Brno – The Jewel in the South of the Czech Republic

History

Brno is the second largest city of the Czech Republic. At the confluence of the rivers Svratka und Svitava at a sea level of 223 m a small settlement was already developed in the stone age. The Premysliden castle was the first time recorded in 1091. The Czech king Wenceslas I confirmed basic city rights and privileges to the city in the year 1243. The city was gaining importance and trade and commerce were flourishing. In the year 1641 Brno became the capital of Moravia.

Today you will find different historic sights in the city. One of the eldest are the castle Spilberk www.spilberk.cz, the Saint Peters cathedral, the Capuchin church and a lot of other churches, the gentleman residences and the old city houses.

Brno today

Today Brno is a modern city, which is concerned about its further development. App. 400.000 inhabitants live on an area of 230 km2. Due to the fact that Brno lies in a pleasant hollow at the crossroads of the European highways, the city is the natural centre of the region with around 2.5 million people.

A great impact of the life of the inhabitants of Brno has the exhibition centre, which was already built in 1917. Over the years 1955-1959 10 more pavilions were built. Pavilion Z is the biggest with a circle outline of 122 metres and a cupola of 46 metres height - with two galleries this pavilion reaches an exhibition area of around 20.000 m2. This avant-garde climax of the Czech school of architecture is one of the dominants of the city. More than 20 exhibitions and fairs are held per year.

Furthermore the citizens of Brno are keen to maintain regular and systematic co-operation with European cities. The objective of foreign co-operation is, above all, to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the city's inhabitants and also to fulfil all expectations of guests. Brno has acquired experience and information from various places all over the world by means of work projects, study stays and cultural exchanges.