Prokes Square and the New Town Hall

When Ostrava's mayor Jan Prokeš decided to build a new magnificent town hall in the 1920s, he faced criticism for the megalomaniacal building he was constructing.

Today, the New Town Hall is a symbol of Ostrava and its tower is still the highest town hall viewpoint in the country. It attracts thousands of visitors who admire not only the city but also the panorama of the Beskydy and Jeseníky Mountains from a height of more than seventy metres.

The dynamically developing Ostrava needed a new town hall, as independent towns were being added to the then emerging Greater Ostrava. The new town hall was to be a proof that Ostrava had become a big city. A site near the banks of the Ostravice River was chosen for the construction. The task was to create a new administrative centre of Ostrava with a town hall that would give the place the splendour and elegance of the First Republic and at the same time be a symbol of a modern city.

The builders were faced with unstable ground, as there is a thick layer of gravel and sand near the Ostravice. Therefore, under the town hall tower there is a three-metre high reinforced concrete slab that supports the 85-metre high tower.  The high-speed lift, which covers more than fifty metres, was the fastest in Czechoslovakia at the time. The clock on the tower is three and a half meters in diameter and its “hands” are as long as an average tall man.

The entrance hall and corridors of the town hall are impressive, with marble wall tiles and giant chandeliers. On various occasions you can visit the Mayor’s study, which has retained its first-republican character and is lined with fine wood. The Town Hall Tower is the venue for regular competitions of firefighters who do not use the lift but climb the staircase in full gear. The entrance area is used for exhibitions.

In front of the Town Hall you can admire the fountain with the statue of Icarus, which symbolises the ups and downs of Ostrava. The surroundings of the town hall are the popular Komenského sady.

Contact

OSTRAVAINFO!!! - pobočka Věž
Prokešovo náměstí 1803/8
702 00 Ostrava
E-mail: vez@ostravainfo.cz
Web: http://www.ostravainfo.cz/
Tel.: +420 599 443 096