THE CITY OF BRNO
 
At the very heart of Europe, on the confluence of the rivers Svratka and Svitava, lies the City of Brno, the political, economic and cultural centre of Southern Moravia and, with a population of 400,000, the second largest city in the Czech Republic.
At the beginning of the 11th century, a settlement sprung up at the intersection of trade routes connecting Berlin (Germany), Krakow (Poland), Graz (Austria), Trieste (Italy) and Vienna (Austria), on swampy ground around a ford across the River Svratka.
Over the centuries, this settlement grew into a town that came alive with the bustle of industry in the 19th century. The great processes of innovation made Brno the most advanced industrial centre in the Hapsburg monarchy at the time - the "Moravian Manchester". The first railway line in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy connected Brno with Vienna.
Schools were established, and the monastery in Old Brno became a centre of scholarship under the direction of Abbot Johann Gregor Mendel, discoverer of the laws of heredity and founder of genetics. Many other famous people are connected with Brno - the composer Leoš Janáček lived and worked in Brno, Viktor Kaplan who invented the water turbine was a teacher at Brno Technical College, and the mathematicians Kurt Gödel and Ernest Mach, the composer Wolfgang Korngold, and the architect Adolf Loos were also born in Brno.
After the First World War, Brno became the second city of the Republic of Czechoslovakia in terms of both its size and significance. Today it is home to the largest exhibition centre in Central and Eastern Europe, established in 1922.
Brno has a large number of historical and architectural monuments including the Gothic and baroque Špilberk Castle, the Gothic cathedral Petrov (SS Peter and Paul), the Renaissance Old Town Hall, the baroque Parnassus Fountain and the medieval Cabbage Market, the baroque New Town Hall, Art Nouveau Houses on Minoritská Street, the Gothic and baroque Old Brno Monastery, the Gothic Church of St James the Great, the 17th century Capuchin Monastery with mummies of 100 monks, the baroque Palace of Noblewomen, etc. Some splendid Bauhaus style architecture has been preserved, the most famous example being Villa Tugendhat, built by Mies van der Rohe and now listed by UNESCO. The 20th century was the golden age of architecture in Brno. Brno is probably the only town in the world where sacral architecture for all the denominations present - Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches and a synagogue - were built in the Bauhaus style.
 

The surrounding area:

Austerlitz - the place where on 2 December 1805 the French armies of 75,000 men defeated a superior force of 90,000 of the Russian and Austrian allies (the "Battle of the Three Emperors").
 
The Moravian Karst, Macocha - one of the most important karst areas in Central Europe. One of the most frequently visited formations in this protected landscape area is the Macocha Abyss, 138.5 metres deep, with its unique plant and animal communities.
 
Valtice - the town of Valtice is famous for its beautiful chateau and highly developed viniculture. Valtice Chateau used to be the ostentatious residence of both the Austrian and Moravian houses of Liechtenstein. The cellars of Valtice Chateau are home to the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic and the National Center for Viniculture.
 
The wine-growing region - Southern Moravia is a very pleasant wine-producing region of rolling hills and flat river valleys with rich folklore traditions, conveniently between Vienna and Brno and lying south-east of Prague. It is the country's major wine-growing region and has about 2 million inhabitants. Wine festivals - Vinobrani - take place in October each year, and nowhere are these festivals more popular than in the towns of Znojmo, Mikulov and Valtice. Legend has it that these celebrations date back to Roman times, when the first grapes were planted.