Return My Ostrava
  I am from the area known as the Moravian karst, which is known for its beautiful landscapes and deep, pure forests.
My profession ties me to places where there are opera houses. In 1985 my career brought me to Ostrava, which was then known as a dark, dirty industrial city. The theatre – which bore the name of the communist culture minister Zdeněk Nejedlý – was located next to the huge Karolina coking plant, which spewed out filth into the atmosphere day and night.
The first impressions were depressingly negative, but I soon began to see the contradictions lying under the surface – under the dirt and the rough exterior, Ostrava’s people have a certain internal truth and authenticity. They accept their fate, yet they are eternal rebels.
The language of this city is a perfect expression of Ostrava’s character – full of rude directness, humour, irony, but also sensitivity.
This city is so fascinatingly different from all others – and I have fallen in love with this ‘otherness’.
Living and working in Ostrava has brought me much satisfaction, and I feel I have become a part of the city. My children were born here, my life partner has made his home here, and my friends are here. It is my home.
Ostrava has undergone great changes in the post-revolutionary era, yet much still remains to be done. Ostrava has a chance to become a truly modern European city, and I believe it has a great future.