Return Ostrava Arrivals
What are your Ostrava roots? When and why did your ancestors move to Ostrava? Where did they come from? What was life like in Ostrava in the past, and how has it changed over the years? Help us to find answers to these and other questions so that we can map ‘Ostrava arrivals’ and find out who today’s citizens really are. Not just people whose families have lived in Ostrava for many generations, but also those who have come to live in Ostrava for work or for love, voluntarily or involuntarily, fifty years ago or just recently – we are interested in everybody!

How to become involved in the Ostrava arrivals project

Write to us with your story or the story of your parents or grandparents. Describe the reasons and circumstances that brought you or them to Ostrava. You might want to consider the following questions:

Where do you come from?
When did you move to Ostrava and why?
How easy did you find it to acclimatise to your new environment?
Where did you work before coming to Ostrava?
Which part of Ostrava did you live in when you arrived?
What was the city like when you came, and how has it changed since then?
What impression did the city make on you?
What did you like about Ostrava, and what did you dislike?
What was your district of Ostrava like when you arrived?
How did it differ from the place you had moved away from?
What was difficult to get used to?
What problems did you encounter?
What is life in Ostrava like today, and what was it like when you arrived?
Did you find friends or a partner here?
What did you expect from Ostrava?
Were your expectations met?
Would you ever return to your original home? If so, why? If not, why not?
Do you regret coming to Ostrava? If so, why? If not, why not?
What is your most powerful memory connected with Ostrava?
Is Ostrava a cultural city? If so, why? If not, why not?

Your stories should be as personal as possible. We are interested even in things that you might not consider important – everyday experiences, feelings, memories of places, people, events ... If you can lend us photographs, letters or other materials related to this topic, your help will be very much appreciated.

Appeal to students and teachers at schools and universities

If you have already participated in similar projects (Vanished Neighbours, Fighters for Democracy Through the Eyes of Children, etc.), and if you collected any stories from elderly citizens as part of those projects, please write to us. We are interested in any information that can help fill the gaps in our knowledge of Ostrava’s history.

Who is involved in the project?

The Ostrava arrivals project involves pupils, students and teachers at schools and universities as well as any citizens of Ostrava who are willing to share their stories and experiences with us.
Extracts from some of the stories will be published on our website and in cooperating media. The most interesting testimonies will be published in a book.
The author of the project is Radovan Lipus, a member of the dramaturgical committee of the Ostrava 2015 team.

You can send your stories to this address:

Marina Feltlová, project coordinator
Email: marina.feltlova@ostrava2015.cz
Office: Ostrava 2015, 28.října 23, 702 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic