Kopřivnice (Not Just) a City of Cars

In much the same way Ostrava is inseparably linked with heavy industry and coal mining,

Kopřivnice is strongly linked with the automobile industry. The city of Kopřivnice,

however, has a lot more to offer.

The development of Kopřivnice is closely

connected to the automobile industry.

In fact, it was thanks to it that a small

village became a city and many people

still connect it with the Tatra brand. Over

the last century, Kopřivnice, along with

this brand, grew and underwent many

changes. Many new inhabitants moved to

the city and modern facilities had to be

built for them, including housing estates

as well as sports grounds. Each family had

someone connected to the Tatra brand,

and many employees from the surrounding

area worked there. Societal changes that

occured in the 90s, however, left their

mark upon Kopřivnice. The city’s main

employer started letting employees go, and

many unfinished development projects

remained. Kopřivnice was therefore faced

with new challenges it had to overcome.

The unfinished House of Culture was

turned into a technical museum and, in

the late 90s, the city started working with

CzechInvest to construct an industrial

zone in Zelená Louka. At that time,

unemployment in the city was nearing

10%, and the Moravian-Silesian Region

was closing in on 16%. Kopřivnice started

to fight the wave of people leaving the city

to look for opportunities elsewhere.

After preparations of the industrial zone’s

construction were completed, and after

many meetings, Kopřivnice was able to

gain eight investors. These investors were

able to use the qualified workers in the city

and managed to create job opportunities

that replaced ones lost with the decrease

of production in Tatra. The truth is, most

of the new investors operate within the

automotive industry, and so the local

economy is still sensitive to the market’s

fluctuations.

The city is also, however, home to the

biggest bike production company in the

Czech Republic, Bike Fun International;

a manufacturer of cutting edge audio

technology, Tymphany; a producer

of nutritional supplements, Favea; the

young and innovative company Lumitrix,

which concerns itself with projection

systems; and many other manufacturers

and service providers that help create

job opportunities in fields other than the

automotive industry.

The city is trying to remind people of

the knowledge and technical skills of its

ancestors as well as its current citizens

through museums and the Kopřivnice

Days of Technology event, which presents

mainly the production of local engineering

companies. The city’s museum exposition

is complemented by a private vehicle

museum, Oldtimer, so car enthusiasts

are bound to feel in their element in

Kopřivnice. Furthermore, a new museum,

built in an unused Tatra building, focusing

on Tatra trucks, is set to open in 2021.

This will become the city’s third major

exposition centered around the automotive

industry. The new museum will also include

a showroom, where visitors will be able to

see the famous train motor car “Slovenská

Strela”--a national and cultural memento

that is currently being restored. You can

be the judge: what city deserves the title

“City of Cars” more than Kopřivnice?

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