Although Brno doesn’t seem to be the most beautiful of places when you arrive at the train station, there are acutally many attractive buildings dotted around town.
You’ll find everywhere I mention on my map.
On a hill above the centre city sits Špilberk Castle, a sturdy fortress which has great views of the town below.
Built in the 13th century, it resisted many attacks before eventually falling to Napoleon in 1805.
It was the most famous prison in the Austro-Hungarian Empire but is now home to the city museum. There are a selection of exhibitions you can choose from.
I paid a couple of quid to climb the relatively short staircases up the tower to see the views out over the city.
Another landmark that can be seen for miles is the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul which is on the next hill.
Originally built in Gothic style, it was raised to the ground by the Swedish army during the siege of 1645 and rebuilt in Baroque style. In the 19th century it received another neo-Gothic makeover.
The slender spires are lovely, as is the ornate facade.
The interior is rather plain and boring (I’m not a fan of baroque generally) although the organ makes it more atmospheric when it’s playing.
The couryard of the new town hall (Nová Radnice) is worth a visit to see the sundials and stone carvings.
And the doorway of the Governor’s Palace, now one of the sites of the Moravian Gallery, is worth checking out.
Here are a few snaps of some other, mainly Art Nouveau buildings I took while walking around, particularly in and around Liberty Square. You can click on gallery pictures to get the best slideshow view.
There are quite a few gems above from along Hlinky and Pekařská streets too (our walk into town from the Koleje Vinařská university campus). This is one of my favourites at 48 Hlinky. I’d love to know when it was built.
See my previous post for some of the more bizarre sights around Brno.
Now for some food…