Gallery of Mayors
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Hermann ZwierzinaMining engineer and businessman, served as mayor 1861-1864 The first elected mayor of Moravian Ostrava was Hermann Zwierzina (1825-1873), elected on February 14, 1861. He was also a representative to the Moravian Provincial Assembly in Brno. He struggled to establish a secondary school in Moravian Ostrava. In 1862, he became the co-founder of the Czech organization the Civic Association. |
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Alois AnderkaOwner of a freight company, served as mayor 1864-1873 Alois Anderka (1825-1886) began his function as mayor in 1864. During the Austrian-Prussian War he saved the city from extensive war taxes. He pushed through a convenient location for the railway station of Ostrava-Frýdland railroad. In 1868, he managed to get a permit to establish a main school enabling pupils (aged 10 and up) to prepare for studies at secondary schools. In 1870, new gas lighting was established and two years later the construction of a new water main system was started. |
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Konstantin GrünwaldShopkeeper of a shop with piece goods, served as mayor 1873 - 1880 In 1873, Konstantin Grünwald (1831-1918) became the first Czech elected to the office of mayor before 1918. He was a co-establisher of “Matice Ostravská” [Ostrava Association] in 1875. He was chairman of a number of Czech guilds, the first director of the Moravian Ostrava Savings Bank and founder of a German preparatory school in 1877. He established the Czech language for official communication. Due to disputes with the council he decided to resign in 1880. |
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Anton LuxShop owner of a miscellaneous goods shop, served as mayor 1880-1888 Anton Lux (1837-1889) was chosen to be Konstantin Grünwald’s successor. He expended an enormous amount of effort during the cleanup caused by the catastrophic flood of 1880. He initiated the construction of the Cathedral of the Devine Saviour, and in 1884 construction was begun on an epidemic hospital in the Fifejdy district. |
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Adalbert JohannyDoctor of chemistry and pharmacist, owner of the U Zlaté Koruny pharmacy, served as mayor 1888-1901 In 1888, Dr. Adalbert Johanny (1846-1919) was elected mayor. He was also a representative to the Moravian Provincial Assembly in Brno. In 1890, the municipal water company was set up in Nová Ves. He participated in the establishment cultural and political centres for the individual nationalities of the town – the Czech National House (1894), German House (1895) and Polish House (1900). In 1894, the running of the first streetcar line, the Moravská Ostrava-Mariánské Hory, was launched. He performed his duty as mayor till 1900, after which he was succeeded by his deputy Dr. Gustav Fiedler.
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Gustav FiedlerDoctor of law, attorney, served as mayor 1901-1918 Gustav Fiedler (1849-1936) was elected mayor in 1901. In 1904, he pushed for the establishment of the Industry and Trade Museum in Moravian Ostrava. The hotel Imperial was built in 1906 and in 1907 the Municipal Theatre, in which only German performances were held. In 1914, a new steel bridge (now called the Miloš Sýkora Bridge) crossing the Ostravice River was opened for traffic. On April 18, 1913, the city council decided to purchase land for the construction of a new city hall building. Construction was halted due to the First World War. Gustav Fiedler relinquished his position as mayor in the spring of 1918. |
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Johann Ulrich
The last mayor of Moravian Ostrava under the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was Johann Ulrich (1861-1920). He was forced to step down on December 17, 1918. |
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Jan ProkešShoemaker, later an editor and a politician for the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party, served as mayor 1918-1935 In December 1918, on behalf of the Czechoslovak nation, the National Committee took over the management of the city. The head of the city’s administration was the authorized governmental commissioner Jan Prokeš (1873-1935), representative to the Moravian Provincial Assembly in Brno, the Austrian Parliament, Chamber of Deputies of the National Assembly of the Czechoslovak Republic and vice chairman of the Czechoslovak plebiscite committee for the Tešín Region. He pushed for the formation of a so-called “Greater Ostrava”, joining the municipalities of Hrabůvka, Mariánské Hory, Nová Ves, Přívoz, Vítkovice and Zábřeh nad Odrou in 1924 and making the Moravian Ostrava district the political and economic centre of Ostrava. In 1925, a crematorium was built, as well as a town savings bank in 1928, and a swimming pool in Hulváky in 1929. Almost all households in Ostrava were connected to the municipal water distribution system. The construction of the new City Hall building has been linked to Jan Prokeš and his term as mayor. In 1923, it was he who decided to invite the tender for the project. Construction began on April 20, 1925, and both wings were finished in 1930. The New City Hall was officially opened on October 28, 1930. |
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Josef ChalupníkFoundryman, later an official of the professional unions, served as mayor 1935-1939 In 1935, Josef Chalupník (1884-1944), a senator and representative of the National Assembly, succeeded Jan Prokeš. He continued pushing for the interests of the city and region of Ostrava and sharply criticized the marginalization from Prague. He managed to push through the construction of the Co-op Colony of Detached and Tenement Houses in Vítkovice. |
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Josef HinnerDoctor of Law, attorney, served as a mayor 1939-1940 Dr. Josef Hinner was appointed mayor by the German Protectorate administration after the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the German army on March 16, 1939. (1899-1951). Due to his being too moderate toward Czech officials, however, he was dismissed from the position of mayor in 1940. |
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Emil BeierCarpenter, later became SS Sturmbannführer, served as mayor 1940-1945 The military top official Emil Beier (1893-1985) replaced Dr. Hinner. He initiated the annexation of the 12 following municipalities into Moravian Ostrava: Heřmanice, Hrabová, Hrušov, Kunčice, Kunčičky, Michálkovice, Muglinov, Nová Bělá, Radvanice, Silesian Ostrava, Stará Bělá and Výškovice. He established the Archive of Mining History and Industry in the Ostrava Region and expanded the public transportation network. |
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Josef LampaMachinist, served as a mayor May 2 – 22, 1945 After the Liberation, Josef Lampa (1893-1977) was appointed for a short period of time as chairman of the National Committee. His task was to ensure the functioning of the city and to restore the public administration after the end of WWII.
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Josef KotasCarpenter, served as mayor 1945-1960 The provisional state ended with the election of a new mayor, Josef Kotas, who served simultaneously as the chairman of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia between 1945 -1951. Matters regarding post-war restoration of the city were dealt with under his leadership. Construction began of neighbourhoods in Hrabůvka, Zábřeh and Poruba. The region witnessed huge development in heavy industry. In 1951 the construction of Nová Huť (New Iron-mill) was started. In 1945, the Mining College was moved from Příbram to Ostrava and in 1959 the Pedagogical Institute was opened. During his term of office convents and monasteries were demolished and friars and nuns were deported (March 13 – 14, 1950). A number of cultural institutions were established, such as the Petr Bezruč Theatre (1945), Music Theatre (1951), Puppet Theatre (1953) and The State Scientific Library (1951). |
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Jan BuchvaldekMineworker, later became a union and political official, served as mayor 1960-1964 In 1960, a representative to the National Assembly of the Czechoslovak Republic, Jan Buchvaldek (1903-1983), became mayor. During this period the historical city centre underwent insensitive redevelopment (for example, the plague column and the fountain on today’s Masaryk Square were removed and a statue of a militiaman was erected). An exhibition ground was built on Černá Louka (Black Meadow), where an exhibition entitled Ostrava – For A Socialist Environment was held each year. |
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Josef KempnýCivil engineer, served as mayor 1964-1968 Ing. Josef Kempný, CSc. (1920-1996), representative and later chairman of the Czech National Council, prime minister of the Czechoslovak Republic and deputy prime minister of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, became mayor in 1964. He focused attention on the construction and reconstruction of the city centre and to figuring out how to mine coal from under the middle of the city. He continued the intensive construction of housing estate complexes in Poruba and Zábřeh. |
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Zdeněk KupkaIng. Zdeněk Kupka (1924-1994) was elected mayor in 1968, and from 1969 as the first mayor of Ostrava as a newly incorporated city. He was a hard-line post-invasion Normalizer. Construction of housing estates continued without suitable civic facilities, even in the blighted area in the vicinity of the city centre (Fifejdy, Šalomouna). |
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Eduard FoltýnOriginally a bricklayer, later doctor of political science, served as mayor 1971-1986 RSDr. Eduard Foltýn (1925-1992) served as city mayor from 1971. He participated in the design of the new city ground plan for Ostrava authorized by the government in 1980, implemented reconstruction of the city’s road network, construction of a new bridge over the railway tracks in Svinov and a bridge over the Ostrava-Frýdlant railway tracks. Insensitive redevelopment of the buildings in the city centre continued, including Velká Street, the so-called “Lauby” (an archway where many pubs were located), the buildings on Masaryk Square, and demolished the crematorium. Construction of the regional hospital in Poruba was started. |
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Bedřich LipinaOriginally a locksmith, later mechanical engineer, served as mayor 1986-1989 In 1986, Ing. Bedřich Lipina (1932-1995) was elected mayor. During his term construction began on a new central sewage treatment plant in Přívoz and on a municipal waste converting plant in Kunčice, and the power plant in Třebovice was expanded. |
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Lubomír VejrEconomist, served as mayor in 1989-1990 Lubomír Vejr was elected mayor on December 13, 1989. However, he only stayed on as head of the city for an interim period of time, until March 9, 1990. |
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Jiří SmejkalArchitect, served as a mayor in 1990-1993 After he was elected, Ing. arch. Jiří Smejkal (1939) participated in the founding of Ostrava University, a secondary grammar school for foreign languages, the establishment of the branch offices of the Alliance Francaise and the British Council. He worked in the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic, initiated the establishment of the advisory board of the first mayors of statutory cities (1992), the Association of the Villages of Upper Silesia and Northern Moravia and the Regional Development Agency (1993). He managed to get the city integrated into international cooperation on the regional level within the Ouverture Program. He served as mayor until November 24, 1993.
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Evžen TošenovskýSystems engineer, served as mayor 1993-2001 In November 24, 1993, Ing. Evžen Tošenovský (1956) was elected mayor by the municipal authority. He played a major role in creating of the Emergency Call Centre, and was chairman of the Council of Statutory Town Mayors and Association of Municipalities in Upper Silesia and North Moravia. With great personal commitment, he took part in solving problems during the Flood of 1997 and of the clean up of the damage inflicted by it. The Puppet Theatre of Ostrava was built on a green field site, extensive reconstruction of the Antonín Dvořák Theatre was carried out, the transportation situation was resolved at the thoroughfare in Vítkovice by the construction of a four-lane expressway and Poděbradova Street was repaired – including construction of a collector road. Reconstruction was started on the Dopravní Podnik Ostrava a.s. tram depot on Křivá Street in the city centre. He gave up his post as mayor on January 31, 2001, after being elected Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region. |
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Čestmír VlčekMechanical engineer, served as mayor 2001-2002 Ing. Čestmír Vlček (1953), the existing deputy mayor responsible for the Department of the Environment, Water Management and Agriculture, became mayor at the end of the election period. During his stewardship, the Men’s European Volleyball Championships were held, the most state-of-the-art tram depot in the Czech Republic was opened on Křivá Street, City Spa Ostrava on Sokolská Avenue was made accessible to the public after reconstruction; the city acquired The Palace of Culture and Sport Vítkovice, the Ledňáček hockey hall and the athletic and football stadium SSK Vítkovice. The Village of Coexistence was opened in Ostrava-Muglinov, a multi-purpose exhibition hall in Černá Louka was opened and an agreement was signed about partnership and co-operation between Ostrava and the American city of Pittsburgh. |
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Aleš ZedníkEconomist, served as mayor 2002-2006 (*1958) he was elected mayor on November 13, 2002. During his term the Centrum collector (sewer system project) was completed, the multi-purpose Ostrava Science & Technology Park (VTP) building was opened, serving as an innovative, service and cultural centre for the whole area of VTP, reconstruction of the ČEZ Aréna, the Silesian-Ostrava Castle, the Ostrava Museum, the Church of St. Wenceslas in Moravian Ostrava, new management of the Ostrava Municipal Hospital, Ostrava City Library, Chamber Theatre Aréna, construction of the burnt church of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Hrabová was completed (whose restoration received significant contribution from the city’s own budget), and the Ostrava-Jih Water Park was built. Reconstruction and new construction were completed on the Ostrava-Svinov train station, making it the most modern in the Czech Republic. Land in Karolina where a new city centre is to be constructed was sold to the company Multi Veste Czech Republic 5, s.r.o. following its winning of a developer’s procurement proceedings. The city also accepted an external source of financing in the form of bonds valued at EUR 100 mil. Lessons began at the 1st International School of Ostrava. His term is also associated with momentous sporting events like the victory of FC Baník Ostrava in the first football league, organizing the Ice Hockey World Championship and the European Futsal Championship. He was also one of the initiators of the Ostrava Says YES to the European Union campaign that preceded the referendum on entering the EU. |
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Petr KajnarCybernetics Engineer. Served as mayor 2006-2014. (*1956) His first term as Mayor of Ostrava was from 8 November 2006 to 9 November 2010, after which he was re-elected for a second term in office. As the Deputy Mayor with responsibility for investment (a post which he held from 2002 – 2006) he was responsible for the establishing and developing the industrial zones at Hrabová and Mošnov, which generated around 10,000 new jobs in the period up to 2010. He is a major supporter of university education, science and technology in Ostrava: under his tenure, the city has invested around 150 million CZK in the development of its universities, helping to establish a new Medical Faculty and develop the Science and Technology Park. The New Karolina quarter, a pioneering new extension to Ostrava’s historical city centre, began to take shape during Mayor Kajnar’s first term in office. He was an active supporter of Ostrava’s bid to become European Capital of Culture 2015. He also supported the establishment of the Black Meadow Cluster and oversaw the completion of the extension to Ostrava’s Puppet Theatre. He introduced a system of combined electronic procurement for companies owned by the city, which has helped the city manage its budgets more effectively. He also introduced a unified and coordinated visual brand style for Ostrava’s public presentations. |
