The site of Ostrava, located about one hundred and seventy miles (two hundred and seventy-five kilometers) east of Prague, was an important crossroads of prehistoric trading routes, namely the Amber Road.

Archaeological finds have proved that the area around Ostrava has been permanently inhabited for twenty-five thousand years.

The Venus of Petřkovice was made here around 23,000 BCE; it is today in Archaeological Institute, Brno.

The Ostravice river marks the thirteenth-century border between the Silesian duchy of Opole and the March of Moravia under Bohemian suzerainty.

Two settlements have arisen on both sides of the river: Slezská Ostrava (Silesian Ostrava) was first mentioned in 1229, Moravská Ostrava (Moravian Ostrava) in 1267.

It is today the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the second largest urban agglomeration after Prague.