Brno

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Brno (/хbr/no/ (?·i)in German, Brünn, pronounced/b/n/( listen)) is the second largest city in the Czech Republic by population and surface, and the largest city in Moravia. Historical capital of the Moravian Margravia, Brno is the administrative centre of the Southern Moravia Region in which it forms a separate district (Brno-město district). The city is located in the southeast of the country, 40 km from Austria and 60 km from Slovakia, in the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers and has about 400 000 inhabitants; its metropolitan area hosts more than 800 000 people, while its largest urban area had a population of about 730 000 inhabitants in 2004.

Brno is the seat of the judicial authority of the Czech Republic, home to the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court and the Office of the Supreme Prosecutor. The city is also an important administrative center. It is the seat of a number of state authorities, including the Ombudsman and the Office for the Protection of Competition. Brno is also a major center of higher education, with 33 faculties belonging to thirteen institutes of higher education and around 89,000 students.

The most visited places in the city include the Špilberk Castle and Fortress and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul on Petrov Hill, two medieval buildings that dominate the urban landscape and are often depicted as its traditional symbols. The other large castle preserved near the city is the Veveří Castle by the Brno Reservoir. This castle gave rise to a number of legends, like many other places in Brno. The city is characterized by its functionalist-style buildings, being Villa Tugendhat one of the most famous that was included in the Unesco World Heritage list. One of the nearby natural attractions is the Moravian Karst.

History

Although settlements in the Brno basin date back to prehistoric times, the official founding date is 1243, when the Bohemian king granted privileges to this village, allowing it to develop. In the second half of the XIII century, German, Flemish and Walloon settlers arrived, followed by Jews.

At the beginning of the XVI century, it was integrated into the territories of the Habsburgs. In the middle of this century he leans towards the Protestant Reformation (Protestantism). To counteract it, several religious orders settled in the city, among them the Jesuits and the Capuchins. As a stronghold, Brno was noted for its successful resistance against the Swedes in 1643 and 1645 in the Thirty Years' War, as well as against the Prussians in 1742.

From the events of 1645, a curious anecdote has been preserved, the consequences of which continue to this day. The Swedish general who was besieging Brno, already tired by the prolonged fight against the city, declared that if he had not won by noon he would definitively abandon it. This made his soldiers energized and by mid-morning the city was about to surrender. Then the bell ringer of the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul rang the bells from noon to eleven. The general, true to his word, ceased the combat and withdrew. Since that day the bells of the cathedral have been striking twelve times at eleven in the morning.

In the 18th century Brno was home to the textile and engineering industries. The railway arrived in 1839. Little by little it lost its fortifications and in 1850 32 neighboring municipalities decided to form part of the city. It becomes one of the main industrial centers of Austria-Hungary at the end of the XIX century. During the 19th century, Czechs and Germans, both Christians and a significant Jewish minority, coexisted peacefully in a predominantly bilingual multiculturalism of He speaks German. The problem of German and Czech nationalism became acute at the beginning of the XX century. The Austrian majority in the city council ended in 1919. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolved, as a consequence of the First World War, Brno remained in Czechoslovakia despite the fact that its population was mainly German, being surrounded by the Czech population. Masaryk University was founded in 1919 as a second higher school with instruction in the Czech language.

Nazi troops entering the city in March 1939

The annexation of part of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany and the actions of World War II lead to the expulsion of the German-speaking inhabitants of the city in 1945 and the closure of the German Technical University in Brno, as well as other institutions German-speaking. However, the local dialect that remains to this day, Hantec, is a mix of German, Czech, and Yiddish.

In 1993, when the country was divided, Brno remained in the Czech Republic, as the capital of the Moravian or Moravian region, and maintained a certain rivalry with Prague, capital of the Bohemian or Bohemian region. In 2013, the AZ Tower, the tallest 111 m skyscraper in the Czech Republic, was inaugurated in the city. Factories from the start of the industrial revolution still remain in Brno, earning it the nickname Czech Manchester.

Monuments and places of interest

The greatest attraction for the visitor is undoubtedly the city center, limited by the Central Station (Hlavní nádraží), the Cathedral, the Špilberk Fortress and the Moravian Square (Moravské náměstí), centered on the Square of Freedom (náměstí Svobody). All of it is a commercial area.

Another point of tourist interest is Villa Tugendhat, a unique example of functionalist architecture from the interwar period, built in 1929 by the German architect Mies van der Rohe and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001.

In this city (Mendel Square = Mendlovo náměstí) is the Staré Brno Monastery (Starobrněnský klášter), where Gregor Mendel lived and studied since 1843 and where he developed his important genetic theories, now known as Mendel's laws. Next door, during spring and summer, a visit to the large terrace of the factory of the largest brewery in the city: Starobrno, where you can have beer and food, is very pleasant.

The Old Town Hall (Stará radnice), built in the 13th century, is the oldest civil building old of the village Its high tower stands out. The first mention is from 1343.

View of the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul (Petrov).

The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, built on the site of a former castle, dominates Petrov Hill. This is a late Gothic building from the 13th century, built over an older crypt and renovated in Baroque style in 1743 -1746 after the Swedes burned it down during the siege of 1645. The façade and towers were completed in the early XX century. The church of San Jaime is one of the most preserved and imposing in the city in the Gothic style. Beneath this church is the Brno Ossuary, the second largest of its kind in Europe after the Paris catacombs. Opposite Petrov is the Špilberk fortress, which dominates the city. It was a state prison, famous for having been locked up there protagonists of the Italian Risorgimento. It then received the nickname of the "prison of nations". There were Piero Maroncelli, Federico Confalonieri or Silvio Pellico. The Gestapo used the fortress during World War II as a torture center. This place of sinister memory today exposes the history of the town and houses the municipal museum.

Palacio Dietrichstein, headquarters of the Moravia Museum.

Another museum in Brno is the Morava Gallery, housed in three buildings in the historic center. In the same way, the National Theater of Brno consists of three buildings: The Mahen Theatre, the first European to have electric light; the Janáček Theatre, intended mainly for operas and ballets; and the Reduta Theatre, the oldest in Central Europe. A Great Brno Exhibition Center (Brněnské výstaviště) is close to Mendel Square and the river. The exhibitions and congresses that are held there are continuous. The Morava Library is the main one in the region and the second largest in the Czech Republic.

The Brno autodrome is the most important racing circuit in the Czech Republic, hosting numerous international motorsport and motorcycling categories every year.

Transportation

He's driving around the streets of Brno.

The city is part of an interconnected integrated public transport system for the entire South Moravian region. It has a network of 12 tram lines within the city and 13 trolleybus lines (the largest in the Czech Republic), as well as 40 daytime and 12 night bus lines. Brno Central Station is an important point of national rail connection and to neighboring countries. In 1839, the Brno-Vienna line, the country's first railway route, began to operate. There is also a 130 km long cycle path that connects the city with Vienna.

The Brno-Tuřany airport, southeast of the city, had (in 2021) regular flights with London, Milan and kyiv, with other seasonal temporary destinations; during the summer mainly to Spain and Greece, and to Egypt during the winter.