Location: South Moravia Region
Brno (Brünn in German) is a statutory city, the second
largest city in the Czech Republic in terms of population and area, the
largest city in Moravia and the former capital of Moravia. It is the
seat of the South Moravian Region, in the central part of which the
independent district of Brno-město is formed. The city with an area of
230.18 km² has approximately 379 thousand inhabitants and about 700
thousand people live in its metropolitan area. The rivers Svratka and
Svitava flow through Brno, which merge in the southern part of the city.
Brno is the center of the judicial power of the Czech Republic, as
it has become the seat of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court,
the Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Prosecutor's Office. In
addition, it is an overall important administrative center, as it is
home to state authorities with nationwide control powers and other
important institutions, such as the Public Defender of Rights, the
Office for the Protection of Economic Competition or the State
Agricultural and Food Inspection. The studio of Czech Television and
Czech Radio is established by law in Brno. Since 1777, Brno has also
been the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Brno.
The city is
an important center of higher education with 29 faculties of ten
universities and other universities with almost 65 thousand students.
Formerly dominant engineering plants in the city include Zbrojovka,
tractor manufacturer Zetor, Královopolská or První Brnoská strojírna,
bearing producer ZKL and others. In the 19th century, thanks to the
developed textile industry, Brno earned the nickname "Austrian" or
"Moravian Manchester", in the 21st century, thanks to the development of
information technology, it is referred to as the "Czech" or "Moravian
Silicon Valley".
Large international exhibitions and fairs have
traditionally been held at the Brno Exhibition Center since 1928, the
largest of which is the International Engineering Fair. The extensive
area of the exhibition center is also one of the cultural monuments of
the city. Brno also became famous as the venue for large motor racing,
the tradition of which dates back to the 1930s. The Grand Prix of the
Czech Republic, part of the World Motorcycle Championship series, was
one of the most important races at the nearby Masaryk circuit. Since
1998, Brno has also hosted the well-attended international fireworks
show Ignis Brunensis.
The most important landmarks of the city
include the Špilberk castle and fortress on the hill of the same name
and the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul on the Petrov hill, forming the
characteristic panorama of the city. The second preserved castle on the
territory of Brno is Veveří, once built above the river Svratka and
today rising above the Brno dam. An important monument of interwar
architecture is the functionalist Villa Tugendhat, which is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. There are a total of 11 national cultural monuments
in Brno. The historic city core was declared a city heritage reserve,
the city also has one urban heritage zone, one village heritage zone and
one archaeological heritage reserve. The Moravian Karst Protected
Landscape Area, the southernmost part of which extends into the city, is
also an attractive tourist location. Brno is also a wine-growing
municipality within the Velkopavlovická wine sub-region.
The historic center of Old Town of Brno is rich in architectural marvels and historic buildings. Brno squares are not only famous for its buildings, but can be used as a way to guide yourself through narrow historical streets of the city. These include Freedom Square with the Plague Columna, Moravian Square, St. Jacob Square with its Governor's palace and the Church the Church Ossuary, Dominican Square with a gallery and a museum and many others. In addition to this the main tourist attractions of Brno are the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul, Saint Jacob Church, Saint Thomas Church, Old and New Town Halls. Many of the streets in the historical part are too narrow for cars, so walking or biking is the best way to get around and see all destinations.
Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul (Katedrála svatého Petra a Pavla)
Petrov 9
Tel. +(420) 543 23 5031
Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul in Brno is a national monument of the Czech Republic. It belonged to a monastery that was constructed in the late 13th century and later increased in size in the 14th century in the Romanesque architectural style. It is ironic that a peaceful religious complex was constructed on a site of a former military citadel that was torn down to make way to Roman Catholic abbey.
Original church dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul was constructed in a Romanesque style. It badly damaged in the 17th century by the Swedish troops that invaded the region during the Thirty Years War. Current Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul was rebuilt shortly after the war ended. Its current Gothic appearance was designed by an Austrian architect Augusto Kirstein.
Two towers of Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul reach a height of 81 meters. Their roofs still define the cityscape of Brno as they did for centuries. Platform at the top of these towers are open to the public. Tourists can gaze at the magnificent city below. From here you can even see the plans of the Battle of Austerlitz where Russian, French and Holy Roman Empire troops fought each other on December 2nd, 1805.
Church of Saint Jacob (Kostel svatého Jakuba)
Jakubska 11
Tel. +(420) 542 212 039
Official site
Church of Saint Jacob is a Roman Catholic Church that stands on Jacob's Square (Jakubska) in Brno. The church was constructed in the 13th century in late Gothic architectural style. In 1592 the building of Saint Jacob got a tower 92 meters high with a Renaissance dome. During the Thirty Years War (1618- 48) Church of Saint Jacob was badly damaged. It was, nevertheless, shortly reconstructed shortly thereafter. During the remodeling of the basement workers discovered second largest burial crypt in Europe. By some modest estimates Church of Saint Jacob houses the remains of about 50,000 people. In 1995 the church was declared a national monument.
Castles, palaces and castles
Špilberk (hrad Špilberk), Špilberk
210/1. To the west of the city rises the Špilberk (288 m) with
magnificent parks. On it is a citadel, originally a fortress and
margravial palace, 1740-1855 a state prison, later barracks. The
well-known Pandour colonel von Trenck died here as a prisoner in 1749
and the Italian poet Count Silvio Pellico was imprisoned from 1822-1830,
who described these years in his work "Le mie prigioni". Today the Brno
City Museum is located here.
Buildings
Old Town Hall (Stará
radnice) (radnice - Stará radnice), Radnická 368/8 . With its striking
town hall tower, it is one of the oldest and best-known buildings in the
old town.
New Town Hall (Nová radnice)
Villa Tugendhat (vila
Tugendhat), Černopolní 45, Černopolní 237/45. Phone: +42 (0)545212118 .
Villa Tugendhat is located 20 minutes from the city center and is
included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is a classic example of
Bauhaus architecture. Here the meeting took place, at which the silk
divorce, the separation of the Czech and Slovak republics in 1992, was
decided. It is possible to visit the villa in a guided tour; Guided
tours are conducted every hour. It is advisable to register in advance.
(As of summer 2014: 1 month lead time).
Monuments
Memorial to
the composer Leos Janacek
Museums
Moravian Gallery
House of
Arts
Brno City Museum
Moravian State Museum in the Dietrichstein
Palace
Augustinian Abbey. With an exhibition about the biologist
Gregor Mendel who works here.
Streets and squares
Herb market
in the city center
Freedom Square. Namesti Svobody.
Parks and
gardens
Brno zoo. The Zoological Garden is located in the district of
Bystrc.
Botanical Garden and Arboretum
Ignis Brunensis. A fireworks festival.
Exhibition Center Brno.
Exhibition and Convention Center.
Narodní divadlo Brno. National
Theater Brno.
Brno Grand Prix. Motorsport at the Automotodrome.
getting there
By plane
Brno Airport (IATA: BRQ) is not
particularly important internationally, there are only a few
connections. With bus line 76, the public transport network provides a
regular connection (every 30 minutes from 4:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.) to
the city center of Brno. The trip costs 25 CZK. The N89 bus line runs at
night.
By train
Brno is an important intermediate station on
the Prague-Vienna/Bratislava main line; all Eurocity and Intercity
trains stop here. Especially from Berlin there is a daily direct
connection (journey time 7 hours 16 minutes) and four equivalent
connections with a change in Prague. Every two hours there is a Railjet
train from Vienna to Brno. There are also 3 connections with a change in
Břeclav. Railjet trains also connect Brno with Graz every two hours. The
main train station is located near the city center (10 minutes walk),
which means that the most important destinations such as Náměstí svobody
(Liberty Square), Petrov (old town with cathedral), Vaňkovka (large
shopping center) and others can be reached within a few minutes.
By bus
There are bus connections from various European cities,
including Prague. Czech Airlines offers a bus shuttle from Prague to
Brno. Timetables for all bus routes, including international ones, can
be found at iDNES.cz.
In the street
You can travel by car via
the D1 from Prague and Olmütz, via the D2 from Bratislava, and the R 52
(further in Austria via B7 and A5) from Vienna.
By boat
An
unconventional but very attractive option is to use a cruise ship at the
village of Veverská Bitýška across the Brněnská Dam. It runs only in
summer and runs lengthwise across the lake to the Brno-Bystrc pier on
the western outskirts of the city.
taxi
ČD Taxi (Czech
Railways taxi). Tel.: +42 (0)14041 (speed dial), mobile: +42
(0)777257257 (SMS order). Very inexpensive. Only for journeys to and
from a train station, on telephone or SMS order and presentation of a
valid train ticket when boarding. When ordering via SMS, there is no
specific input format for the SMS message, but the phrase "CD Taxi" must
appear at the beginning of the SMS.
CityTaxi Brno. Phone: +42
(0)542321321, +42 (0)777014004 (SMS). The largest taxi service in Brno,
German-speaking drivers, disposition. Calculate the price of the journey
by train. Price: 30 CZK/km.
The urban area is easily accessible by tram, trolleybus and bus. In addition, it is very easy to get around the old town on foot. In contrast to Prague, e-scooters are rare.
There are numerous small shops in the city center; it pays off to walk down the side streets as well. Directly south of the main train station is a large Tesco department store and the large shopping center Galerie Vaňkovka. On the D2 motorway to Bratislava there is the Avion Shopping Park (including Ikea) directly at the intersection with the D1 and the huge Olympia shopping center near Chrlice.
The local density is particularly high in the city center, whereby you will find something in all price ranges. In addition to Moravian cuisine, all variations of international cuisine are also available.
In the old town there is a variety of bars, pubs and clubs. A larger concentration of bars can be found around the Church of St. James (Kostel Sv Jakuba) towards Freedom Square.
Cheap
Hostel middle. Nice little hostel in the center. Price:
dormitory 18 EUR/person, double room 41 EUR/room.
Middle
1
Pension U Heligonky, Radlas 5, 60200 Brno. Tel.: +420 545 214 918,
e-mail: info@uheligonky.cz commons.
2 Pension Satyam, Křížkovského
33, 60300 Brno. Tel.: +420 775 265 292, e-mail: hotel@satyam.cz. Indian
restaurant and pension at the exhibition center
3 Hotel Voronez.
Hotel at the exhibition center.
4 Orea Hotel Voroněž II, Křížkovského
49, 60300 Brno. Tel.: +420 543 142 020, e-mail: voronez2@orea.cz
commons. Hotel at the exhibition center.
Hotel Santander. Comfortable
accommodation in thirteen double rooms and one single room and in an
apartment with its own fireplace in a pleasant environment of a newly
reconstructed villa from the beginning of the 20th century. near the
Brno Exhibition Center (a ten-minute walk away). There is an opportunity
to park your car in the closed hotel area. Feature: ★★★.
Upscale
5 Continental Hotel . Located in a quiet part about ten minutes from the
city center. Price: SR 63 EUR, DR 85 EUR. 10% discount when booked
online. The price may increase at important trade fairs.
Older people from Brno mostly still speak German, younger ones more
English.
The zip code is 602 00.
tourist information
Information center under the crocodile, Radnická 8. Tel.: +42
(0)542427150, +42 (0)542427150, e-mail: info@ticbrno.cz. Open: 9.00 a.m.
– 6.00 p.m.
Information center THIS IS BRNO, Panenská 1. Tel.: +42
(0)513039035, +42 (0)513039035, e-mail: panenska@ticbrno.cz. Open: 9.00
a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Airport Information Center, Letiště Brno-Tuřany
904/1. Phone: +42 (0)727923523, +42 (0)727923523, e-mail:
letiste@ticbrno.cz.
Information center at the Main Train Station,
Nádražní 1. Tel.: +42 (0)725518113, +42 (0)725518113. Open: 9.00 a.m. –
5.00 p.m.
The name is first documented in the 12th century in the form of Brnen
(also spelled Brenne, Brynen, Birnen, etc.) and was related to the local
castle. The first written mention of Brno relating to the year 1091 is
from Kosm's Chronicle, where it is written: "Bohemian King Vratislav I
invaded Moravia with his army and laid siege to Brno Castle...". The
name of the castle was the nominative form of the adjective brnný -
"clay", derived from the noun brn - "clay, mud, dirt". The castle was
thus named according to its location on a clay site (hill). The
designation of the castle was transferred in the form of Brno (neuter of
the same adjective in the nominative form) to the settlement in its
neighborhood. The Latin (Brunna) and German (Brünn) names of the city
also come from the Czech Brnno. The names of other settlements were also
derived from the same base, for example Brňan, Brníček, Brněnce.
Between 1949 and 1992, Brno was officially referred to as the "Regional
City of Brno", before that it bore the name "Regional Capital of Brno",
which was adopted at the time of the First Republic, although Brno was
the capital long before that. On some older documents (maps, various
documents, etc.) the designation "Royal capital Brno" can be found.
The BREN light machine gun (Brno + Enfield), a well-known weapon of
World War II, used mainly by the United Kingdom Army, was named after
the city of Brno. Also, for example, the culinary specialty Brno
schnitzel or the small asteroid "2889 Brno", discovered by astronomer
Antonín Mrkos.
In the Brno dialect called hantec, the use of
which is not quite common today, Brno is referred to as Brnisko[26] or
Bryncl, the name Štatl is also possible, which is the most typical of
the mentioned three among the native inhabitants, although originally it
referred only to the center of Brno.
The fortress of Stará Zámka on the cadastre of today's Lišné is
considered to be the direct predecessor of Brno, one of the fortresses
of the Great Moravian Empire, whose settlement dates from the end of the
Neolithic to the beginning of the 11th century.
Beginnings, the
Middle Ages and the Modern Age
The first findings of remains in the
Brno region date back approximately to the Paleolithic and were found in
the area of Stránská skály, the first documented Slavic settlement in
the Brno region is from around the 5th to the 7th century.
The
history of the city of Brno has always been closely linked with the
history of Moravia, already in the 11th century, from the time of the
regional principalities in Moravia, Brno played an extremely important
role in the administration of the country. The minting of coins in Brno
began in the 11th century, when the Brno princes minted the oldest Brno
denar here. The first written mention of Brno is in Kosm's Chronicle in
1091. In 1243 Brno was granted city rights, in the middle of the 13th
century Špilberk Castle was founded, in 1292 the then royal city of Brno
was granted the right to elect a magistrate. In 1324, Queen Eliška
Rejčka founded the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Staré
Brno, today a basilica and her final resting place. From the middle of
the 14th to the beginning of the 15th century, the Moravian branch of
the Luxembourgers, the Moravian margraves, founded by Jan Jindřich,
resided in Brno. The last Moravian Luxembourger, Jošt, was even elected
King of Rome in the fall of 1410, but he died in Špilberk at the
beginning of the following year. He is buried in the church of Saint
Thomas, which was founded by his father Jan Jindřich.
There was a
margrave's court in Brno, where the Moravian regional assembly and other
top political institutions of Moravia at that time met. Brno is the
former capital of Moravia and since the Middle Ages it has been its most
historically important city, especially together with Olomouc.
In
1777, the Bishopric of Brno was founded, in 1839 the first train from
Vienna arrived in Brno, thus beginning the operation of the steam
railway in the territory of the present-day Czech Republic. In 1850,
Brno was administratively expanded for the first time by the annexation
of 20 surrounding cadastral territories. In the years 1859–1864, the
entire city fortifications were almost completely demolished, in the
years 1896–1916, a large-scale rehabilitation took place in the historic
core, during which about 240 houses were replaced by new buildings or
completely removed. In 1869 in Brno, for the first time in the territory
of today's Czech Republic, a horse-drawn tram hit the streets of the
city.
Significant battles
In the 15th century, during the
Hussite Wars, Brno remained a strong stronghold of Catholicism
throughout, and the Hussites did not capture the city. In the summer of
1467, the city of Brno besieged the Špilberk castle, where the garrison
of the (Hussite) Czech King Jiří of Kunštát and Poděbrady resided.
In
the 17th century, Brno was besieged in 1643 and again in 1645 by Swedish
troops led by General Lennart Torstenson. It was a significant episode
in the Thirty Years' War. However, the Swedes never managed to capture
the city.
In the 18th century, Brno was besieged in 1742 by Prussian
troops under the leadership of Frederick II. Great, but also
unsuccessful.
In December 1805, the Battle of Slavkov, also known as
the "Battle of the Three Emperors", took place east of Brno. The city
itself did not take part in the battle, but the French army temporarily
occupied it without a fight, and Emperor Napoleon I spent the night here
several times. Brno was also occupied by the French army for several
months in 1809, and Napoleon stayed in the city again for several days.
At the end of April 1945, Brno was liberated by the Red Army under the
command of Marshal Rodion Malinovský as part of the Bratislava-Brno
operation.
Brno is the capital of Moravia
A few centuries ago,
Brno was in dispute with Olomouc for a long time over the status of the
capital of Moravia. This dispute was apparently caused by Prince
Břetislav I, who in 1055 divided Moravia into two mutually independent
territories, the Olomouc and Brno divisions, and later the independent
Znojmo division was also created. This led to the decentralization of
power and the creation of three, later again two centers in Moravia. The
reunification of Moravia began in 1182 by the will of the Roman German
Emperor Frederick I. Barbarossa with the establishment of the Margrave
of Moravia. In 1348, during the reign of the Margrave and King Karl, the
Moravian Land Court and Moravian Land Boards were established, both in
Brno and Olomouc, but the position of the capital of Moravia was still
unclear, although Olomouc was always officially mentioned first. It was
bigger and economically stronger, it was the seat of a bishop, later a
university, it had a more favorable location closer to the center of the
country (Moravia).
Brno, on the other hand, was the residence of
the margrave (Moravian ruler)[note 9] and later the proximity of the
Austrian capital Vienna also played a role. The Moravian Provincial
Assembly, which had been the legislative institution in the margrave
since the 14th century, sat alternately in both cities (for a short time
also in Znojmo), the provincial court also sat alternately, and
provincial boards were also held in both cities. However, Olomouc had a
more favorable position than Brno for a long time, until the Thirty
Years' War, when a royal tribunal was established in Brno in 1636, an
institution so important that Brno became de facto the only capital of
Moravia, but not for long.
The turn of the year 1641-1642 became
the most significant milestone in the dispute. In 1641, Margrave and
Emperor Ferdinand III. ordered that the regional assembly and the court,
together with the royal tribunal and regional boards, be permanently
relocated from Olomouc to Brno, thereby ending the alternating session
of the regional assembly and the court in both cities. In 1642, Olomouc
surrendered to the Swedish army and as a result its political importance
in Moravia fell heavily in favor of Brno, at that time the entire land
boards were also moved to Brno, and Brno then definitively became the
only political center of the country.
However, the final
resolution of disputes over the capital of Moravia between Brno and
Olomouc belongs to the Margrave and Emperor Josef II, who in 1782
recognized the right to designate Brno as the capital permanently. This
was later confirmed by the regional constitution, as well as, for
example, by the activities of the High Regional Court, whose
jurisdiction did not only extend to the whole of Moravia, but also to
Austrian Silesia.
Brno was then the capital of Moravia until
1928, when the Moravian Land was merged with the Silesian Land. After
that, Brno was the regional capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region.
Finally, in 1948, the Moravian-Silesian regional government was
abolished by the communist government, and with it, the position of its
capital also disappeared. The Moravian land records are today a national
cultural monument and are stored in the Moravian Land Archives in Brno.
20th century and Velké Brno
In 1919, the two neighboring towns of
Královo Pole and Husovice and 21 other municipalities were annexed to
Brno. Thus, the so-called Velké Brno was created, with an area 7 times
larger and a population of about 222,000 compared to the original
130,000. In 1921, Brno became the provincial capital of Moravia in the
then First Republic, before that it was the capital of the Margrave of
Moravia, seven years later it became the provincial capital of
Moravian-Silesian. Between 1936 and 1940, the Brno Reservoir (initially
called the Knínič Reservoir) was built above Brno on Svratka.
In
1939, Brno was occupied by the German army in the harbinger of the
Second World War, and on April 26, 1945, it was liberated by the Red
Army. Shortly after the war, from May 30, 1945, as part of similar
nationwide efforts, the German population of Brno was resettled.
After the communist coup d'état of February 1948, the traditional
political and economic importance of Brno as the capital declined at the
time, with the Act on Regional Establishment adopted on December 21,
1948. This Act abolished the regional establishment and Moravia was
divided into several regions subordinate to Prague (effective from 24
December 1948). The regional establishment after 1948 did not respect
the borders of historical countries. The city of Brno then became the
seat of the Brno Region and, after the reform in 1960, the seat of the
South Moravian Region. In 1949, Brno lost its status as a statutory
city. In 1968, according to the Act on National Committees, it became a
statutory city again, this status was also restored after the Velvet
Revolution in 1990. In 2000, the self-governing South Moravian Region
was established, with Brno as the regional capital.
During the
20th century, Brno expanded several times. In addition to the creation
of Velké Brno in 1919, this occurred in 1944 (the township of Líšeň was
annexed), 1957 (around the Brno Dam), 1960 (four municipalities), 1971
(eight municipalities) and most recently in 1980, when Útěchov became
part of the city.
21st century
In 2017, the city created a
strategy called Brno 2050, in which it described visions for the future
in three areas: quality of life, city administration and resources.
According to her, 600,000 inhabitants should live in Brno in 2050,
modern architecture should grow here, cooperation within the
metropolitan area should work, and there are plans to introduce an open
data policy or participatory governance by citizens. In the area of
transport, it is supposed to connect the city to high-speed lines and
increase traffic at the Turan airport, the vision also includes, for
example, the use of renewable resources.
Brno is located in the south-east of the Czech Republic in the region
of South Moravia. The Svratka and Svitava rivers flow through the city,
the confluence of which is located on the southern edge of the city, in
the cadastral territory of the Přízřenice district. The Svratka stream
is approximately 29 km long in the territory of Brno, at Svitava the
length is about 13 km. Other watercourses include the Ponávka, Veverka
and Říčka rivers or streams. The Brno Reservoir and several small ponds
and other bodies of water, such as the Žebětín Pond, reservoirs in
Mariánské údolí and Holásecká Lakes, are located in the city cadastre.
Brno is protected on three sides by the forested hills of the Brněnská
vrchoviny, and in the southwest, the lowlands of the Western
Transcarpathian depressions, specifically the Dyjsko-Svratecký valley,
begin. The altitude of the city varies between 190-497 m above sea
level, a significant part of the territory of Brno (6379 ha, 28%) is
covered by forests. In addition to the Petrov and Špilberk hills, the
city cadastre also includes the hills Bílá hora, Červený kopec, Hády (in
part), Kamenný vrch, Kraví hora, Medlánecké kopce, Mniší hora, Palackého
vrch, Stránská skála, Strom and Zlutý kopec, the highest peak being
Kopeček (479.41 m above sea level). The highest point on the cadastre of
the city with an altitude of 497 m is located north of Útěchov.
Brno has a relatively diverse natural background and a mild climate,
which is due to its location between the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and
the lowlands of South Moravia. The average annual temperature reaches
9.4 °C, the average annual precipitation is 505 mm, the average number
of days with precipitation is 150, the average sunshine per year is
1,771 hours and the predominant wind direction is northwest. From east
to west, the city is 21.5 km long and occupies a total area of 230 km².
There are several dozen protected areas on the Brno cadastre, for
example part of the Moravian Karst protected landscape area, the
Stránská skála national natural monument, the Hádecká plaininka national
nature reserve, the Bílá hora natural monument or the Bosonožský hájek
nature reserve.
Brno is an ancient crossroads of trade routes
that connected northern and southern European civilizations for
centuries, and for centuries it was the capital of the autonomous
Moravian country. As part of the Danube region, the city is historically
connected to Vienna, 110 km away.