Ostrava - Vítkovice: History
What to say about the history of Vítkovice to all you who browse this website? How to educate you and invite you to come visit us without boring you?
Briefly:
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At the beginning of the 14th century, Vítkovice was a small village owned by the brothers Petr and Jan of Paskov (Paczkow). This is known by the first written mention of the village from June 15, 1357, when the brothers conferred the hereditary bailiff’s house to their cousin Michal.
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The bailiff’s estate included 1.5 hides of land and 18 head of cattle, a pub, fishing rights and one third of collected court fines.
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There are different opinions concerning the founding of Vítkovice and the origin of its name. Some theories propose a connection to the alleged colonization of the area by the powerful Vítkovci family, others to the noble family of Vítek of Vikštejn who took part in the colonization of estates owned by Olomouc archbishops, and who later owned the territory between the Odra and Ostravice rivers and the Beskydy mountains.
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Since 1437 Vítkovice had been mentioned as a part of the Hukvaldy estate and stayed as such until 1848. The village did not make any remarkable progress; in 1581 it had about 100 inhabitants, and as late as the 1820's Vítkovice had only 23 houses and not even 200 inhabitants.
The year 1828 marked the beginning of a “new" life for the village. Upon the recommendation of Viennese professor F. X. Riepel, Archduke Rudolph of Habsburg-Lorraine, the Archbishop of Olomouc (see photo), decided to construct in Vítkovice the first balling furnace to refine raw iron, the first device of its kind in the Austrian monarchy. This „Rudolph’s steelworks“ was later enlarged by other production facilities. In 1836 and 1838 the first two coke blast furnaces were erected, and ore and coal mines were acquired. In 1843 Baron Salomon Mayer Rothschild took over the steelworks. With the help of European experts, one of the most progressive steelworks in Europe at that time was built.
And so the little village of several wooden houses changed into a growing settlement. New houses provided homes for steelworks employees not only from surrounding villages, but also from distant regions including Germany, and Poles from Galicia.
In 1891 a pit named Louis began to be dug and since 1885 metal products have been manufactured in the Dingo-Dienenthal factory; the cement mill of Adolf Suess was founded in Vítkovice in 1886 and other minor factories appeared. The village became a factory settlement which changed, due to extensive construction of industrial, housing and civic facilities into an industrial town. On December 11, 1908 the village of Vítkovice was granted the status of town.
What is the most interesting fact about the village of Vítkovice?
That the owners of the steelworks realized that there is more to life than just living. They cared about the health, education and culture of their employees. The first school was built as early as 1843 and the first hospital at the end of the 19th century. The originally chaotic construction plan was organized after the arrival of Paul Kupelwieser (see photo), the new director of the steelworks and the creator of "new Vítkovice". Social reforms, the formation of a qualified employee team, and construction development - it was all ahead of its time, and the traces of P. Kupelwieser's influence can be found in Vítkovice even today. A modern urban settlement was created through complexes of houses for officers and foremen, houses for workers and barracks for the unmarried, together with a water supply network, sewage system and parks. There was also a church, parsonage, modern hospital, gyms, schools, orphanages, a slaughter house and retirement homes. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries there was a telegraph, train and other traffic connections, tram line, taxi, loan office, savings bank and libraries. This was all complemented by private buildings, the development of small businesses and the establishment of clubs, singing and theatre ensembles. Sports and physical education also developed immensely.
However, life here was not idyllic, as there were political and racial conflicts, and a battle for the Czech language and schools. World War I halted the development of Vítkovice, and after 1918 it sought its place in the new Czechoslovak state. As late as 1921 Vítkovice had the highest number of inhabitants in its history – 27,359 people lived there, and another stage of construction was begun (the second square was founded, as well as the Hussite Church, Municipal Baths, music school, student home and others). However, in 1924 it merged with Moravská Ostrava and lost its independence. After World War II the expansion of the steelworks into the settlement continued and in the 1970's Vítkovice was almost absorbed by the plant. It was only after 1989 that the situation started to change. In 1990 Vítkovice became an independent district; the municipal administration started operations in a town hall built in 1902. And now we offer you Vítkovice, rising like the Phoenix from its ashes.
