Vítkovice (, ) is an administrative district of the city of

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

, capital of the

Moravian-Silesian Region The Moravian-Silesian Region () is one of the 14 administrative regions of the Czech Republic. Before May 2001, it was called the Ostrava Region (). The region is located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Moravia and in most ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Situated on the left bank of the Ostravice River in the

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

n part of the city, Vítkovice was a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in its own right until its incorporation in 1924.

History

The settlement of ''Witchendorff'' in the

March of Moravia The Margraviate of Moravia (; ) was one of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire and then Austria-Hungary, existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administered by a margrave in cooperation with a Landtag, provincial ...

was first mentioned in a 1357 deed by the Lords of

Paskov Paskov is a town in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,900 inhabitants. Administrative division Paskov consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 censu ...

, probably named after the nobleman Witek von Wigstein, who was enfeoffed by the Bishops of Olomouc with nearby Šostýn (''Schauenstein'') Castle in 1369. In 1435 it was given in pawn with the Lordship of

Hukvaldy Hukvaldy () is a municipality and village in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,200 inhabitants. The municipality is known for the ruins of the third-largest castle in the Czech Republic, ...

by Emperor

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

to the former

Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...

leader Nikolaus Sokol of

Lamberg The House of Lamberg is the name of an ancient Austrian noble family, whose members occupied significant positions within the Holy Roman Empire and later in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. History The family name first appeared during the 14th ce ...

. Vítkovice, initially agricultural village, witnessed heavy

industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

after 1828, when the Olomouc archbishop

Archduke Rudolf of Austria Rudolph Johann Joseph Rainier, Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, Cardinal-Archbishop of Olomouc (8 January 1788 – 24 July 1831), was a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine () origin ...

at the instigation of geologist

Franz Xaver Riepl Franz Xaver Riepl (29 November 1790 – 25 April 1857) was a geologist, railway pioneer and metallurgical specialist from the Austrian Empire. Life Riepl was born in Graz, Duchy of Styria, Styria where his father worked as a building inspecto ...

had an iron and steel mill (''Rudolfshütte'') built, the first in the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

to use the puddling technique. Since then the village became an important industrial center of the region. The iron works were continuously enlarged and finally purchased by the

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Viennese classicism * Viennese coffee house, an eating establishment and part of Viennese ...

banker

Salomon Mayer von Rothschild Salomon Mayer Freiherr von Rothschild (9 September 1774 – 28 July 1855) was a Frankfurt-born banker in the Austrian Empire and the founder of the Austrian branch of the prominent Rothschild family. Family Born as Salomon Mayer Rothschild in ...

in 1843. He also financed the extension of the

Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway The Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway (; ; ) was a railway company during the time of the Austrian Empire. Its main line was intended to connect Vienna with the salt mines in Bochnia near Kraków. The name is still used today in referring to a ...

from Vienna to Ostrava with a branch-off to his steel mill, which was completed in 1855. His

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

heirs in 1873 founded the ''Witkowitzer Bergbau- und Hüttengewerkschaft'', the largest iron and steel works in the

Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. During the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

their possessions were "

aryanized Aryanization () was the Nazi term for the seizure of property from Jews and its transfer to non-Jews, and the forced expulsion of Jews from economic life in Nazi Germany, Axis-aligned states, and their occupied territories. It entailed the tra ...

" and taken over by the ''

Reichswerke Hermann Göring Reichswerke Hermann Göring ("Hermann Göring Reich Works") was an industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate in Nazi Germany from 1937 until 1945. It was established to extract and process domestic iron ores from Salzgitter that were deemed ...

'' conglomerate. At the ironworks, the Germans operated a

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

"education" camp, and a subcamp of a forced labour "education" camp from Moravská Ostrava. After the war they were socialised as the ''Vítkovické železárny

Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald (; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953 – titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman f ...

n.p. (VŽKG)'' by the

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

state. Vítkovice from 1850 was an independent municipality. In 1908 it was granted town rights by Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

, in 1924 it became a part of Greater Ostrava.Hosák et al. 1980, 715-716.

Demographics

Sights

The most important landmarks of Vítkovice are: *

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

Saint Paul Church, built in 1880-1886. *Rothschild Palace, built in 1846/47, was an Empire-style building and the palace was the original seat of the owners of the steel works. *Vítkovice Town Hall, built in 1901/02, has been part of the Vítkovice Iron and Steel Works since 2002 and is designated a National Cultural Landmark. *The

FC Vítkovice FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

football club is based in this part of the city. The ice hockey club

HC Vítkovice HC, hc or H/C may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Medicine * Health Canada * Hemicrania continua * Hyperelastosis cutis or hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia Chemistry * Hemocyanin, a metalloprotein abbreviated Hc * ...

is located nearby but is based in the neighbouring district of Ostrava-Jih, despite its name.

Notable people

* Ilse Weber (1903-1944), writer, murdered in

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

. *

Leopold Ludwig Leopold Ludwig (12 January 1908 – 25 April 1979) was a German conductor active mainly in Austria and Germany from the 1930s through the 1970s. He was principal conductor of the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater (1936–1939), Vienna State Opera (1939 ...

(1908-1979), conductor *

Beno Blachut Beno Blachut (14 June 1913 – 10 January 1985) was a lauded Czechoslovakia, Czech operatic tenor. An icon in his own nation, Blachut drew international acclaim through his many commercial recordings of Czech music. He was an instrumental part o ...

(1913-1985), operatic tenor *

Bedřich Geminder Bedřich Geminder (19 November 1901, in Vítkovice (Ostrava), Vítkovice – 3 December 1952, in Prague) was a Czech politician. He was the Chief of the International Section of the Secretariat of Czechoslovak Communist Party. He was executed tog ...

, Czechoslovak communist executed during the Slánský show trial * Nikola Ristanovski, Macedonian actor

Footnotes

References

External links

*
Vítkovice Holding Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitkovice Ostrava Neighbourhoods in the Czech Republic