"HERstory." In the footsteps of women's emancipation and the feminist movement in Brno (1850–1914)

Did you know that at the end of the 19th century, there were several dozen women's associations operating in Brno? 

Some sought equality for women, others cared for women and children from impoverished families. Above all, however, they were very involved in politics! 

The rapidly developing city was home to a socially, religiously, and ethnically diverse population coming from all over Moravia, and it was here that the main centre of the women's movement was formed. German women, Czech women, noblewomen, townswomen, and working women—the diversity of women's associations and other informal women's activities reached a considerable breadth before the outbreak of World War I. It included initiatives associated with women from the upper and middle classes, who, incidentally, became the main drivers of women's emancipation. Due to the strong and long-established labour movement, there was also a strong tradition of women's involvement in social democracy. Activists in Brno communicated not only with South Moravia, but also with Silesia, Bohemia and, above all, Vienna. The city thus became an important supra-regional hub for women's initiatives and the editorial base for several women's magazines. Why an educational trail specifically about women? Until recently, those who wrote history were mainly men and victors. This is probably why the perspective of women, children, and minority groups has been consistently xxx-marginalized in historical research. For example, women's experiences in the Czech environment only became the subject of historical research in the 1990s. One of the authors who decided to fill these gaps in history is the Brno historian Hana Krutílková, who deals with political and gender history, the history of women, and their intertwining. Her most comprehensive publication on this topic to date is the book Disciplinované buřičky: Ženy v politických stranách na Moravě do roku 1914 (Disciplined agitators. Women in political parties in Moravia before 1914)

The theme of women in the public political sphere at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is also addressed in this trail. This educational trail is conceived as an "alternative history" of well-known public buildings in Brno, which we pass by every day without suspecting their hidden history – "women's history." It is not an exhaustive overview of memorable places that can be linked to the feminist movement; after all, the trail does not even pass through the few streets that bear the names of famous women from Brno. From the point of view of the political spectrum, for example, the movement of Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant women was rather neglected, but we tried to provide a broader social perspective.

We believe that the trail will gradually expand—thematically, temporally, and geographically. Let us therefore make room for the latest research and allow Brno women and their efforts to obtain equal civil rights to be seen again.

The individual stops on the educational trail will guide us through many topics. Social support for poor girls and women in the second half of the 19th century (Ženská útulna [Women's Shelter] - Gorkého Street), the beginnings of secondary and higher education for women (maternity hospitals, Vesna institutions - Obilní trh, Údolní, Jaselská), the struggle for equal status in all areas of life (Besední dům, Constitutional Court, Kounic Palace - Besední, Žerotínovo nám.). The trail also introduces us to the issue of women's suffrage before 1914 (Constitutional Court - Joštova) and outlines the German women's movement in Brno (German House - Moravské nám.). Most of the sites refer to the activities of liberal-minded women from the middle classes, but three stops are also dedicated to noblewomen (Palác šlechtičen - Kobližná) and working-class women (Reduta - Zelný trh, Dělnický dům - Jamborova).

Hana Krutílková, Moravské zemské muzeum

The interactive map appears through the institutional support of long-term conceptual development of research institutions provided by the Ministry of Culture (ref. MK000094862).

Name
"HERstory." In the footsteps of women's emancipation and the feminist movement in Brno (1850–1914)

Length
3 KM, 1 h

Number of objects
10

Trail Starts Here
Gorkého 80

First object
Women's shelter and social services for women


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