Central Brno

The introductory tour – and also the longest – leads through the historic city centre and presents some of the most important buildings from this era, constructed as a result of the highly controversial demolition of some two hundred buildings after the year 1896.
After 1839, most visitors to the growing Moravian capital arrived via rail, and so our tour starts at the Art Nouveau building of the city’s main train station. From here, the trail enters downtown Brno along the city’s main avenue lined by showcase residential and commercial buildings, of which an especially remarkable example is the Plaček Building with its Cubist facade.
From Kapucínské náměstí (Capuchin Square), we have an architecturally interesting view towards the Neo-Gothic twin towers of the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul. The path up to the cathedral leads via the originally medieval Zelný trh (Cabbage Market), whose modernist landmark, the Cyril and Methodius Savings Bank (today the Grandezza Hotel), was built in the early 20th century. From Zelný trh, we continue along Radnická Street and through a passageway to reach Leopold Bauer’s Haupt Building on Masarykova Street. Passing the modernist houses on Panská Street, we cross Dominikánské náměstí (Dominican Square) with its distinctive building by the architect Robert Krug on our way to Brno’s main square, where we can find the perhaps most-debated new structure from the turn of the 20th century – the Valentin Gerstbauer Foundation House, whose facade is adorned by four giant sculptures of Atlases. We continue down Česká Street to the Slavia Hotel, a building inspired by Viennese modernism. Another project that looked to the Austrian capital for inspiration was the Gessner brothers’ modernization of the Diana Baths, which first began serving the public’s hygiene needs in 1860. In the early 20th century, the area around the Late Gothic Church of St. James saw the creation of a new square dominated by Maxim Monter’s Margaretenhof on Běhounská Street. The apartment buildings by Monter and Dušan Jurkovič on Dvořákova and Vachova Streets represent different expressions of the Art Nouveau style in architecture. Brno’s ring road, built along the Viennese model on the site of the city’s demolished Baroque fortifications, is lined by a park and features several showcase public buildings, including the Palace of Justice, completed in 1909, and the House of Artists (with the BAM infopoint), completed two years later. Passing Art Nouveau apartment buildings by Robert Krug Sr. and Max Matzenauer, the trail ends on the ring road by the Grand Hotel, whose renowned restaurant has offered respite for tired visitors to the city since the beginning of the 20th century.

Name
Central Brno

Length
KM

Number of objects
47

Trail Starts Here
Nádražní 418

First object
Art Nouveau renovation of the main station building
B001

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