In front of you is a historical postcard showing a view of Polish Ostrava (today Silesian Ostrava), where you can see the dense urban development of the town, most of which has not survived to the present day due to mining subsidence. The demolition of this part of the town took place from the second half of the 20th century onwards. Thanks to this image, we can get an idea of some of the significant and interesting buildings that once stood in the area surrounding the castle.
For centuries, the most prominent landmark of Polish Ostrava was the castle, proudly standing above the confluence of the Lučina and Ostravice rivers since the 13th century. In the 16th century, the fortress was transformed into a Renaissance residence, whose architectural legacy remained visible in the castle’s appearance well into the 20th century.
A popular place for entertainment and relaxation in the second half of the 19th century was the Stará střelnice park (Old Shooting Range Park), established by the Ostrava Shooting Association. The park regularly hosted concerts and balls, and it also became a favoured venue for miners' festivities and celebrations.
In the area below the castle, you can see this building, which, during the 1920s, attracted the attention of the press and the police. In reality, it was a secret brothel operated by Marie Fedrová. In 1927, one of the employees reported the owner to the police, revealing that under the guise of running a public spa, she was in fact providing female companionship to paying clients, most often miners. Following the investigation, Fedrová was fined, her business licence was revoked, and she was forced to leave Ostrava.
Can you guess what this structure was used for? Here's a hint – you can clearly see the changing cabins.
You are looking at the so-called Riverside Bathing Area – Stará střelnice, which was opened to the public in 1877. The bathing area had to close in 1919 due to ground subsidence caused by mining activity and the deteriorating quality of the water, which made further operation impossible.
Overlooking Silesian Ostrava Castle is the Church of St. Joseph, built between 1780 and 1783 with financial support from Count Franz Josef Wilczek. It is a Late Baroque structure. In 1913, the church had to be closed due to severe ground subsidence caused by mining, which caused the building to sink by 8 metres. Between 1913 and 1928, extensive reinforcement and reconstruction work took place. The church was returned to the local community for use in 1929.
This building (No. 90) served both as a distillery and as a tavern known locally as the "Harenda." After the castle fire in 1872, beer production was relocated here. Although both beer brewing and distilling gradually ceased, the tavern remained in operation at this site until the Second World War. It was eventually demolished in 1940 due to mining-related subsidence and severe flooding.
On the far left of the postcard, two tall chimneys and the distinctive headframe of the Trojice Mine rise above the town. The mine operated here from 1844 until 1975, with coal being extracted for more than 120 years, up to August 1968. This mine significantly contributed to the ground subsidence that affected the castle.
On the left bank of the Lučina River, about 400 metres from Silesian Ostrava Castle, stood the Hermenegild Mine, later known as Zárubek. Coal mining began here in 1856, and like other nearby mines, Zárubek contributed to the extraction of black coal from beneath the castle.
