Ostrava

Ostrava (ôˈsträvä) [key], formerly Moravská Ostrava môˈräfskä, Ger. Mährisch Ostrau, city (1991 pop. 327,371), NE Czech Republic, in Moravia, near the junction of the Oder and Ostravice rivers. It is the heart of the Ostrava-Karviná industrial and mining region, the most heavily industrialized area of the Czech Republic. Anthracite and bituminous coal, iron and steel, railway cars, and chemicals are the major products of the city. One of the Czech Republic's largest cities, Ostrava is a regional administrative center, a road and rail hub, and the site of several hydroelectric stations. It was well known as a small town in the Middle Ages and later became important because of its strategic location guarding the Moravian Gate, the entrance to the Moravian lowlands. The city's industrial prominence dates from the late 19th cent., after the opening of its first coal mine and the coming of the railroad. German forces occupied Ostrava from 1939 to 1945. The city is a cultural and educational center, noted especially for its college of mining and metallurgy.