Things to do in Moravia
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Hanácacká Hospoda
Just when you're finally getting to grips with a Czech menu, this incredibly popular spot lists everything in the local Haná dialect. It's worth persevering though because the Moravian meals are robust, tasty and supreme value.
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Café 87
Locals flock to this arty, sunny café beside the Olomouc Museum of Art for great coffee and their special recipe chocolate pie. You be the judge - dark chocolate or white chocolate? Across Olomouc the debate continues.
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Špilberk Castle
Špilberk 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.
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 10:00 to 18:00.
A multinational band of rebels was incarcerated in the so-called Prison of the Nations. The prison closed in 1853 but was reopened by the occupying Nazis in WW…
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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.
The original, early-13th-century building, which became the Town hall in 1343, has been incorporated into today's structure. A peculiar sight by the entrance on Radnická is a Gothic portal with a crooked middle turret, made by …
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Horní Náměstí
The splendid, polymorphous town hall (radnice) in the middle of Horní Náměstí was built in 1378, though its present architectural style and needlelike tower date from 1607. Note the oriel window of the 15th-century chapel on the south side and don't miss the astronomical clock on the north side, remodelled in communist style so that each hour is announced by ideologically pure workers instead of pious saints. The best display is at midday.
The square is surrounded by a jaw-dropping roll call of historic façades and contains two of the city's six baroque fountains. The Hercules fountain (Herkulova kašna) dates from 1688 and features the muscular Greek hero standing ast…
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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.
Created by Germano Wanderley in 1928, the building has provoked a longstanding and robust debate over whether the statues aptly reflect the elegant face of the Moravian capital.
Náměstí Svobody dates from the early 13th century, when it was called Dolní trh (Lower market). Its plague column dates …
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Přemysl Palace
Pride of place goes to the remnants of the early 12th-century Přemysl Palace, originally built for Bishop Jindřich Zdík. A detailed English text walks you through a cloister with 15th and 16th century frescoes on the original walls up to the archaeological centrepiece, the bishops' rooms with their Romanesque walls and windows (rediscovered in 1867), and artistry unequalled elsewhere in the Czech Republic, even in Prague castle.
Downstairs, surviving 16th century frescoes in the chapel of St John the Baptist (kaple sv Jana Křtitele), completed in 1262, include angels with instruments of torture (a sign of ecclesiastical approval?). To the left of the palace is the St A…
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Žerotínovo Náměstí
Picturesque lanes thread northeast from Dolní nám to Žerotínovo Náměstí, named after the Žerotíns, a landowning family who set Velké Losiny's gruesome 17th-century witch trials in motion. Here you'll find the green-domed landmark of St Michael church (kostel sv Michala), with its robust baroque interior. Among the furnishings is a rare painting of a pregnant Virgin Mary. Wrapped around the entire block is an active Dominican seminary (Dominikánský klášter).
Nearby is the tiny round Chapel of St Jan Sarkander (kaple sv Jana Sarkandra) named after a local priest who died under torture in 1620 for refusing to divulge false confessions. It's built on the site of…
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Cabbage Market
Opposite the Capuchin monastery, a lane leads into the sloping square of Cabbage market, the heart of the old town and where live carp were sold from the baroque Parnassus fountain (1695) at Christmas. The fountain is a symbolic cave encrusted with allegorical figures.
Hercules restrains three-headed Cerberus, watchdog of the underworld, and the three female figures represent the ancient empires of Babylon (crown), Persia (cornucopia) and Greece (quiver of arrows). The triumphant woman on top (arrogantly) symbolises Europe. The square has been the best place in town to buy fruit and vegies since the 13th century, and smart shoppers still flock to it. However, the fountain…
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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.
Don't miss the huge glass windows that disappear into the floor to flood the house with birdsong. Forward bookings are mandatory, so phone ahead. Take tram 3, 5 or 11 from Moravské náměstí up Milady Horákové to Černopolní, then walk 300m north.
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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.
The second branch, the Applied Arts Museum (Husova 14) focuses on the evolution of arts and crafts from the Middle Ages to the heyday of Art Nouveau and holds changing, temporary exhibitions as well.
The third branch is up the road, inside the Pražákův Palace (Husova 18) - this branch focuses on the Czech Modernist movement and 20th-century art.
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Mendelianum
At Mendlovo náměstí, in part of the Abbey of St Thomas, the Mendelianum is a museum devoted to the father of modern genetics, botanist Gregor Johann Mendel (1822-84), who opened up new realms of possibility in this area with his pioneering work on the humble garden pea. He was a former abbot of St Thomas.
Mendel's work went largely unnoticed until after his death, when it was discovered that he had identified the principle of inheritance that governs how characteristics are passed on through the generations.
Take tram 1 from the train station to Mendlovo náměstí, and the museum is through a gate into a garden, second door on your right.
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Cathedral of SS Peter & Paul
From the top of Zelný trh, Petrská climbs Petrov hill, site of the gargantuan Cathedral of SS Peter & Paul. Ascend its tower for great views of Brno, or descend into its forlorn crypt.
The 14th-century cathedral was originally built on the site of a pagan temple to Venus and has been reconstructed many times since. The highly decorated 11m-high main altar with figures of SS Peter and Paul was carved by Viennese sculptor Josef Leimer in 1891. The Renaissance Bishop's palace (Biskupská palác; closed to the public) adjoins the cathedral. To the left is the pleasant Denisovy Sady park, which sweeps in a verdant arc around Petrov hill.
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Brno City Museum
Špilberk Castle houses the Brno City Museum, which hosts permanent exhibitions on the history of construction, Brno's monuments and architecture, plus a fine arts gallery. Especially interesting is the section on the castle's past as a prison and the exquisite and colourful Brno Law Book and Bibles made for Arnošt of Pardubic (Arnost of Pardubice), who was appointed the first Archbishop of Prague in 1364.
(In the early days of Prague's Charles University, his support was vital when he ordered all monks to study there, thus raising the educational standards of the institution.)
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Capuchin Monastery
From the main train station, Masarykova leads to Kapucínské náměstí. At No 5 is the Church of the Holy Cross (kostel sv Kříže) and the adjoining and gruesomely compelling Capuchin Monastery. The Capuchin monastery's ghoulish attraction is the dry, well-ventilated Capuchin Monastery Crypt with the natural ability to turn dead bodies into mummies. Up to 150 cadavers were deposited here prior to 1784, and the desiccated corpses include 18th-century monks, abbots and local notables, from a nameless 12-year-old ministrant to hard-working chimney sweeper Barnabas Orelli, still wearing his boots.
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House of the Four Mamlases
Heading north, 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. 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.
Created by Germano Wanderley in 1928, the building has provoked a longstanding and robust debate over whether the statues aptly reflect the elegant face of the Moravian capital.
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Holy Trinity Column
Across Horní Náměstí, Holy Trinity Column is impossible to miss. A baroque mélange of gold and grey, its monumental form is reminiscent of the Buddhist shrine of Borobudur in Indonesia. Built between 1716 and 1754 to a design by V Render, a local sculptor, it is supposedly the biggest single baroque sculpture in Central Europe.In 2000, the column was awarded an inscription on Unesco's World Heritage list.
On most days a delightful nun will explain to you the meaning of the interior sculptures in a variety of languages.
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Town Hall
The splendid, polymorphous town hall (radnice) in the middle of Horní Náměstí was built in 1378, though its present architectural style and needlelike tower date from 1607. Note the oriel window of the 15th-century chapel on the south side and don't miss the Astronomical Clock on the north side, remodelled in communist style so that each hour is announced by ideologically pure workers instead of pious saints. The best display is at midday
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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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Leoš Janáček Memorial Museum
A short walk from the old town is the small Leoš Janáček Memorial Museum dedicated to the composer. Janáček was born in Hukvaldy (North Moravia) but lived in Brno from childhood until his death in 1928. Janáček is the least known of the 'big three' Czech composers, the others being Smetana and Dvořák. All were exponents of 'musical nationalism', incorporating folk music into their pieces.
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Dolní Náměstí
In Dolní Náměstí the 1661 church of Annunciation of St Mary (kostel Zvěstování Panny Marie) stands out with its beautifully sober interior. Its antithesis is the opulent 16th-century Renaissance confection, the Hauenschild palace (not open to the public). The square also sports its own Marian plague column (Mariánský morový sloup), and baroque fountains dedicated to Neptune and Jupiter.
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Dominikánské náměstí
From náměstí Svobody, Zámečnická leads west to Dominikánské náměstí, a humble square dominated by the church of St Michael (kostel sv Michala), which has an interesting, ornate main altar (1759) by Josef Winterhalter and a massive pair of cupola-topped towers.
Also facing the square is the 16th-century New town hall (Nová radnice) with its impressive frescoes.
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Meeting House
On the corner of Husova and Komenského náměstí is the Meeting House, one of the best works of 19th-century Danish architect Theofil Hansen and now home to the Brno State Philharmonic Orchestra. The name of the building comes from its role as a social rendezvous point for locals, a tradition still being maintained in the 21st century with the assistance of text messaging.
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Exhibition Grounds
The Exhibition Grounds in the suburb of Pisárky (take tram 1 from the train station) were opened in 1928. They are now a year-round trade fair venue. In addition to the palace of Industry (Průmyslový palác) other interesting buildings include the Congress hall (Kongresová hala) and Bauhaus-style New house (Nový dům).
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St Wenceslas Cathedral
In the peaceful, pocket-sized Václavské nám, in the northeast corner of the old centre, are the most venerable of Olomouc's historical buildings. Originally a Romanesque basilica, consecrated in 1131, the St Wenceslas Cathedral was rebuilt several times before being thoroughly 'neo-Gothicised' inside and out in the 1880s.
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