KUPE

The cultural and artistic space KUPE opened in the reconstructed water tower at the eastern railway station in Opava in 2016. The water tower, which was built in the last quarter of the 19th century to ensure a sufficient supply of water for the operation of steam locomotives, had been unused for more than 40 years. Even though it is a cultural monument, its maintenance has been largely neglected and the building has begun to deteriorate. "We decided to save the monument for future generations, we managed to buy it, we reconstructed it and now we run a cultural centre in it, so we want to open the space to the public and give the building a new meaning," says Vladimír Peringer, founder of the construction company Unicont and chairman of the public benefit society Water Tower Opava, under whose auspices KUPE is operated.