Ostrava ghetto Bedřiška as new housing? There are more interested parties than houses

The operator of the dance and sports academy TSA Ostrava plans to live in the former mining settlement in Hulváky with her two sons, schoolboy Michael and adult Lukáš. "The elder is a builder, so he puts his hand to the work," says Katarin Žabenská, adding that the children also approve of the choice of location.

At the same time, the public associates Bedřisk with socially weaker people and their "lifestyle".

And at the same time, a huge effort to preserve and further develop this locality - which, thanks to the pull of the local community, Eva Lehotská, and the cohesion of the neighbors, seems very real. There is no longer any threat of eviction or demolition.

"This has potential!" Katarin also expresses her conviction. He chooses the location, where today there are absolutely no civic amenities, precisely because it has a village atmosphere.

Everyone knows everyone here (the future tenant will introduce herself to the neighbors at a joint meeting on Sunday) and people usually stick together.

"Rent less than eight thousand with water. About two thousand less than for a block of flats," says Katarin. The houses in the settlement are the property of the Mariánské Hory and Hulváky district. While his former management leaves a mark here in the form of repairs to several of them... can the same be said for the paintwork and new linoleum?

"I have an old solid fuel boiler that has reached the end of its life, but next to it there are still Petri stones for firewood, like from the 1950s," comments Katarin. The house wants to have two rooms plus a kitchenette and eventually add a room in the attic. Outside, the dilapidated garage needs to be demolished, the land cultivated and fenced.

"I suppose I could grow old here," says Katarin about Bedřiška. According to her, the date of moving from Rychvald, where her sons live, depends mainly on the speed of remodeling the house to a permanent and usual standard corresponding to housing. He also believes in transforming the locality into an attractive village.

Which, according to district mayor Patrik Hujdus, may not be a utopia: "There is real interest in living in Bedřiška. Doctors, nurses, businessmen, they also contact us." Information about the future of this settlement, including the construction of new houses, is causing a wave of interest. And a better connection with the surrounding world.

"Unfortunately, not all of the new applicants want to live in the original houses. Although they were repaired some time ago, they do not yet reach the necessary level for some groups of residents, which I understand," the mayor said. Both the district and the city of Ostrava are planning further repairs on Bedřiška.