Natives of Ostrava
We have included around eighty personalities from various fields of human activity in the gallery of Ostrava natives. We have tried not to forget anyone who was born within the boundaries of today's statutory city of Ostrava and left a significant mark in their field. And so, for example, film star Vlastimil Brodský, director Věra Chytilová, opera singer Beno Blachut, writer Zdeněk Jirotka, composer Ilja Hurník, soldier Robert Matula, and architect Felix Neumann are all featured here. Many of the city's natives, such as film producer Karel Reisz, tennis player Ivan Lendl, plastic surgeon Bohdan Pomahač, and others, have made Ostrava known around the world.
Theatre, Film, Television
Bednář Václav(1905 Ostrava – 1987 Prague) Opera singer. After engagements in theatres in Ostrava and Brno, he was a soloist at the National Theatre in Prague (1945–1972), a renowned baritone, and a sought-after performer of roles in the operas of Bedřich Smetana. |
 |
Blachut Beno(1913 Vítkovice – 1985 Prague) Opera singer. A trained boilermaker who studied at the Prague Conservatory, he performed in Olomouc and, from 1941, became one of the most frequently cast tenors in the operas of Smetana and Dvořák at the National Theatre. |
 |
Brodský Vlastimil(1920 Hrušov – 2002 Slunečná) Film and stage actor. Appeared in films such as Kam čert nemůže, Rozmarné léto, Světáci, Noc na Karlštejně, Babí léto, among others, as well as in TV films and series including Uspořená libra, F. L. Věk, Arabela, Pan Tau, Tažní ptáci, and more. |
 |
Budínová Slávka(1924 Heřmanice – 2002 Prague) Film and stage actress. After engagements in Ostrava, from 1960 she was part of the E. F. Burian Theatre. Film roles include Anna Proletářka, Ženu ani květinou neuhodíš, Hry lásky šálivé, Bouřlivé víno, and others. |
 |
Čejka Jaroslav(1936 Ostrava) Mime, dancer, and actor. Engaged in Opava, Ostrava, and Plzeň; from 1961, part of the National Theatre Ballet. Also became well known for performances in television entertainment programs and films, including Alibi na vodě and Buldoci a třešně. |
 |
Etzler Miroslav(1964 Ostrava) Film and theater actor. A graduate of JAMU, he performed in theaters in Brno, Ostrava, and at the National Theatre. Film roles include Čas sluhů and Bestiář; TV series include Pojišťovna štěstí, Soukromé pasti, and Cesty domů. |
 |
Fiala Karel(1925 Hrušov – 2020 Prague) Film and theater actor. A trained chimney sweep who studied at the conservatory, he performed at the National Theatre and the Karlín Musical Theatre. He became especially famous for the title role in the iconic film Limonádový Joe. |
 |
Gabzdyl Emerich(1908 Vítkovice – 1993 Ostrava) Dancer and choreographer. As a soloist, choreographer, and company director, he was one of the icons of the Ostrava theatre ballet (until 1970). At the end of his career, he became the ballet director of the National Theatre in Prague. |
 |
Chytilová Věra(1926 Ostrava – 2014 Prague) Film director. A leading figure of the so-called Czech New Wave in the 1960s. Notable films include Strop, Pytel blech, Sedmikrásky, Ovoce stromů rajských jíme, Hra o jablko, Kopytem sem, kopytem tam, Dědictví aneb Kurvahošigutentag, among others. |
 |
Jakoubková Eva(1952 Ostrava – 2005 Prague) Film and stage actress. Member of the Činoherní klub. Film and TV roles include Lásky mezi kapkami deště, Inženýrská odyssea, Synové a dcery Jakuba Skláře, Helimadoe, Tisícročná včela, among others. |
|
Javorský Vladimír(1962 Ostrava) Film and theater actor. Began his career at Divadlo na provázku, and since 1999 has been with the National Theatre. TV series (Vlak dětství a naděje, Největší z pierotů, etc.); film roles (Černí baroni, Báječná léta pod psa, Poupata, etc.). |
 |
Kniplová Naděžda(1932 Ostrava – 2020 Prague) Opera singer. Soloist at the National Theatre from 1941. Soprano, distinguished performer of Wagnerian roles, she achieved international recognition on stages in Salzburg, Barcelona, San Francisco, and others. |
|
Krajčo Richard(1932 Ostrava – 2020 Prague) Opera singer. Soloist at the National Theatre from 1941. Soprano, notable interpreter of Wagnerian roles, she performed on major international stages including Salzburg, Barcelona, and San Francisco. |
 |
Malý Ondřej(1966 Ostrava) Film and theatre actor. A graduate of the Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava, he made his first appearance in the TV series Přátelé zeleného údolí. He won the Czech Lion for the leading role in the film Pouta (2009). |
|
Pyško Alexej(1956 Ostrava) Film and theatre actor. He began his career in Český Těšín and Ostrava, and from 1988 has been at the National Theatre in Prague. He founded the Summer Shakespeare Festival and serves as the artistic director of Theatre Palace. |
 |
Reisz Karel(1926 Ostrava – 2002 London) Film director and producer. Thanks to Nicholas Winton, he escaped transport to a concentration camp in 1939. His film work includes Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, The Dog Soldiers, The French Mistress, and others. |
 |
Špaček Radim(1973 Ostrava) Film director, son of Václav Havel’s presidential spokesman, Ladislav Špaček. His best-known film is Pouta (Walking Too Fast), a political thriller set during the normalization period, which won the Czech Lion Award in 2009. |
 |
Šrubař Teodor(1917 Ostrava – 1979 Prague) Opera singer. In his youth, he sang in the Slezskoostravský choir Záboj and studied at the Conservatory in Brno. The baritone spent the longest part of his career at the National Theatre (1943–1979). |
Literature
Čelovský Bořivoj(1923 Heřmanice – 2008 Heřmanice) Publicist, historian, and philosopher. After 1948, he emigrated abroad, working in Germany and Canada. He returned to Ostrava in 1990. His works include The Munich Agreement, Politicians Without Power, and Guardian of the New Europe. |
 |
Daněk Oldřich(1927 Ostrava – 2000 Prague) Writer, playwright, and director. A graduate of DAMU, he worked, among others, at the Vinohrady Theatre in Prague. His novels and plays include The King Flees from Battle, Two on a Horse, One on a Donkey, and The Duchess of the Wallenstein Troops, among others. |
|
Filip Ota(1930 Slezská Ostrava – 2018 Garmisch-Partenkirchen) Writer. Originally a miner and later a journalist, he left his homeland due to his opposition to the August 1968 occupation. He settled in Germany, where he continued writing. His books include The Ascension of Lojza Lapáček from Slezská Ostrava and Café Slavia, among others. |
 |
Jabůrková Jožka(1896 Vítkovice – 1942 Ravensbrück) Journalist and writer. A social democrat and later a communist, she co-organized the Manin Spartakiad. Editor-in-chief of the magazine Rozsévačka, she perished in a Nazi concentration camp. |
|
Jirotka Zdeněk(1911 Ostrava – 2003 Prague) Writer. Originally a journalist, he became famous with his debut humorous novel Saturnin (1942). Other books include Muž se psem, Profesor biologie na chodníku, Sedmilháři, and Pravidla se změnila. |
 |
Radvanský Artur(1921 Radvanice – 2009 Prague), born Artur Tüberger, Holocaust survivor. He survived the horrors of Auschwitz and five other concentration camps. Served as a witness in trials of war criminals, author of the book And Yet I Survived, and lectured to young people in the Czech Republic and Germany. |
|
Šavrda Jaromír(1933 Ostrava – 1988 Ostrava) writer and dissident. A graduate of Charles University and journalist, he was dismissed from work and imprisoned for opposing the August 1968 occupation. His works include Stories from the Third Time and Travel Diary. |
 |
Šuleř Oldřich(1924 Přívoz – 2015 Ostrava), writer. During the war, he was subjected to forced labor at the Hubert Mine in Hrušov. A graduate of Charles University and recipient of the Kisch Prize, he wrote, among others: Chronicles in Granite, On Deer Legs, The White Horse in the Coat of Arms, Kind Likenesses, The Saga of the Chabal Family. |
 |
Weislitzová-Lustigová Věra(1927 Ostrava – 2009 Prague), writer and educator. The wife of writer Arnošt Lustig, she was imprisoned in Terezín during the war. She lived in Czechoslovakia, Israel, and the USA. Author of the poetry collection Daughters Olga and Lea and the short story The Dog from Klagenfurt. |
|
Závada Vilém(1905 Hrabová – 1982 Prague), writer, poet, and translator. From his poetry: Panychida, Siréna, Cesta pěšky, Hradní věž, Polní kvítí, Živote, díky. For children: Jdou vojáci, jdou, Mám rád svou maminku. |
 |
Classical music
Ceremuga Josef(1930 Kunčice – 2005 Prague) composer and music educator. As dean of the Music Faculty at the Academy of Performing Arts (AMU), he was particularly influenced by Moravian composers such as Janáček and Martinů. His works include the opera Juraj Čup, the oratorio Zpěv o lidské naději ("Song of Human Hope"), and ten orchestral compositions. |
 |
Hurník Ilja(1922 Poruba – 2013 Prague) composer, writer, and educator. As a pianist, he was renowned for his interpretations of Janáček and Debussy. He became widely known for his series The Art of Listening to Music. His written works include Childhood in Silesia, The Trumpeter of Jericho, and The Capitol Geese. |
 |
Kašpar Pavel(1960 Ostrava) Piano virtuoso known internationally as Paul Kaspar. He studied in Bratislava, Prague, and Munich, where he also lives and works. His wide repertoire includes works by A. Dvořák, B. Smetana, L. Janáček, B. Martinů, and others. |
 |
Kubín Rudolf(1909 Přívoz – 1973 Ostrava) Music composer and educator. An organizer of musical life, he was instrumental in the founding of the Janáček Philharmonic and the conservatory. Author of operettas Děvčátko z kolonie and Pasekáři, the opera Naši furianti, and the symphonic poem cycle Ostrava. |
 |
Mácha Otmar(1922 Mariánské Hory – 2006 Pardubice) Music composer and director. He worked at Czechoslovak Radio and, from 1962, focused on composition. His works include the operas Tarzanova smrt and Nenávistná láska, Moravian Folk Dances, and Symphonia Bohemorum. |
|
Scheit Karl(1909 Svinov – 1993 Vienna) Guitarist and educator. A professor at the Vienna Music Academy, he was nicknamed the “Austrian Segovia” after the famous Spanish guitarist. Author of the publication Guitar Method. |
 |
Stolařík Ivo(1923 Ostrava – 2010 Ostrava) Musicologist. Imprisoned by the Nazis for participation in the resistance. A graduate of Charles University (musicology and ethnography), he worked at Czechoslovak Radio, the Janáček Philharmonic, and other institutions. Published his memoir Life Is Not a Phrase in 2002. |
 |
Žilka Václav(1924 Ostrava – 2007 Prague) Flautist and pedagogue. A graduate of JAMU in Brno, he was a member of the Czech Nonet, the Czech Philharmonic, and the Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. Author of the book Cheerful Whistling – Healthy Breathing. |
Popular music
Chodúr Martin(1989 Ostrava) Singer. He studied clarinet at the Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava. A member of the band Robson, he has pursued a solo singing career since winning the 2009 Česko Slovenská Superstar competition. |
 |
Janků Heidi(1962 Vítkovice) née Hantlová, singer. She comes from a musical family. Her first recordings were with the cimbalom band Lučina. She later performed with the groups Proměny and, from 1982, with Supernova, led by her husband Ivo Pavlík. |
 |
Nekuda Luděk(1942 Ostrava – 1988 Prague) entertainer, singer, and lyricist. A graduate of the Faculty of Education in Ostrava, he co-founded the theatre Pod okapem, performed as a guest at Divadlo Semafor, and was active in the band Plavci. In the 1980s, he appeared in the popular Czechoslovak Television show Sešlost. |
|
Nohavica Jaromír(1953 Ostrava) singer-songwriter, composer, and lyricist. After releasing his first LP Darmoděj, he has published over twenty albums, performing both in the Czech Republic and abroad. He appeared in the film Year of the Devil, is a recipient of the Anděl Awards, and has been inducted into the Hall of Fame. He also translated Mozart’s operas into Czech. |
 |
Pastrňák Radek(1963 Ostrava) musician, composer, and actor. Together with Richard Kroczek Jr., he co-founded the band Buty (1986), which won several Anděl music awards. He appeared in the film Jízda (1994), for which he composed the music and received the Czech Lion award. |
 |
Rottrová Marie(1941 Hrušov) singer. She comes from a musical family. She performed with the groups of F. Trnka, Oktet, Samuel, Majestic, and above all Flamingo. Among her best-known songs are Řeka lásky, Kůň bílý, Lásko, Ten vůz už jel, and others. She recorded around 25 albums. |
 |
Zagorová Hana(1946 Petřkovice) singer, nine-time Golden Nightingale winner, and wife of opera singer Štefan Margita. A graduate of acting at JAMU in Brno, she began her singing career in Ostrava. She performed for the longest period with Karel Vágner’s band. |
 |
Sport
Jankulovski Marek(1977 Ostrava) footballer. He began his career at NHKG and from the age of ten played for Baník Ostrava, from where he transferred in 2000 to Napoli and later to Udinese. With AC Milan he won the UEFA Champions League in 2007. He represented the Czech Republic at the 2006 World Cup and at the European Championships in 2000, 2004 (third place), and 2008. |
 |
Kocembová-Netoličková Taťána(1962 Ostrava) athlete. A product of VOKD Poruba and later a member of SSK Vítkovice, she became a world silver medallist in the 400 m and the 4 × 400 m relay in 1984. She was also the European indoor champion in the 400 m in 1984 and today coaches young athletes. |
 |
Laštík Libor(1964 Ostrava) athlete, swimmer. On 1 August 1998, he swam across the English Channel. He was also active in cycling, ice hockey, football, judo, speleology, diving, and rock climbing. |
|
Lendl Ivan(1960 Ostrava) tennis player. As a member of NHKG, he became the world’s top junior and later rose to the very top of the professional rankings. With eight Grand Slam titles, five victories at the ATP Tour Finals, and 94 tournament wins, he ranks among tennis legends. He was also a member of the Davis Cup–winning team in 1980. |
 |
Loprais Karel(1949 Ostrava – 2021 Nový Jičín) racing driver. Rising from a factory worker and car mechanic at Tatra Kopřivnice to a test driver, he became known as “Monsieur Dakar.” He won the famous Paris–Dakar desert rally six times between 1986 and 2006 driving a Tatra 815 truck. |
 |
Němec Petr(1957 Ostrava) footballer. An Olympic gold medallist from Moscow 1980 and bronze medallist at the 1980 European Championship in Italy. A midfielder and youth product of Baník Ostrava, he won two Czechoslovak league titles (1980, 1981) and the Czechoslovak Cup in 1978. Since 2011, he has been inducted into the Ostrava Sports Hall of Fame. |
 |
Radimec Libor(1950 Ostrava) footballer. An Olympic gold medallist from Moscow 1980 and a participant in the 1982 World Cup. A midfielder for Baník Ostrava and a youth product of Vítkovice, he won three Czechoslovak league titles (1976, 1980, 1981) and the Czechoslovak Cup in 1978. Since 2011, he has been inducted into the Ostrava Sports Hall of Fame. |
|
Rygel Zdeněk(1951 Ostrava) footballer. Olympic gold medallist at Moscow 1980. A defender for Baník Ostrava, he began playing football in Michálkovice and won three Czechoslovak league titles (1976, 1980, 1981) and the Czechoslovak Cup in 1978. Since 2011, he has been inducted into the Ostrava Sports Hall of Fame. |
|
Sotorník Leo(1926 Ostrava – 1998 Prague) artistic gymnast. He began training with DTJ and Sokol Vítkovice. In 1954, he became world champion on the vault in Rome and won a bronze medal in the same event at the 1948 London Olympics. |
|
Šmehlík Richard(1970 Ostrava) ice hockey player. Olympic gold medalist at Nagano 1998. A product of Vítkovice hockey, he moved to the NHL in 1992, playing successively for Buffalo, Atlanta, and New Jersey, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2003. |
|
Šreiner Zdeněk(1954 Ostrava – 2017 Ostrava) footballer. Olympic gold medalist at Moscow 1980. Forward for Baník Ostrava and a Vítkovice native, he won two Czechoslovak league titles (1980, 1981) and the Czechoslovak Cup (1978). Inducted into the Ostrava Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. |
|
Tačová - Tkačíková Adolfina(1939 Petřkovice) artistic gymnast. Competed for Sokol Moravská Ostrava 1, winning team silver medals at the 1960 Rome and 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and at the World Championships in 1958 and 1962. Inducted into the Ostrava Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. |
 |
Zdražila Hans(1941 Ostrava) weightlifter. Olympic champion in the 75 kg category at the 1964 Tokyo Games, world champion, and world record holder. Began weightlifting with Baník Ostrava and later competed for RH Prague. Inducted into the Ostrava Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. |
 |
Military affairs
Čížek Evžen(1904 Silesian Ostrava – 1942 Cardiff) pilot. A graduate of the Military Academy in Hranice, he escaped from the Protectorate in 1939, fought in France, took part in the Battle of Britain, and commanded the 312th Czechoslovak Fighter Squadron. He died in an aircraft crash. |
 |
Holomucký Miroslav(1911 Ostrava – 1941 Mauthausen) pilot. Before the occupation in 1939, he served in the army. As a soldier and member of Sokol, he became the commander of the resistance organization Obrana národa in Ostrava. Imprisoned by the Gestapo, he was tortured to death in a concentration camp." |
|
Klega Ludvík(1888 Hrabůvka – 1933 Vítkovice) physician and legionnaire. During World War I, he fell into Russian captivity, where he joined the Czechoslovak Legions. He worked as a city doctor in Vítkovice, and his name is associated with the Masaryk League Against Tuberculosis. |
 |
Král Jiří(1910 Polanka nad Odrou – 1941 Monneville) pilot. A graduate of the Industrial School in Vítkovice, he was the first commander of Czechoslovak volunteers in Poland in 1939. After the outbreak of World War II, he fought in France against the Germans and was killed in an aerial combat. |
 |
Matula Robert(1919 – 2012, Canada) Brigadier General. During the war, he was parachuted from Great Britain into the Protectorate as part of the Wolfram group. After 1948, he left his homeland and lived in England and Canada. In 2006, he was named an Honorary Citizen of Ostrava. |
 |
Merta Augustin(1916 Bartovice – 2006 Prague) soldier and scientist. During the war, he joined the resistance in Obrana národa. He escaped to England and fought on the Western Front; after 1948, he was persecuted by the communists. A leading expert in the field of social informatics. Father of the singer Vladimír Merta. |
 |
Prchala Lev(1892 Silesian Ostrava – 1963 Feldbach) general and politician. During the war, he joined the legions; at the time of the Munich Agreement in 1938, he was among the top military leaders and opposed E. Beneš. He did not return to his homeland and died in Austria. Recipient of the Charles IV European Award." |
 |
Roháček Rudolf(1914 Mariánské Hory – 1942 Axbridge) pilot. An army fighter pilot, he escaped from the Protectorate in 1939 to join the 312th Fighter Squadron in Great Britain. He took part in numerous aerial combats and was killed in a crash during one of his returns. |
 |
Stanovský Vilém(1896 Ostrava – 1972 Prague) pilot and general. He fought in France during World War I. A military and long-distance pilot, he was imprisoned by the Nazis after 1939 and persecuted by the communists after 1948. Recipient of the high French Legion of Honour. |
 |
Politics
Černík Oldřich(1921 Ostrava – 1994 Prague) politician. A trained turner, he graduated from VŠB. As minister and Prime Minister of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1968–70), he was one of the figures of the Prague Spring of 1968. After the August occupation, he was expelled from the Communist Party and withdrew from public life. |
|
London Artur(1915 Ostrava – 1986 Paris) politician and writer. Imprisoned by the Nazis during the war. After February 1948, he worked in Czechoslovak diplomacy and in 1951 was sentenced in the trial of R. Slánský. After his release, he emigrated to France, where he wrote the book Confessions. |
 |
Rozen Šlomo(1905 Ostrava – 1985 Tel Aviv) politician. He left his hometown in 1926 for Palestine. Between 1933 and 1935, he returned to Ostrava as an emissary of a Zionist organization. In the 1970s, he served as Minister of Immigration and Housing in the governments of the State of Israel. |
 |
Rozen Chanan(1918 Ostrava – 2013 Tel Aviv) politician, brother of Š. Rozen. A trained toolmaker from Vítkovice, he escaped from the Nazis to Palestine in 1939. From 1951, he led the Czechoslovakia–Israel Friendship League. Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic in Israel, he was a recipient of the Order of the White Lion and an Honorary Citizen of Ostrava. |
|
Rusnok Jiří(1960 Ostrava) politician and economist. A member of parliament for the ČSSD, he served as Minister of Finance and Minister of Industry and Trade in the governments of M. Zeman and V. Špidla from 2001 to 2003. He also served as Prime Minister of the so-called caretaker government (2013–14) and is currently a member of the Czech National Bank’s Board of Governors. |
 |
Šmidke Karol(1897 Vítkovice – 1952 Bratislava) politician. A Czechoslovak Communist Party deputy during the First Republic, he fled to the USSR in 1939 to escape the Germans. He organized the Slovak National Uprising. After 1945, he served as chairman of the Board of Commissioners and of the Slovak National Council. |
 |
Tošenovský Evžen(1956 Ostrava) politician. He studied systems engineering at VŠB and worked in Vítkovice. He was elected Mayor of Ostrava from 1993 to 2000 and served as Regional Governor from 2000 to 2008. Since 2009, he has been a Member of the European Parliament. |
 |
Vavrečka Hugo(1880 Ostrava – 1952 Brno) politician and writer. The grandfather of V. Havel, he was a minister in the Czechoslovak government before the war and ambassador in Vienna. Writing under the name Hugo Vavris, he authored the book Lelíček in the Service of Sherlock Holmes (also adapted into a film starring V. Burian) |
 |
Zaorálek Lubomír(1956 Ostrava) politician. A graduate of Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Brno, he worked as a dramaturge and university lecturer, and in 1989 co-founded the Civic Forum in Ostrava. He served as Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies (2002–2006) and has been a member of the ČSSD since 1994. |
 |
Churches
Jestřábský Valentin Bernard(1630 Ostrava – 1719 Říčany) priest and Baroque writer. He served as a Roman Catholic pastor in Veverská Bítýška. He wrote his books, such as Vidění rozličné sedláčka sprostného, in Latin and Czech (Moravian dialect). |
 |
Kratochvílová Marie Antonína(1881 Vítkovice – 1942 Stanislavov, today Ivano-Frankivsk) nun. A member of the Order of the Poor School Sisters of Our Lady, she was tortured to death by the Gestapo in Ukraine during the war. In 1999, she was beatified by Pope John Paul II. |
 |
Visual arts
Bacon Yehuda(1929 Ostrava) painter and graphic artist. He survived the hardships of the Jewish ghetto in Terezín and the death camp in Auschwitz. His works can be seen not only in Israel, but also in the British Museum in London, in Berkeley and Washington, USA, and elsewhere. |
 |
Friedmann David(1893 Ostrava – 1980 St. Louis) painter. During the war, he was imprisoned in the Jewish ghetto in Riga and in Auschwitz. A landscape and portrait painter, he briefly returned to Czechoslovakia, but after 1948 moved to Israel. Later, he lived and worked in the USA. |
|
Ivanský Antonín(1910 Přívoz – 2000 Ostrava) sculptor and educator. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague under Professor Mařatka. He became known primarily as the creator of sculptures inspired by the mining and metallurgical environment in Ostrava and the surrounding region. His most famous work stands in front of the OKD building. |
|
Kolář Viktor(1941 Ostrava) art photographer. A graduate of the Photography Institute, since 1960—with a five-year break spent overseas—he has devoted himself almost exclusively to documentary work in Ostrava. In 2010, he published a photography book titled Ostrava. |
 |
Surůvka Jiří(1961 Ostrava) painter and educator. A performer, photographer, co-founder of the art group Přirození and the cabaret Návrat mistrů zábavy, he is a versatile artist. He also teaches at the Faculty of Arts of Ostrava University. |
 |
Tošenovská Věra(1924 Ostrava – 2011) painter and graphic artist. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and a student of Professors Svolinský and Novák, she was a recognized creator of illustrations, theatrical costumes, mosaics, frescoes, and tapestries using the art protis technique. |
Various fields
Adamus Alois(1878 Kunčice – 1964 Kosmonosy) historian and educator. He focused on the history and culture of Ostrava and the Těšín region. Later director of the Ostrava Museum, he contributed to the establishment of the Archive of the City of Ostrava, of which he was the first director. |
|
Delong Armin(1925 Bartovice – 2017 Brno) scientist. Founder of Czechoslovak electron microscopy, he was recognized as a world-leading expert in the field. He received a gold medal for the electron microscope at the 1958 EXPO in Brussels. After 1989, he served as Vice-Chairman of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. |
 |
Etzler Tomáš(1963 Ostrava) journalist, permanent correspondent for Czech Television in China. Since 1991, he lived in the USA, where he worked as a producer and war correspondent for CNN. In 2008, he became the first Czech journalist to receive the prestigious Emmy Award. |
 |
Král Václav(1936 Ostrava – 2005 Prague) designer. A graduate of the Higher Vocational School of Automotive Engineering in Mladá Boleslav, he became renowned as a designer of Škoda cars and racing prototypes, and was himself an active racer. He taught at the Czech Technical University in Prague and also worked in industrial design |
|
Neumann Felix(1860 Radvanice – 1942 Ostrava) architect and builder. A graduate of architecture at the Imperial–Royal Technical College in Vienna, he founded a construction company in Ostrava (1889). He brought numerous influences from contemporary German metropolitan architecture to the Ostrava environment. |
|
Pomahač Bohdan(1971 Ostrava) physician and plastic surgeon. He grew up in Ostrava and, during his medical studies in Olomouc, completed an internship in Boston, USA. As a physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, he performed the first face transplant in the USA, and the third in the world. |
 |
Radim Uzel(1940 Ostrava – 2022 Prague) physician and sexologist. He studied medicine in Brno. After working in Ústí nad Orlicí, Františkovy Lázně, and Ostrava, he joined the Institute for the Care of Mother and Child in Prague. He frequently appeared in the media and was a proponent of open sexual education. |
 |
Strassmann Adolf(1867 Ostrava – 1939 Ostrava) brewer and entrepreneur. He served as managing director of a brewery and as a commercial councilor. He was active in the municipal council of Moravská Ostrava, which prepared projects for the construction of the New Town Hall. |
|
Světlík Jan(1958 Ostrava) industrialist. He graduated from VŠB in 1982 and worked at VŽKG as a blacksmith–press operator, among other roles. After 1990, he became director of Vítkovice-Lahvárna and is currently the owner and CEO of the engineering group Vítkovice Machinery Group. |
 |
Špaček Ladislav(1949 Ostrava) journalist and writer. A graduate of the Faculty of Education at Ostrava University and Charles University in Prague, he worked as a correspondent for Czechoslovak Television. From 1992 to 2003, he served as the spokesperson for President V. Havel. He writes books on social etiquette and teaches the subject. |
 |
Turek Pavel(1971 Ostrava) manager. From motocross and work at the Masaryk Circuit in Brno, he joined the McLaren team as a manager in 1996. A graduate of the University of Economics in Prague, he now focuses on commenting on Formula 1 events for TV and the media. |