About the site
The present administrative palace was created by remodelling an earlier Neo-Renaissance building to the design of architect Miloslav Kopřiva in 1924–1929, in a style combining rondocubism with the purist tendencies of modernism.
In 1743, Empress Maria Theresa established the main post office for Austrian Silesia in Opava. Initially the office occupied various premises around the town, and from the 1840s until 1886 it operated next to the town hall in the area now occupied by the Slezanka department store. It then moved into a new Neo-Renaissance palace in Panská Street, built specifically for the post office in 1884–1886 to designs by Vienna architect Friedrich Setz (1837–1907). This corner building featured a symmetrical façade with a central three-bay projection in the form of a triumphal arch, crowned by a gable with clock and a pointed roof.
With the growth of postal services, the state decided in the early 1920s to rebuild the premises. The commission went to Brno architect Miloslav Kopřiva (1894–1968), who designed a blend of the forms of the “national style” or rondocubism with an overall concept reflecting purist modernism. After a brief period working for the Provincial Political Administration in Brno, Kopřiva set up his own practice in the early 1920s, designing school buildings, Sokol halls, and bank offices, especially for smaller Moravian and Silesian towns. His 1923 competition entry for the extension to the Provincial House in Brno had used a similar combination of rondocubist and purist forms.
In the Opava project of 1925 and the ensuing 1927–1929 construction, he further emphasized the restraint of his chosen approach. In the completed design, the attic above the second floor was rhythmically punctuated with pilasters topped with segmental capitals – a nod to his architectural beginnings and to the national style. At the post office’s request, he added an extra storey, enlarged the entrances and windows, and “stripped back” both façade and interiors to a simple volumetric and spatial layout, using reinforced-concrete and steel construction. The main façade retained the three-bay central projection, to which he added a wider five-bay extension on the second floor, emphasizing the entrance section. A cylindrical pier marked the corner, and the building was crowned with a tower-like attic feature. On the ground floor, the public hall and counter area were enlarged, while the service wing was fitted with a double-flight staircase. At the rear, an entrance from U Pošty Street gave access to a rectangular courtyard for loading and unloading postal vehicles.
The remodelling was carried out by the Moravská Ostrava construction firm of František Kolář and Jan Rubý, with metalwork by the Prostějov firm Vulkania. The building became a modern landmark of Masarykova třída (Masaryk Avenue). In 2014, Czech Post closed its branch here and relocated to the new Breda & Weinstein shopping and community centre, subsequently selling the property to a private investor. The current owner, MG PHARMA s.r.o., is redeveloping the building for medical practices, senior housing, a café, and an optician’s shop.
MSt
