Ostrava's Trojhalí Karolina opens to the public

Ostrava - The reconstructed historically protected industrial buildings of the Ostrava Trojhalí Karolina are opening to the public today. The former electrical central station and double-nave power plant will serve as sports facilities and a covered square, said Jan Rušaj, business and marketing manager of the Trojhalí Karolina interest association, to journalists. The operation of the monument will begin this afternoon with a ceremonial opening, which will include a concert by singer-songwriter Jarek Nohavica and the brass band Karolinka.
    "Public events will be organized not only by the Trojhalí Karolina association, but of course, the space will be available and we will try to support anyone who wants to bring some activity here. Whether it be concerts, exhibitions, fairs, car shows, or motor shows," Rušaj stated. The space will also serve as a city gallery.
    Next week, the Trojhalí will host the Festival in the Streets, which is a accompanying program of the Colours of Ostrava festival. The sports facility will be officially opened in the first week of August. "We will have six courts, which will be the basic units of the sports facility. They will be named Kurt Gebauer, Kurt Vonnegut, Courtney Love, Courtney Cox, Kurt Russell, and Kurt Cobain. The only one in reach is architect and sculptor Kurt Gebauer, and he will be one of the personalities helping us open the facility and will come to play as one of the first," Rušaj said. An event called Tasting Trojhalí is planned for September, which should introduce all possible activities that can be conducted in Trojhalí.
    The Trojhalí spaces should be accessible to the public even when there are no organized events, so people will be able to come to the covered square to skate, for example.
    The industrial buildings on the revitalized site of the former Karolina coking plant are somewhat of a center between the historical downtown and the industrial Lower Vítkovice area, which has been transforming into a new cultural and social center in recent years. The design for the reconstruction of Trojhalí comes from prominent Czech architect Josef Pleskot, who has already contributed to the transformation of the former Gas Holder into the multifunctional hall Gong or the design of the upcoming Science and Technology World. "Trojhalí will be another significant industrial monument in Ostrava that will not only be preserved as a museum but will find new contemporary and publicly beneficial uses," Pleskot believes.
    The covered square, corresponding in size to Ostrava's central Masaryk Square, has an area of 4,500 square meters and a capacity of 4,800 people. The building, featuring two areas with a wooden floor, occupies 1,600 square meters. Both buildings are connected by an underground passage that contains all the necessary facilities, such as restrooms and changing rooms. The reconstruction of the buildings took about two years and cost 170 million crowns excluding VAT, with the majority of the costs covered by a European grant.