Brno is a major city of the Moravia region in the Czech Republic. It is the largest city in South Moravia, the second largest city in the Czech Republic by population and the third largest city by area. The city celebrated 750 years of "city status". It was founded around year 1000. Brno is the cultural and administrative center of South Moravia. The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic is situated here as well as many other important authorities. Its population is around 380,000 people.
Hantec is a specific slang previously spoken among lower classes in Brno. Hantec is a mix of various languages that was spoken in the city before WWII, most importantly Czech, German, and Yiddish. Today, only few people spoke Hantec in its full form, but many words and expressions have become a part of Czech spoken in Brno. These words can be confusing not only for a foreigner learning Czech, but also for Czech people not familiar with Brno and its culture. Examples of common Hantec words include: šalina (tram, 'tramvaj' in standard Czech), love (money, 'peníze' in standard Czech), zóncna (sun, 'slunce' in standard Czech), or štatl (city, downtown, often used for Brno specificaly, 'město' in standard Czech).
PLACE TO VISIT
The City center is full of historical buildings, old churches, theaters, fountains, sculptures, clubs, restaurants, etc. It is very compact, so one could just walk around most of the places of interest.
Špilberk Castle, the famous fortress used as prison. Many people have been tortured here from all around Europe, mostly during Austro-Hungarian Empire times. Currently, it's museum with restaurant and nice park around, free for walks and beautiful sightseeings.
Petrov Cathedral, 10 minutes walk from city center. It's silhouette is the defining feature of the Brno skyline.
Old Town Hall, between the Cathedral, nám. Svobody, and the main station. See beloved Brno symbols the Drak (dragon) and the Wheel. Also notice the lopsided tower above the entrance. Legend has it that the city council stiffed the mason who built it and he made the crooked ornament in a fit of pique.
Náměstí svobody (Freedom Square) forms the heart of the city. It's shaped into big reversed "A". Many of cultural events take place here and there are always a lot of people here. This place is closed for most cars and trams run through the middle. Also most of the interesting places at city center are within 10 minutes walk from Freedom Square.
The Tugendhat Villa, 20min walk from the town center, is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is seen to be a classic example of Bauhaus architecture, and was also the location of the meeting which decided upon the Velvet Divorce that separated the Czech and Slovak republics in 1992. It is possible to visit the Villa by guided tour; tours are led hourly and can be booked by arriving at the gate.
Vaňkovka Gallery, a really large shopping centre converted from an old industrial center dated to the beginning of 19th century. Many of the historical industrial buildings were saved and implemented into the new shopping center.
Capuchin Church is a monastery from 17th Century right in the city center. Tourists love to visit the church, because of its Baroque statues and an exposition of mummified monks.
Baroque Parnas fountain from 16th century, located at "Zelný trh" a square with a fruit and vegetable market above Masaryk street (central street leading into Freedom Square).
At the top of the square you can find The Moravian Museum - second largest and oldest museum in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1817 by Emperor Francis I and, today, has collections with millions of objects from different fields of human history.
The Moravian Gallery, The second largest art museum in the Czech Republic. Mainly exhibits Moravian art and applied art though out history. Most recommended is its exhibition of modern Moravian art.
The Mendel Museum of Genetics, The most famous biologist in the history of genetics died in Brno. This interesting museum commemorates his revolutionary research. Information in English available.
Museum of Gypsy Culture, A museum dedicated to the gypsy minority in Moravia.
Tourist Information Centres are located in the city center, i.e. at Radnická street or Nádražní street.
WHAT TO DO
Visit the city celebration, held annually, which includes many family activities, including known as "Brno, the city in the center of Europe" .
Visit Ignis Brunensis, fireworks competition. There are four on the dam lake and at least two in the town centre. The fireworks begins everytime at 22:30. The show takes about 22 minutes. The public transport works at those times longer and much more. After the firework on the dam lake, there will be many people going to use the trams. The trams and buses are ready to take many people. During the festival there are nights of theatres and museums. The entrance is for free, however there are many people.
Visit an exhibition by your choice at BVV (Brno Trade and Fair Centre), the largest trade center in Central European region with many important fairs. The largest are Autosalon, MSV (International Engineering Fair), Invex (International Fair of Information and Communication Technologies), IDET (International Exhibition of Defence and Security Technologies and Special Information Systems) and of course a Vinex (International Wine Fair) and Pivex (International Beer Fair).
Visit one of many theaters in the city. They are well known even by many tourists, who comes even just to visit them.
HOW TO REACH
By train - From Vienna (Austria - 156 km), Prague (Praha - 250 km), Ostrava (172 km), Bratislava (Slovakia - 140 km) and also from number of smaller local towns as Česká Třebová and Jihlava. The Brno Central Station is located close to (10min walk) the center of town, with Náměstí svobody (Square of Freedom), Petrov (old town with cathedral), Vaňkovka (large shopping center) and other attractions just within a few minutes walk. Brno is an important stop on the Prague to Vienna / Bratislava railway line; all Eurocity and Intercity expresses stop here.
By car - Using highways - Ostrava, Bratislava, D1 highway from Prague or using any of a national roads. For the highway you have to buy a a toll sticker. 200km from Prague airport .
By coach - There are coach services from various European destinations including Prague. Czech Airlines has a coach service from Prague to Brno.
Time table for all buses including international you can find on. Page is in Czech, English and German. Student Agency is based in Brno and is probably the most comfortable service. There are more than 24 buses per day between Prague and Brno.
By air - There's an international airport at Brno-Tuřany with regular international services to Barcelona-Gerona (Ryanair, every second day), London-Stansted (Ryanair, 1 flight/day), Moscow-Vnukovo (Atlant-Soyuz Airlines/SmartWings, only on Sun) and domestic service to Prague (Czech Airlines(CSA), 3-4 flights/day). There is a frequent (every 30 minutes from aprox. 4:30AM to 11:30PM) public transport service (bus Nr. 76) connecting the airport with the regional and national bus station and the main train station in the center of the city. Fare is CZK 15, ticket buy beforehand in the information centre or ticket machine in the airport.
By boat - A unconventional, but beautiful way how to get to Brno (from it's periphery) is to take a cruiser at Veverská Bitýška village, which would take you (in summer season only) on a trip across Brněnská přehrada (Brno dam lake) to Brno-Bystrc.
