Do you feel like getting out for the weekend? Don’t you have much time for traveling? If you live in the southern part of Poland, I’d like to recommend you a great spot for a day trip out of your town! Ostrava, which is situated in our Czech neighbors’ country, is a city which is definitely worth visiting with your family and friends. It’s probably not as attractive as Karlovy Vary or Mariánské Lázně, which I wrote about a few months ago. However, you should consider this place as an interesting alternative for a short weekend trip.
I had a chance to visit Ostrava a couple of years ago. To my surprise the whole journey from Chrzanów to our final destination took not more than one hour and a half. That was a really good side of such a trip, especially for a person – just like me – who suffers from travel sickness. It also made the whole excursion way more pleasant. Our trip took place in October, which allowed us to enjoy the last days of warm and sunny weather, as well as to load our batteries before chilly and rainy November days.
Here are a few places you should definitely visit there!
1.The Old Town
The central part of Ostrava is its market square – called Masaryk Square, which amazes its visitors with lovely buildings and beautifully decorated facades. Tourists can also admire there two religious sculptures: a Marian Column and a statue of St. Florian, which are characteristic landmarks on the map of this city. Besides this, another interesting structure attracts attention of passersby – a fountain with a centrally located figure, which scares not only with its grotesqueness, but also with its unusual form.
It’s also worth visiting the Old Town, which was built in the 16th century. Currently, it offers its visitors a very interesting venue to explore – the Ostrava Museum, which is the oldest building of this type in the whole city, and was set up in 1872 by Karel Jaromír Bukovanský. This museum offers a great variety of interesting expositions, which truly surprise with their diversity. To most classic and interesting exhibits belong archaeological and historical objects, as well as eye-catching works of art. Ethnography lovers can also find there something for themselves, beautifully painted furniture, regional costumes or paintings, which definitely make it easier to get familiar with folklore of a given place. Some other captivating expositions include the ones related to geology, where visitors can admire fossils coming from the times before Christ was born.
Before setting out to explore some other parts of the city, it’s a great idea to eat out or to have a cup of coffee in one of numerous cafes or restaurants located in the vicinity of the market square. If you’re lucky enough, you may be served by a tall and handsome bartender!
2.The Viewing Tower of the New City Hall
The New City Hall in Ostrava was built in the 20’s of the previous century, and it’s famous for one of the highest viewing platforms in the country. The viewing tower is 85 meters tall, and the platform itself is situated at the height of 73 meters. Visitors can admire there a beautiful skyline of the city and on a clear day they can also notice the ridge line of Beskidy Mountains and Poland. The New City Hall is invariably associated with Ostrava and the lift, which allows tourists to move to the top of the viewing tower. It used to be the fastest lift in the whole Czechoslovakia. The visitors eyes’ are also caught by a huge clock situated in the upper part of the tower.
3.The Ostrava Zoo
For all the ones who love long walks and having contact with nature – the zoo in Ostrava will be an ideal spot for a family trip out of town. You can see there a wide range of interesting and rare animal species, which allow its visitors to get to know the nature typical for various corners of the world. Moreover, the zoo offers a beautiful botanic garden, in which you can sit down on a bench and enjoy the surrounding nature. There are also numerous figures and sculptures, which are an additional attraction for the youngest visitors.
4.Silesian Ostrava Castle
This castle was built in the 13th century, however until 2000 the only remnant of this place was its original tower and it was close to completely disappear from this location. Fortunately, the town authorities decided to renovate this building a little bit. Currently, it is often used for a wide range of cultural events, for example Summer Shakespeare Festival. Besides this, you can also visit there some interesting museum exhibitions, as well as the Witches Museum, which is perceived to be quite a popular tourist attraction. The castle is also used as a place to host various markets, concerts and temporary exhibitions. Another attraction for all the ones who decide to visit this castle is its Lady in White, who according to the legend walks with a candle in her left hand and a golden key in her right. Maybe it’s not the most spectacular castle I have had a chance to visit so far, but it’s certainly a place you shouldn’t miss while visiting Ostrava.
I hope you’ll have a chance to make use of beautiful autumn weather and set out for a short trip to our Czech neighbors. And how do you spend your free weekends?
See you around!
Yours,
Passion Piece
Amazing view... wish I could go to the places u explore.. and travel to c breathtaking scenery..
Hope you'll have such a chance to visit such beautiful places in the future! :)
Love your photos and the architecture is so beautiful. Never been but hopefully one day I do get to visit.
It's a nice place and there are quite a few such beautiful sites to visit in the Czech Republic. :)
Beautiful scenery and place. Really there are so many breathtaking places in the world which remain unexplored.
That makes our lives so beautiful, we can always find and explore new places! :)
I have been to Czech Republic few years ago but only to Prague. Glad to learn about Ostrava and it is very near Poland. Ostrava city look very neat to travel.
I haven't been to Prague and it's definitely on my bucket list! :)
I adore discovering new places but haven't been able to do much of that lately! Ugh, I cannot wait for next week though because my brother is getting married and I am making a vacation/get away out of it!
Hope you had an amazing time at your brother's wedding! That's great it allowed you to make a vacation too! :)
The place and your pictures are great. It is really worth traveling there. Very well written.
Great to hear that you liked reading the article about Ostrava. Hope you'll have a chance to visit it in the future. :)
I have been working on my travel bucket list lately and this looks like a beautiful area! So much to do and see, I will for sure be adding it to my map of places to see.
It's great that this article has inspired you to add Ostrava to your map of places to see. :)
Ostrava sounds like a great city to visit! I wish I lived closer, but we won't be in that area for quite some time.
I know you live quite far away, but I hope that one day you'll be able to explore the Czech Republic. :)
Sounds like an interesting place to visit, and I love how many different things there are to do. It's nice when you can really find so many different aspects to one city.
It's always good to check all possible attractions before visiting a given place :)
What a great city to visit, I have never thought about it before but now adding to my bucketlist
Happy to hear that this article convinced you to do that! :)
Looks like a fun trip. Never heard of Ostrawa before but would like to visit some day.
It was a really fun trip! I can truly recommend this place to you! :)
Short trips are always rejuvenating. Sometimes i and my partner check in into a hotel nearby just to change the mood.
It's really a great idea to do such little things for a change! :)
Ostrava! I love everything Czchek Republic!
I also love that country! :)
Wow it is a gorgeous place! Thank you for sharing this info, my favorites are the public parks.
Public parks are amazing places to spend some time close to the nature! :)
Local attractions are usually the best!
I think so too! :)
Ostrava, Czchek Republic! looks like beautiful place. I would love to visit some day.
Hope you'll have a chance to check out this spot in the future! :)
Such a beautiful view. I would love to visit here one day, the zoo would have to be our first stop. .
The zoo is quite big and you can really admire lots of different animal species there! :)
Ostrava is truly a beautiful place to visit. I love the the view of different places there are stunning, I'm looking forward visiting this amazing place!
Hope to hear from you soon after your visiting Ostrava! :)
Amazing view The place and your pictures are great. It is really worth traveling there..
It's a lovely place. Happy to hear that you like it too! :)
I miss living in Europe for all the above reasons. I especially miss the beautiful town squares and castles thst have spectacular views.
I hope you'll have a chance to visit Europe more often. I bet that there are lots of wonderful places in your country to visit too! :)
Interesting photos! Lucky of you to enjoy the place. Every place is unique in its own way.
That's true that all places have some history which is worth being discovered. Even if we can't travel much, we can always explore our neighbourhood. :)
What beautiful views. I will definately keep this sites in mind. Going abroad is always a great idea and learning about new cultures and people is one of my joys. I will keep you posted when ever I make it to Ostrava.
I can't wait to hear from you and to get to know your experiences from Ostrava! :)
I love traveling and exploring new places and this post remind me that I should plan a visit to some new place soon. Lovely place and great pictures 😍 Thank you for sharing.
Planning is one of the most exciting moments of travelling! :)
This place is really nice and has every touch of elegance in every architecture. Love your shots too. This is a really interesting post.
I generally love the architecture of this country! :)