The new express elevator in the tower of the New Town Hall in Ostrava is now in operation

Ostrava - A new fast elevator to the information center in the tower of the New Town Hall in Ostrava, which is a popular tourist destination, has been in operation since this afternoon. The elevator replacement took five weeks. The branch of the Ostrava Information Service in the tower will start operating after the reconstruction on Saturday, March 4th at 09:00. Andrea Vojkovská, spokesperson for the Ostrava city hall, informed ČTK.

The elevator needed repair because it had been malfunctioning for a long time. The city replaced it for 1.3 million crowns. "The elevator was dismantled and replaced with a new one featuring audio accompaniment, Braille buttons, new doors, and a control unit,” Vojkovská stated.

The fast elevator had been operating in the town hall building since 1930, with the last repair taking place in 2000. It leads to the viewing tower of the town hall, which is the tallest town hall in the Czech Republic. The balcony is located at a height of 72 meters, while the entire tower reaches 85.6 meters. The tower's balcony was opened to the public in 1933, but after 1945, it was closed to regular visitors and only significant guests were allowed access. Regular public viewings from the tower were established in 1990, and since the town hall tower was renovated in 2002, it has been accessible year-round. Every year, more than 40,000 visitors, nearly a quarter of them from abroad, enjoy the views of Ostrava and its surroundings from the tower.