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Minorite Monastery
On Minoritská (off Orlí) is the church of St John (kostel sv Janů) and the Minorite Monastery founded in 1230. (The Minorites are the only order in Moravia still in their original quarters.)
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Místodržitelský Palace
Adjoining the church of St Thomas, Místodržitelský Palace hosts a variety of changing exhibitions.
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Mitrov Summer Palace
In the space between Rybářská and Křížkovského is the quaint Mitrov Summer Palace.
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Moravian Gallery
If proof were needed that the people of Brno were pathological art lovers, the fact that there are three branches of the Moravian Gallery (Moravská galerie) is surely it. Adjoining the Church of St Thomas, the Místodržitelský Palace (Moravské náměstí 1A) hosts a variety of changing exhibitions.
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Moravian Museum
On the southeast (uphill) side of the square is the former Ditrichstein palace (Ditrichštejnský palác), which now houses the Moravian Museum. Exhibits straddle the intellectual gulf between extinct life and the medieval village.
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Museum of Prison Life
Some of Špilberk Castle's casemates (kasematy) , the dark corridors beneath the bastions, are now a Museum of Prison Life. The last entry to the museum is 45 minutes before closing time.
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Náměstí Svobody
Masarykova leads to Brno's elegant and spacious main square, Náměstí Svobody, the city's bustling central hub. On the eastern side of the square is the house of the four mamlases (dům U čtyř mamlasů). The façade is supported by a quartet of extremely muscled but clearly moronic 'Atlas' figures, each struggling to hold up the building and their loincloths at the same time.
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Old Town Hall
From Starobrněnská, Mečova runs left to abut the back wall of the Old Town Hall. At Mečova 5, about 5m up the wall, is what looks like the face of a man. The well-lubricated urban legend goes that a Brno councillor who plotted with the Hussites to surrender the town in 1424 was overheard by Borro, Emperor Sigismund's court clown, while a prisoner of the Hussites. Borro escaped and told the story, and the councillor was sealed alive in the wall.
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Petrov Hill
From the top of Zelný trh, Petrská climbs Petrov Hill, site of the gargantuan cathedral of SS Peter & Paul (katedrála sv Petra a Pavla).
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Pražákův Palace
The third branch of the Moravian gallery is inside Pražákův Palace; it focuses on the Czech modernist movement and 20th-century art.
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Reduta Theatre
Mozart, aged 11, performed at the Reduta Theatre, on Cabbage Square's eastern side, in 1767. Following a sparkling restoration, the theatre reopened in 2005.
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Špilberk Castle
�pilberk Castle may lack fairy tale good looks, but it has been a crowning feature of the city's skyline for centuries. Founded in the early 1200s, the castle was lived in by the Czech kings before being transformed into a military fortress in the 18th century. In this form the castle became 'home' to enemies of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
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Špilberk Castle Lookout Tower
For great views climb the Špilberk Castle Lookout Tower and admire the rather impressive chime (in the second courtyard), which musically sees in the hour from to .
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Technical Museum
Brno's new Technical Museum is worth a half day of anyone's time. Highlights are cool retro Tesla televisions and stereos, and the wonderful 'Orchestrion', a huge wind-up forerunner to the jukebox with mini drums and cymbals crashing in perfect unison. Don't miss the Panoptikon on the first floor; this huge wooden stereoscope allows up to 20 viewers to look at 3-D images from antique glass slides that are changed on a regular basis. Catch tram 13 to Králove Pole.
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Town Hall Tower
The Town Hall Tower, raised by 5m during repairs in 1905 so as not to disappear among the newly built houses around it, offers magnificent views. For another Kč30 you can also see the Town hall's interior, including the Crystal hall, Fresco hall and Treasury.
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Villa Tugendhat
Villa Tugendhat, a modern functionalist building in the suburb of Černá Pole, is the work of well-known German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) and a shrine for students of modern architecture. Hired by some rich newlyweds to build them a home, Mies turned it into one of the first open-plan houses. Such is its importance that in 2001 it was added to Unesco's list of World Cultural and Natural Heritage Sites.
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