Brno is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic after the capital, Prague, and one of the 100 largest cities of the EU.

Brno is the former capital city of Moravia and the political and cultural hub of the South Moravian Region.

It is the centre of the Czech judiciary, with the seats of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, and the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, and a number of state authorities, including the Ombudsman, and the Office for the Protection of Competition. Brno is also an important centre of higher education, with 33 faculties belonging to 13 institutes of higher education and about 89,000 students.

Brno Exhibition Centre ranks among the largest exhibition centres in Europe. The complex opened in 1928 and established the tradition of large exhibitions and trade fairs held in Brno. Brno hosts motorbike and other races on the Masaryk Circuit, a tradition established in 1930, in which the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious races. Another cultural tradition is an international fireworks competition, Ignis Brunensis, that attracts tens of thousands of daily visitors.

The most visited sights of 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 cityscape and are often depicted as its traditional symbols.

The other large preserved castle near the city is Veveří Castle by Brno Reservoir. Another architectural monument of Brno is the functionalist Villa Tugendhat which has been included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. One of the natural sights nearby is the Moravian Karst. The city is a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and has been designated as a “City of Music” in 2017.

Sights

The Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul and Dietrichstein Palace viewed from the tower of the Old Town Hall

Villa Tugendhat, protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Brno has hundreds of historical sights, including one designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and eight monuments listed among the national cultural heritage of the Czech Republic. Majority of the main sights of Brno are situated in its historical centre. The city has the third largest historic preservation zone in the Czech Republic, the largest one being that of the Czech capital Prague.

Špilberk Castle, originally a royal castle founded in the 13th century, was from the 17th century a fortress and feared prison. Today it is one of the city’s principal monuments.

Similarly important is the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. The cathedral was built during the 14th and 15th centuries in place of an 11th-century chapel. In its present form with two neo-Gothic towers it was finished only in 1909. The other large castle near the city is Veveří Castle.

Abbey of Saint Thomas is the place where Gregor Mendel established the new science of genetics. Basilica of the assumption of our Lady the final resting place also of its founder Queen Elisabeth Richeza. Church of Saint James is one of the most preserved and most spectacular Gothic churches in Brno.

The city spends about 30 million euro every year on culture. There are many museums, theatres and other cultural institutions. Brno is also a vibrant university city with about 90,000 students, and a number of festivals and other cultural events.

Brno Ossuary which is the second largest ossuary in Europe, after the Catacombs of Paris. Another ossuary is Capuchin crypt with mummies of Capuchin monks and some of the notable people of their era, like architect Mořic Grimm or the famous mercenary leader Baron Trenk.

The Labyrinth under Vegetable Market, a system of underground corridors and cellars dating back to Middle Ages, has been recently opened to the public. These cellars were used mainly for storing food, maturing beer and wine, and as wartime shelters.

Brno is home to a functionalist Synagogue and the largest Jewish cemetery in Moravia. The only Czech mosque, founded in 1998, is also located in Brno.

The Brno Exhibition Centre is the city’s premier attraction for international business visitors. Annually, over one million visitors attend over 40 professional trade fairs and business conferences held here.

Festivals

The biggest festival held in Brno is the fireworks competition festival Ignis Brunensis (Latin for “Flame of Brno”) held annually in June. It is part of a festival with a bold name “Brno – City in the Centre of Europe”. Ignis Brunensis is the biggest show of its kind held in Central Europe.

International film festival Cinema Mundi shows about 60 films competing for Oscar nomination in the category of Best Foreign Language Film.

The Theatre World Brno is another international festival annually held in the city where the Brno theatres and the city centre stages around one hundred performances by both national and foreign ensembles.

There are many other festivals regularly held in Brno, for instance the International Music Festival Brno, the Spilberk International Music Festival, the Summer Shakespeare Festival, and many others…

Every September, Brno is home to a wine festival (Slavnosti vína) to celebrate the harvest in the surrounding wine-producing region.

Theatres

Brno has the oldest theatre building in Central Europe, the Reduta Theatre at Zelný trh.

The first documented professional Czech performance took place in 1767 again in the Reduta Theatre, the play was called Zamilovaný ponocný (en: Watchman in Love) and was performed by the Venice Theatre Company; the same year Mozart performed in the theatre with his elder sister Anna Maria (Nannerl). In that year the Mozart family spent Christmas in Brno, this rare visit is commemorated by a statue of Mozart as a child in front of the Reduta Theatre; also the Reduta’s Mozart Hall was named after him.

The Mahen Theatre

The National Theatre Brno is the leading scene of opera, drama and ballet in the city of Brno. The Mahen Theatre was the first theatre building in Europe to be illuminated by Thomas Edison’s electric light bulbs; at that time it was a completely new invention and there were no power plants built in the city, so a small steam power plant was built nearby just to power the theatre, and Edison came to Brno in 1911 to see it.

The most commercially successful theatre in Brno is the Brno City Theatre, founded in 1945; its performances are usually sold out. They also stage about 150 performances abroad every year. Repertoire of this theatre consists primarily of musical and dramatical scene.

The Mahen Theatre was originally called the City Theatre and until 1918 it performed exclusively in German and was not part of the National Theatre in Brno. Between 1971 and 1978 some plays were performed at the Brno Exhibition Centre due to reconstruction of the Mahen Theatre.