REGION

Orlová is a Dignified

Place to Live

Orlová, a town with mining history and 28,000 inhabitants,

has faced various prejudices in the last decade, mainly in the media.

Readers can judge for themselves whether this is justified.

The town of Orlová has four districts:

Lutyně, Poruba, Město and Lazy. Until

the middle of the last century, life took

place in the main town and Lazy, but due

to mining it is completely different today.

Around 3,000 buildings disappeared from

old Orlová due to mining. Life moved to

the residential areas of Lutyně and Poruba;

the demolished buildings were replaced by

new ones.

Cultural events take place mainly in

the reconstructed Culture Centre of Orlová,

which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary last year

in the centre of Lutyně. 'The multifunctional

hall is home to O Cinema, which can

accommodate more than 360 spectators and

is equipped with the latest technology for

digital projection and state-of-the-art sound',

says cinema manager Pavel Sikora. O Cinema

shows 300 screenings a year and is visited by

over 15,000 people.

Films are also popular in the partially covered

open-air cinema which, together with

the forest park, is the most popular seasonal

destination. The open-air cinema is a venue

for many events. People also come here to sit

in the summer garden to enjoy a bar, a Greek

grill and a children's playground.

The cradle of social life is the Orlová Municipal

Library, which celebrated its 100th anniversary

last year. 'All of the library departments, including

the information centre, have been housed in

a modern new building in the town centre since

2005 and we can say that it is truly a 21st century

library that no longer provides services strictly

related to books', says library director Iva Sušková.

The establishment of the Municipal Sports

Club confirms that Orlová is a town of sport.

‘We currently have 750 active athletes, which

is the most we’ve had in the five years we’ve

been active. Kids play hockey, football and

baseball with us; they also engage in athletics

and military sports. For preschoolers, we offer

versatile sports kindergartens’, says Michal

Kozák, director of the Municipal Sports Club

Orlová.

The Children and Youth Centre in Orlová,

which is undergoing reconstruction at a cost

of nearly 50m CZK, offers seventy clubs and

courses. In addition to their regular activities,

they prepare about 230 events a year and

are the most popular organiser of children's

camps and trips, of which they organise

about forty a year.

The pride of Orlová is the Relax Centre

with a water world and wellness area worth

26m CZK, which opened to the public in

2019. It is an outdoor oasis of peace in

the forest park, the revitalization of which

took three years. 'It included the adaptation

of the pond by the cottage, the regeneration

of the greenery, the repair of pavements

and lighting, the restoration of the well and

the acquisition of furniture', says Deputy Mayor

Miroslav Koláček. The forest park also offers

a huge forest playground, an educational trail

for children and an outdoor gym.

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