.

Deputy Governor Lukáš Curylo (KDU-ČSL) told ČTK that the demands of individual projects already significantly exceed the allocated funds. "Only those projects that meet all the conditions and are capable of being realized by 2027 will be supported. Even now, without MUSEum+, the project call for strategic projects is approximately 135 percent filled," he said. If the Ústí and Karlovy Vary regions do not use their allocations, according to Curylo, there will be the possibility to transfer these funds to the Moravian-Silesian region.

"The submission of the grant application was preceded by the signing of a memorandum with the owner of the furnaces, Vítkovice, regarding a mutual intent to sell. If MUSEum+ is successful with the application, it will purchase the blast furnaces during 2024 and start their transformation. The new museum should welcome its first visitors in 2028," Jareš stated.

MUSEum+ is now waiting for a 120-day approval process, during which the State Environmental Fund will evaluate the application. The fund will assess both the substantive and economic aspects of the project. "Unlike the original plans, the project will be significantly cheaper. Instead of 1.8 billion crowns, the budget is now estimated at 1.3 billion crowns. This amount includes the project, the reconstruction of the monument, the creation of exhibitions, and the museum's interior equipment. 85 percent of this amount should be covered by a contribution from the European Union," he added.

According to him, architect Pleskot proposes a solution for MUSEum+ that maximally respects the national cultural monument and enriches it with modern solutions. Exhibitions and storage areas are placed in a newly created basement, where the foundations of the blast furnaces will also be revealed. A foyer, spaces for temporary exhibitions, education, and conferences will be created on the ground floor. Audiovisual exhibitions are planned to be installed in the large casting hall. "The goal of the industrial museum is to show in an attractive way the transformations and significance of industry for the life of our civilization and to open questions about its present and future," he added.

Blast furnaces 4 and 6 are part of the national cultural monument Důl Hlubina and the blast furnaces and coke plant of the Vítkovice Ironworks. A blast furnace is a closed system for producing pig iron. Three blast furnaces have been preserved in the Lower Vítkovice area. The nearly 80-meter high Blast Furnace No. 1 has been reconstructed, on which a multifunctional extension with a lookout tower and café was built in 2015 according to the design by architect Josef Pleskot. MUSEum+ is the youngest contributory organization of the Ministry of Culture, which was established in 2021 with the task of preparing a project for the preservation of the blast furnaces.