The Little World of Technology in Ostrava was visited by tens of thousands of people

Ostrava - The technical monuments in Lower Vítkovice in Ostrava have had a successful season. Tens of thousands of people visited the Little World of Technology during its first year of operation. The interactive exhibition, inspired by Jules Verne, attracts both children and adults. In total, more than 561,000 people visited the unique technical monuments, including the blast furnace, the multifunctional hall Gong, and the mining museum this year. Last year, there were 130,000 fewer visitors. Eva Kijonková, the spokesperson for the area, reported this to ČTK.
The space called U6, which was created in the building of the former energy central, opened to the public last autumn. Since then, it has been visited by 23,000 schoolchildren. "There were tens of thousands of other visitors in U6," Kijonková said. The operators were surprised by such interest. "Our estimates were modest; the interest from schools exceeded our expectations and continues to grow. Demand exceeds capacity. That's why we are glad that a large World of Technology will await visitors from the next school year," said its director Jakub Švrček.
The large World of Technology is currently under construction in Lower Vítkovice. The project was designed by Josef Pleskot. The building will have a façade made of a huge mirror reflecting the old blast furnaces and the previous gas holder, now the Gong hall. The internal exhibitions will offer a view into the realm of nature, science and discoveries, civilization, and also into a children's world with a fairy-tale forest. There will also be space for education, laboratories, small workshops, and a lecture hall. It can therefore be expected that attendance in Lower Vítkovice will increase next year as well.
Conversely, the castle's curator in Radun in the Opava region, Eva Kolářová, is disappointed with the season. The beautiful summer attracted tourists more to the water than to the castle. As a result, she recorded a decline in attendance of more than 2,000 people. "When it's hot, everyone prefers to lie by the water. If the weather is bad, it's the opposite. In unfavorable weather, people look for activities indoors. Additionally, purchasing power has declined, and people are saving on culture," the curator believes.
According to the curator, attendance problems began as early as April. "During Easter, we usually have up to 1,000 visitors. This year, there were not even 500. It was really bad weather. After a better May, however, followed a weak June. We saw a significant drop in school trips. Just in this category, we have 500 fewer visitors," she added.
In July, attendance dropped by about 400 tourists. The curator records another significant drop in August. "Last year, we had over 3,000 visitors in August; this year, there were around 2,500. Children's camps stopped coming. There used to be many of them. This year, only three groups arrived," she said.
Lower ticket revenues were also noted by the administrator of the national monument Michal Mine in Ostrava, Alexandr Zaspal. According to him as well, this is caused by the weather and the economic situation. "When it's nice, people prefer to go to the zoo or to the water. We need it to be cloudy," he said. He estimates the revenue drop at 15 percent. "Attendance will ultimately be similar to last year's, around 12,000 people. We managed to catch up with it through events we held here," he explained.