Brno (/ˈbɜːrnoʊ/ BUR-noh,[4] Czech: [ˈbrr̩no] ( listen); German: Brünn [bʁʏn]) is a city in

the South Moravian Region of Czechia. Located at the confluence of

the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 400,000 inhabitants,[5][6][7] making it the
second-largest city in the Czech Republic after the capital, Prague.[8] Its metropolitan
area has around 600,000 inhabitants.
Brno is the centre of the Czech judiciary, with the seats of the Constitutional Court,
the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, and the Supreme Public
Prosecutor's Office, and a number of state authorities, including the Ombudsman,[9] and
the Office for the Protection of Competition.[10] Brno is also an important centre of higher
education, with 33 faculties belonging to 13 institutes of higher learning and about 89,000
students.[11]
Brno Exhibition Centre ranks among the largest exhibition centres in Europe.[12] The
complex opened in 1928 and established the tradition of large exhibitions and trade
fairs held in Brno.[13] Brno hosts motorbike and other races on the Masaryk Circuit, a
tradition established in 1930, in which the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is
one of the most prestigious races.[14] Another cultural tradition is an international
fireworks competition, Ignis Brunensis,[15] that attracts tens of thousands of daily visitors.
[16]

The most visited sights of the city include the Špilberk castle and fortress and
the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul on Petrov hill, two medieval buildings that dominate
the cityscape and are often depicted as its traditional symbols. The other large preserved
castle near the city is Veveří Castle by Brno Reservoir.[17][18][19] Another architectural
monument of Brno is the functionalist Villa Tugendhat which has been included on
the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.[20] One of the natural sights nearby is
the Moravian Karst. The city is a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and has
been designated as a "City of Music" in 2017.[21]

Contents

• 1Name and etymology

• 2History
• 2.117th century
• 2.219th century
• 2.320th century and Greater Brno
• 3Geography
• 3.1Demography
• 3.2Climate
• 3.3Cityscape
• 4Administration
• 5Demographics
• 6Culture
• 6.1Sights
• 6.2Festivals
• 6.3Theatres
• 6.4Legends connected with Brno
• 6.5Museums, libraries, and galleries
• 7Education
• 8Sports
• 9Transport
• 10International relations
• 10.1Twin towns — sister cities
• 10.2Cooperation agreements
• 10.3Nearby cities
• 11Gallery
• 12See also
• 13Notes
• 14References
• 15Bibliography
• 16External links

Name and etymology[edit]

The etymology of the name Brno is disputed. It might be derived from the Old
Czech brnie 'muddy, swampy.'[22] Alternative derivations are from a Slavic verb brniti (to
armour or to fortify) or a Celtic language spoken in the area before it was overrun
by Germanic peoples and later Slavic peoples (this theory would make it cognate with
other Celtic words for hill, such as the Welsh word bryn).
Throughout its history, Brno's locals also referred to the town in other languages,
including Brünn in German, ‫( ברין‬Brin) in Yiddish and Bruna in Latin. The city was also
referred to as Brunn (/brʌn/)[23] in English, but this usage is not common today.[24]
The Asteroid 2889 Brno was named after the city, as well as the Bren light machine
gun (Brno + Enfield), one of the most famous weapons of World War II.

History[edit]

The 10 CZK coin (1993 design)

Main articles: History of Brno and Timeline of Brno
The Brno basin has been inhabited since prehistoric times,[25] but the town's direct
predecessor was a fortified settlement of the Great Moravian Empire known as Staré
Zámky, which was inhabited from the Neolithic Age until the early 11th century.[26]
In the early 11th century Brno was established as a castle of a non-ruling prince from
the House of Přemyslid,[25] and Brno became one of the centres of Moravia along
with Olomouc and Znojmo. Brno was first mentioned in Cosmas' Chronica
Boëmorum dated to the year 1091, when Bohemian king Vratislav II besieged his
brother Conrad at Brno castle.[27]

Coat of arms of the margraviate

In the mid 11th century, Moravia was divided into three separate territories; each had its
own ruler, coming from the Přemyslids dynasty, but independent of the other two, and
subordinated only to the Bohemian ruler in Prague. The seats of these rulers and thus the
"capitals" of these territories were the castles and towns of Brno, Olomouc, and Znojmo. In
the late 12th century, Moravia began to reunify, forming the Margraviate of Moravia. From
then until the mid of the 17th century, it was not clear which town should be the capital of
Moravia. Political power was divided between Brno and Olomouc, but Znojmo also played
an important role. The Moravian Diet (cz: Moravský Zemský sněm), the Moravian Land
Tables (cz: Moravské Zemské desky), and the Moravian Land Court (cz: Moravský Zemský
soud) were all seated in both cities at once.[clarification needed] However, Brno was the official
seat of the Moravian Margraves (rulers of Moravia),[28] and later its geographical position
closer to Vienna also became important. Otherwise, until 1642 Olomouc had a larger
population than Brno, and it was the seat of the only Roman Catholic diocese in Moravia.

Unsuccessful Swedish siege in 1645.

In 1243 Brno was granted the large and small city privileges [clarification needed] by the King,
and thus it was recognized as a royal city. In 1324 Queen Elisabeth Richeza of
Poland founded the current Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady which is now her final
resting place.[29] In the 14th century, Brno became one of the centres for the Moravian
regional assemblies, whose meetings alternated between Brno and Olomouc.[25] These
assemblies made political, legal, and financial decisions. Brno and Olomouc were also the
seats of the Land Court and the Moravian Land Tables, thus they were the two most
important cities in Moravia. From the mid 14th century to the early 15th century the
Špilberk Castle had served as the permanent seat of the Margraves of Moravia (Moravian
rulers); one of them was elected the King of the Romans. Brno was besieged in 1428 and
again in 1430 by the Hussites during the Hussite Wars. Both attempts to conquer the city
failed.

17th century[edit]

Coat of arms of the Margraviate of Moravia in Book of the state of lords with the picture of Brno (1670)
In 1641, in the midst of the Thirty Years' War, the Holy Roman Emperor and Margrave of
Moravia Ferdinand III ordered the permanent relocation of the diet, court, and the land
tables from Olomouc to Brno, as Olomouc's Collegium Nordicum made it one of the
primary targets of Swedish armies.[30] In 1642 Olomouc surrendered to the Swedish army,
which then stayed there for 8 years.[note 1] Meanwhile, Brno, as the only Moravian city
which under the leadership of Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches succeeded in defending itself
from the Swedes under General Lennart Torstenson, served as the sole capital of the state
(Margraviate of Moravia). After the end of the Thirty Years' War (1648), Brno retained its
status as the sole capital. This was later confirmed by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II in
1782, and again in 1849 by the Moravian constitution. [note 2] Today, the Moravian Land
Tables are stored in the Moravian Regional Archive, and they are included among the
national cultural sights of the Czech Republic.[31]

Brno c. 1700
During the 17th century Špilberk Castle was rebuilt as a huge baroque citadel.[28] Brno
was besieged by the Prussians in 1742 under the leadership of Frederick the Great, but the
siege was ultimately unsuccessful. In 1777 the bishopric of Brno was established; Mathias
Franz Graf von Chorinsky Freiherr von Ledske was the first Bishop.[25][note 3]

19th century[edit]
In December 1805 the Battle of Austerlitz was fought near the city; the battle is also
known as the "Battle of the Three Emperors". Brno itself was not involved with the battle,
but the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte spent several nights here at that time and
again in 1809.[32][33]
In 1839 the first train arrived in Brno from Vienna; this was the beginning of rail transport
in what is now the Czech Republic.[34] In the years 1859-1864 the city fortifications were
almost completely removed. In 1869 a horsecar service started to operate in Brno; it was
the first tram service in what would later become the Czech Republic.[35]
Gregor Mendel conducted his groundbreaking experiments in genetics while he was a
monk at St. Thomas's Abbey in Brno in the 1850s.

20th century and Greater Brno[edit]

Lands and their capitals (underlined) of the First Czechoslovak Republic

Main railway station in 1901.

 Skyscrapers in Brno
Around 1900 Brno, which until 1918 consisted in administrative terms only of the central
city area, had a predominantly German-speaking population (63%), as opposed to the
suburbs, which were predominantly Czech-speaking. [36] Life in Brünn/Brno was therefore
bilingual, and what was called in German "Brünnerisch" was a mixed idiom containing
elements from both languages.[36]
In 1919, after World War I, two neighbouring towns, Královo Pole and Husovice, and 21
other municipalities were annexed to Brno, creating Greater Brno (Czech: Velké Brno). This
was done to dilute the German-speaking majority of close to 55,000 [37] by the addition of
the Slavic communities of the city's neighborhood. Included in the German-speaking group
were almost all of the 12,000 Jewish inhabitants, including several of the city's better
known personalities, who made a substantial contribution to the city's cultural life.
[37] Greater Brno was almost seven times larger, with a population of about 222,000 -
before that Brno had about 130,000 inhabitants. [dubious – discuss][38][39][40]
In 1921 Brno became the capital of the Land of Moravia (Czech: země Moravská); before
that it was the capital of the Margraviate of Moravia. Seven years later, Brno became the
capital of the Land of Moravia-Silesia (Czech: země Moravskoslezská).
In 1930, 200,000 inhabitants declared themselves to be of Czech, and some 52,000 of
German nationality, in both cases including the respective Jewish citizens. [37]
During the German occupation of the Czech lands between 1939 and 1945 all Czech
universities including those of Brno were closed by the Nazis. The Faculty of Law became
the headquarters of the Gestapo, and the university hall of residence was used as a prison.
About 35,000 Czechs and some American and British prisoners of war were imprisoned
and tortured there; about 800 civilians were executed or died. [41] Executions were public.
[42][unreliable source?]

Between 1941 and 1942, transports from Brno deported 10,081 Jews to Theresienstadt
(Terezín) concentration camp. At least another 960 people, mostly of mixed race, followed
in 1943 and 1944. After Terezín, many of them were sent to Auschwitz concentration
camp, Minsk Ghetto, Rejowiec and other ghettos and concentration camps. Although
Terezín was not an extermination camp, 995 people transported from Brno died there.
After the war only 1,033 people returned.[43]
Industrial facilities such as arms factory Československá zbrojovka and aircraft
engine factory Zweigwerk (after the war it became Zbrojovka's subsidiary Zetor) and the
city centre were targeted by several Allied bombardment campaigns between 1944 and
1945. The air strikes and later artillery fire killed some 1,200 people and destroyed 1,278
buildings.[44] After the city's occupation by the Red Army on 26 April 1945[45] and the end
of the war, ethnic German residents were forcibly expelled. In the so-called Brno death
march, beginning on 31 May 1945, about 27,000 German inhabitants of Brno were
marched 40 miles (64 kilometres) to the Austrian border. According to testimony collected
by German sources, about 5,200 of them died during the march. [46] Later estimates by
Czech sources put the death toll at about 1,700, with most deaths due to an epidemic
of shigellosis.[47]
At the beginning of the Communist era in Czechoslovakia, in 1948, the government
abolished Moravian autonomy and Brno hence ceased to be the capital of Moravia.[48]
[49] Since then Moravia has been divided into administrative regions and Brno is
administrative centre of the South Moravian Region.[48]

Geography[edit]

The Marian Valley in Líšeň

Air quality in the Czech Republic in 2008, Brno ranks among the cleanest cities.
Brno is located in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic, at the confluence of
the Svitava and Svratka rivers and there are also several brooks flowing through it,
including the Veverka, Ponávka, and Říčka. The Svratka River flows through the city for
about 29 km (18 mi), the Svitava River cuts a 13 km (8 mi) path through the city.[2] The
width of Brno is 21.5 km (13.4 mi) measured from the east to the west and its overall area
is 230 km2 (89 sq mi).[50] Within the city limits are the Brno Reservoir, several ponds, and
other standing bodies of water, for example reservoirs in the Marian Valley[51] or the
Žebětín Pond. Brno is surrounded by wooded hills on three sides; about 6,379 ha (15,763
acres) of the area of the city is forest, i.e. 28%. Due to its location between the Bohemian-
Moravian Highlands and the Southern Moravian lowlands (Dyje-Svratka Vale), Brno has a
moderate climate.[2] Compared to other cities in the country, Brno has a very high air
quality, which is ensured by a good natural circulation of air; no severe storms or similar
natural disasters have ever been recorded in the city. [2]

Demography[edit]
Brno is the former capital city of Moravia and the political and cultural hub of the South
Moravian Region. The city has over 400,000 residents.[5] Its urban agglomeration[52] has
about 450,000 residents. Its larger urban zone had a population of about 730,000 in
2004[7] while its greater metropolitan area[6] is home to more than 800,000 people.[5] The
estimated population of the South Moravian Region is 1.2 million.[53] According to the
Eurostat population estimate Brno had 367,729 inhabitants, [54] which ranks it among
the 100 largest cities of the EU. Brno is situated at the crossroads of ancient trade routes
which have joined northern and southern European civilizations for centuries, and is part of
the Danube basin region. The city is historically connected with Vienna, which lies a mere
110 km (68 mi) to the south.[50]

Climate[edit]
Under the Köppen climate classification, Brno has an oceanic climate (Cfb) for -3 °C
original isoterm,[55] but near of the (-2,5 °C average temperature in January, month most
cold) or include by updated classification in humid continental climate (Dfb) with cold
winters and hot to warm summers.[56] However, in the last 20 years the temperature has
increased, and summer days with temperature above 30 °C (86 °F) are quite common.
[57] The average temperature is 9.4 °C (49 °F), the average annual precipitation is about
505 mm (19.88 in), the average number of precipitation days is 150, the average annual
sunshine is 1,771 hours, and the prevailing wind direction is northwest. [2] The weather box
below shows average data between years 1961 and 1990. Its height above sea level varies
from 190 m (623 ft) to 425 m (1,394 ft),[2] and the highest point in the area is the Kopeček
Hill.

hideClimate data fo
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
17.6 24.3 28.0 29.7 38.2 36.0 34.9 32.0 26.5 20.1 14.4
12.2
Record high °C (°F) (63.7 (75.7 (82.4 (85.5 (100. (96.8 (94.8 (89.6 (79.7 (68.2 (57.9
(54.0)
) ) ) ) 8) ) ) ) ) ) )
3.1 8.5 14.4 19.5 24.5 24.2 20.2 14.1 6.6 1.9
0.2 22.6
Average high °C (°F) (37.6 (47.3 (57.9 (67.1 (76.1 (75.6 (68.4 (57.4 (43.9 (35.4
(32.4) (72.7)
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
−0.3 3.8 9.0 13.9 18.5 18.1 14.3 9.1 3.5 −0.6
−2.5 17.0
Daily mean °C (°F) (31.5 (38.8 (48.2 (57.0 (65.3 (64.6 (57.7 (48.4 (38.3 (30.9
(27.5) (62.6)
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
−3.3 −0.2 3.9 8.3 12.7 12.6 9.5 5.0 0.9 −3.0
−5.2 11.4
Average low °C (°F) (26.1 (31.6 (39.0 (46.9 (54.9 (54.7 (49.1 (41.0 (33.6 (26.6
(22.6) (52.5)
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
−22. −18. −19.
−24.1 −5.1 −1.9 3.6 3.0 −0.7 −5.5 −13.
2 6 1.8 4
Record low °C (°F) (−11. (22.8 (28.6 (38.5 (37.4 (30.7 (22.1 1
(−8.0 (−1.5 (35.2) (−2.9
4) ) ) ) ) ) ) (8.4)
) ) )
23.8 24.4 31.5 61.0 63.7 56.3 37.6 30.7 37.4 27.1
Average precipitation m 24.6 72.2
(0.94 (0.96 (1.24 (2.40 (2.51 (2.22 (1.48 (1.21 (1.47 (1.07
m (inches) (0.97) (2.84)
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
Average snowfall cm 17.4 12.4 5.2 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.5 12.5
(inches) (6.9) (4.9) (2.0) (0.2) (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) (1.8) (4.9)
Average precipitation
6.0 5.4 5.3 5.4 8.3 9.1 9.0 7.3 5.5 5.1 7.0 6.3
days
Average relative
84 81 73 65 67 69 67 68 73 78 84 85
humidity (%)
Mean monthly sunshine 169. 219. 235. 217. 162. 123.
45.3 71.6 121.1 220.8 51.3 39.9
hours 0 5 0 8 1 9
Source #1: World Meteorological Organization (UN)[58]
Source #2: NOAA[59]
Cityscape[edit]

Panoramic view of approximately the northeast quarter of the city

Administration[edit]

The Palace of Justice, seat of the regional court

Administrative divisions of Brno and their coats of arms

Main articles: Administrative divisions of Brno and List of Mayors of Brno
By law Brno is a statutory city; it consists of 29 city districts (administrative divisions,
cz: Městské části)[60] the highest body of its self-government is the Assembly of the City of
Brno (cz: Zastupitelstvo města Brna).[61] The city is headed by the lord
mayor (cz: primátor); he or she has right to use the mayor's insignia and represents the
city outwards. As of 2019, the lord mayor is Markéta Vaňková.[62] The executive body is
the city council (cz: Rada města Brna) and local councils of the city districts; the city
council has 11 members including the lord mayor and her four deputies. [63] The assembly
of the city elects the lord mayor and other members of the city council, establishes the
local police, and is also entitled to grant citizenship of honour and the Awards of the City of
Brno.[61] The head of the Assembly of the City of Brno in personal matters is the Chief
Executive (cz: Tajemník magistrátu) who according to certain special regulations carries
out the function of employer of the other members of the city management. [64] The Chief
Executive is directly responsible to the Lord Mayor.[65]
The city itself forms a separate district the Brno-City District (cz: Okres Brno-město)
surrounded by the Brno-Country District (cz: Okres Brno-venkov), Brno is divided into 29
administrative divisions (city districts) and consists of 48 cadastral areas. Confusingly,
there is a difference between "a city district of Brno", "the Brno-City District" and "the
Brno-Country District".
The city districts of Brno significantly varies in their size by both population and area. The
most populated city district of Brno is the Brno-Centre which has over 91 thousand of
residents and the less populated are Brno-Ořešín and Brno-Útěchov with about 500
residents. By its area the largest one is Brno-Bystrc with 27.24 square kilometres
(10.52 sq mi) and the smallest is Brno-Nový Lískovec with 1.66 square kilometres
(0.64 sq mi).
Brno is the home to the highest courts in the Czech judiciary. The Supreme Court is on
Burešova Street,[66] the Supreme Administrative Court is on Moravské náměstí
(English: Moravian Square),[67] and the Constitutional Court is on Joštova Street,[68] and
the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office of the Czech Republic is on Jezuitská street. [69]

Demographics[edit]
Historical population
Year Pop. ±%
1869 73,771 —
1880 82,660 +12.0%
1890 94,462 +14.3%
1900 109,346 +15.8%
1910 125,737 +15.0%
1921 221,758 +76.4%
1930 264,925 +19.5%
1950 284,946 +7.6%
1961 314,235 +10.3%
1970 344,031 +9.5%
1980 371,463 +8.0%
1991 388,296 +4.5%
2001 376,172 −3.1%
2011 385,913 +2.6%
Source: Růžková, J.; Josef Škrabal, J.; et al. (2006). Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2005 [Historical lexicon of municipalities in
the Czech Republic 1869–2005] (PDF) (in Czech). Díl I. Český statistický úřad. pp. 51–54. ISBN 80-250-1311-1.
According to the 2011 census, Brno had 385,913 inhabitants. [70] The largest ethnic groups
were Czechs (51.6%), Moravians (18.7%), Slovaks (1.5%), Ukrainians (0.9%), Vietnamese (
0.4%), and Poles (0.2%). Brno experienced the largest increase in population during the
19th century at the time of the industrial revolution. A slight decrease in population after
1989 was caused by suburbanisation.

Culture[edit]

People wearing the traditional Moravian kroje (Moravian national folk costumes) at a "folk festival"
in Líšeň.
The city spends about 30 million euro every year on culture.[71][72] There are many
museums, theatres and other cultural institutions. Brno is also a vibrant university city
with about 90,000 students, and a number of festivals and other cultural events.
Since the 1990s Brno has experienced a great cultural "rebirth": façades of historical
monuments are being repaired and various exhibitions, shows, etc., are being established
or extended. In 2007 a summit of 15 presidents of the EU Member States was held in Brno.
[73]

Despite its urban character, some of the city districts still preserve traditional Moravian
folklore, including folk festivals with traditional Moravian costumes (cz: kroje), Moravian
wines, folk music and dances. Unlike smaller municipalities, in Brno the traditional folk
festivals are held locally by city districts: among the city districts where annual traditional
Moravian festivals takes place are Židenice,[74] Líšeň,[75] or Ivanovice.[76]
Hantec is a unique slang that originated in Brno.

Sights[edit]

The Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul and Dietrichstein Palace viewed from the tower of the Old Town
Hall.

Villa Tugendhat, a masterpiece of the Modern Movement in architecture, designed by architect Ludwig
Mies van der Rohe in the 1920s and finished in 1930, now protected as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
[77]

Brno has hundreds of historical sights, including one designated a World Heritage Site by
UNESCO,[77] and eight monuments listed among the national cultural heritage of the
Czech Republic.[78][79] Majority of the main sights of Brno are situated in its historical
centre. The city has the third largest historic preservation zone in the Czech Republic, the
largest one being that of the Czech capital Prague. However, there is a considerable
difference in the size of historical preservation zones of both cities. While Brno has 484
legally protected sites, Prague has as many as 1,330.[80]
Špilberk Castle, originally a royal castle founded in the 13th century, was from the 17th
century a fortress and feared prison (e.g. Carbonari). Today it is one of the city's principal
monuments.[28][81]
Similarly important is the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. The cathedral was built during
the 14th and 15th centuries in place of an 11th-century chapel. [82] In its present form with
two neo-Gothic towers it was finished only in 1909. The other large castle near the city
is Veveří Castle.[17]
Abbey of Saint Thomas is the place where Gregor Mendel established the new science
of genetics. Church of Saint Tomas is the final resting place of its founder Margrave of
Moravia John Henry of Luxembourg and his son King of the Romans and Margrave of
Moravia Jobst of Moravia. Basilica of the assumption of our Lady the final resting place also
of its founder Queen Elisabeth Richeza. Church of Saint James is one of the most preserved
and most spectacular Gothic churches in Brno.

The Vegetable Market with Parnas fountain.

Brno Ossuary which is the second largest ossuary in Europe,[83] after the Catacombs of
Paris. Another ossuary is Capuchin crypt with mummies of Capuchin monks and some of
the notable people of their era, like architect Mořic Grimm or the famous mercenary
leader Baron Trenk.[84] The Labyrinth under Vegetable Market, a system of underground
corridors and cellars dating back to Middle Ages, has been recently opened to the public.
Brno is home to a functionalist Synagogue and the largest Jewish cemetery in Moravia. A
Jewish population lived in Brno as early as the 13th century, and remnants of tombstones
can be traced back to as early as 1349.[85] The functionalist synagogue was built between
1934 and 1936.[85] While there were 12,000 members of the Brno Jewish community in
1938, only 1,000 survived the Nazi persecution during Germany's occupation in World War
II.[85] Today, the cemetery and synagogue are maintained by a Brno Jewish community
once again. The only Czech mosque, founded in 1998, is also located in Brno.[86]
The era between the world wars brought a building boom to the city, leaving it with
many modern and especially functionalist buildings,[87][88] the most celebrated one
being Villa Tugendhat, designed by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the 1920s for
the wealthy family of Fritz Tugendhat, and finished in 1930. It was designated a World
Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001.[89] Another renowned architect who significantly shaped
Brno was Arnošt Wiesner.[90][91][92] Other functionalist buildings include Avion
Hotel and Morava Palace. The Brno Exhibition Centre is the city's premier attraction for
international business visitors. Annually, over one million visitors attend over 40
professional trade fairs and business conferences held here.
Lužánky is the oldest public park opened in the current Czech Republic, as a public park it
was established in the late 18th century.[93] Denis Gardens were founded in the early 19th
century and are the first public park in the present-day Czech Republic founded by public
administration authorities,[94] while Lužánky Park was founded by the emperor of
the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Špilberk Park is classified as a national cultural sight of the
Czech Republic as a unique piece of garden architecture.[95]
One of Brno's more recent additions is the Brno astronomical clock.
The AZ Tower, opened in 2013 and 111 metres (364 ft) tall, is currently the tallest building
in the Czech Republic.