City of Ostrava celebrates 750 years
This year is very important to Ostrava - in autumn, it will be the three quarters of a millennium anniversary of the first written mention of the city contained in the last will of Olomouc Bishop Bruno. So despite the fact that the site has been inhabited since prehistoric times, the date 29 November 1267 is considered the symbolic day of the founding of Ostrava.
City of Ostrava together with the Ostrava City Museum, Archives of the City of Ostrava and other city companies have prepared large and small exhibitions, publications, concerts, an interactive game, a historical market, competitions for young and old and many other events, which will take place throughout the year and will remember the rich Ostrava's history in a dignified and attractive manner. Smaller-scale projects carried out by various entities and aiming at enriching the celebrations were supported with a grant from the City of Ostrava.
Citizens as well as visitors to the city will certainly find something that will intrigue them. One of the most important parts of the celebrations of the anniversary - the exhibition held in the Ostrava City Museum called Ostrava's Unseen Story - will last until the beginning of July. It will present not only the most important historical documents related to the city, but also many items that usually remain hidden from public.
The celebrations join traditional Ostrava events, such as Festival in the Streets, the International Archives Day or Ostrava Museum Night. Medieval market and jousting tournaments will take place in the city centre and at the Silesian Ostrava Castle in the beginning of September. Attention will certainly be centred also on human pyramids made of Catalan acrobats during an event called European History in Ostrava Streets.
Publications will also be noteworthy. In a publication called Ostrava. Origins and Evolution of the Medieval City, historians, archaeologists and preservationists remind us of Ostrava's heyday in the High Middle Ages. Its significance in the 13th and 14th centuries is supported by the facts that it was granted market right by King Charles IV. or that it had its own seal and a coat of arms.
You can learn more about the anniversary, history of Ostrava and different events on the city website http://ostrava750.cz/.