On the Trail of Camillo Sitte and His Realizations in Ostrava

Commented tour of the exhibition Architect Camillo Sitte (1843–1903) and his work in the Ostrava region with its authors Martin Strakoš and Romana Rosová, and a walk in his footsteps to Mariánské Hory. Organized in cooperation with the National Heritage Institute, regional expert workplace in Ostrava.

Among the most significant works of the Viennese architect Camillo Sitte are the designs for regulatory plans for new industrial towns in the Ostrava region. Camillo Sitte represents one of the founding figures of modern urbanism. He studied the genius loci of historical buildings and the harmonious shaping of ancient cities. From this, he derived principles aimed at overcoming the uniformity of modern construction. He sought to connect the rationality of scientific methods of city building with an artistic approach. The principles he arrived at were embodied in specific studies and projects, not only in the case of the Vienna Ringstrasse. In his book "City Building According to Artistic Principles" from 1889, he articulated principles that he later developed in his realizations.

In Ostrava, he created the regulatory plan for Přívoz, Moravská Ostrava, Mariánské Hory, and in collaboration with his son Siegfried, he regulated Hrušov. Particularly Přívoz became a model realization of Sitte's ideas about a new urban environment, as in addition to the regulatory plan, he also designed a church, a rectory, and a town hall here. The examination of how Sitte explored historical settlements, how he addressed regulatory plans for cities and settlements, particularly in the context of the then Ostrava region, represents the fundamental axis of the exhibition. After the commentary on the exhibition, there will be a walk to Mariánské Hory, where we will confront Sitte's proposal for the regulatory plan of this industrial municipality with the resulting state. We will also discuss in general terms the relevance of the principles he defined in the present day.