The curators of MUSEum+ select the most interesting topics spanning the past, present, and future of industry at home and abroad.
We are Blast Furnaces No. 4 and 6. For decades, we stood here with our flames burning day and night. But in September 1998, our fire finally went out. And with it came a big question: what would happen to us and to the entire Vítkovice complex?
The Federal Assembly – that is my name. Welcome to Prague. Who am I? I have stood through all the crucial decisions our republic has faced since 1948, for once I served as the home of the National Assembly. From 1995, I became the headquarters of Radio Free Europe – and since 2009, as part of the National Museum, I have been safeguarding the treasures of our history.
It was Sunday morning at 8.30 a.m. and a glowing stream of pig iron began to roll under the blast furnace No. 1 at the Vítkovice Ironworks, accompanied by a sizzle of hot sparks as it had so many times before. A blast was taking place under the furnace. This time, however, it was different, it was watched by 1,200 employees, it was 27 September 1998 and this blast was the last ever in Vítkovice.
Anyone who has traveled through the Czech countryside knows them – tall dark blue cylinders rising high, displaying the iconic logo of the Vítkovice Ironworks, clearly announcing a place associated with agriculture. These are the enameled tower silos and tanks known as "Vítkovice" — symbols of agricultural industry of our countryside.
An iconic silhouette that has become part of the city’s, region’s, and even a university’s emblem; a structure that locals inherently perceive as part of their identity; a national cultural heritage and a building nominated for entry on the UNESCO World Heritage List. All of this describes a single building that has crowned the summit of Ještěd Mountain above the northern Czech city of Liberec since 1973 – the Ještěd Hotel and Television Transmitter.
