Evangelical Church of Christ in Ostrava

It sounds unbelievable, but such a work as the impressive Evangelical Church of Christ in the centre of Ostrava managed to be built in just two years at the beginning of the twentieth century. This was even though, after the foundations were dug, the subsoil turned out to be so muddy that it had to be reinforced with nine hundred wooden stakes, contrary to the plan.

Today, the church, called “the red one” by the inhabitants of Ostrava, is one of the landmarks of the city centre, which adorns Hus Park, and thanks to the still accurate clock with its original porcelain dial, people do not have to look at their watches at the public transport stop. A curious detail does not escape the attention of observant passers-by: the four on the dial is not marked with the Roman numeral IV, but unusually as a Roman three with an extra comma, i.e.: IIII.

Today, the Dutch Renaissance-style building is a meeting place for believers of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren. The interior is decorated with a marble altar with a large oak cross. The three bells were cast from steel in the mining and steelmaking region of Porúří. The largest is called Saviour and weighs one and a half tons. The church has excellent acoustics thanks to the wooden coffers on the ceiling. This is also why concerts are often held in the church, for example during the Festival in the Streets, which is a kind of opening act for the big cultural event Colours of Ostrava.