Ostrava - Vítkovice: Big Names of Vitkovice
It certainly cannot be said that Vítkovice is rich in world renowned personalities. The film director Karel Reisz became successful internationally (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner), as well as the directors Ludvík Klega and Ilja Novák. Hockey goal keeper Josef Mikoláš represented us in 1960s. In music, the greatest success was achieved by Beno Blachut, member of the National Theatre Opera in Prague. The writer Vojtěch Martínek worked in Vítkovice as a librarian. The composer Miroslav Klega played an important role in the conservatory of Ostrava. The academic painter Věra Tošenovská studied with the famous Karel Svolinský. Academic painter Karol Hercík graduated in Sophia, Bulgaria. The cultural editor Břetislav Uhlář and the director of the House of Arts in Ostrava Mgr. Petr Beránek spent their childhood in Vítkovice. The co-owner of the Photo-Gallery Fiducia in Ostrava, Roman Polášek, lives here as well. The painter Rudolf Kratochvíl, a long time employee of the Vítkovice Iron Mill promotion agency, whose paintings are in the collections of the Vítkovice Iron Mill, also lived in Vítkovice. One of the local chroniclers, Rudolf Šimek wrote two books about life in the First Republic. The writer Marie Holková wrote about religious topics. The Jewish writer Ilze Weberová, who died in a concentration camp, grew up in Mírová Street. A well known person of the present day is Mgr. Anna Buroňová, educator in the Sokol Vítkovice, a singer and author of many compositions for Sokol Gatherings. The prima-ballerina of the Ostrava theatre Vlasta Pavelcová danced through Vítkovice too. A poet and big cultural personality of modern Ostrava, Mgr. Jiří Macháček, lives there. The graphic artist Lenka Kocierzová draws pictures about her childhood spent in Vítkovice. We should also mention the well known politicians of the last decade – the mayor Mgr. Petr Kutěj and the commissioner of the region Evžen Tošenovský. The men’s chorus Vítkovice sings all over Europe. The pupils of the Elementary Arts School in Lidická Street and the other schools of Vítkovice also represent us well.
