Ernst and Herbert looking into the garden in the mid 1930s.

German artist Dirk Brömmel mashes up stills from Tugendhats’ family album with the look of their famous villa in the early 21st century. You can see the disturbing ghost-like results at Brno House of Arts until January 29, 2012.

Tugendhats owned and used their “forever modern” house only for few years in the 1930s, as they decided to leave the country before WW2. The villa was confiscated and the state has never returned it back. Therefore observing little kids playing in a house now used as a museum of modern architecture seems “inappropriate” in some way.

The exhibiton is located in Brno House of Arts at 2 Malinovského náměstí sq., tickets cost CZK 80 each.

Greta Tugendhat with kids in front of the famous onyx wall.

Right now, Tugendhat villa is closed for maintanance. It will reopen in early 2012.

Tram café proposed by Tomáš Rusín and Ivan Wahla (raw.cz). A nice way how to revitalize abandoned tram station at Obilní trh sq., designed in the 1920s by Oskar Poříska.

Dozens of young architects are presenting their mostly low-cost solutions for improving the quality of life in Brno in former prison at Soudní st. in Cejl quarter. The admission-free exhibition (Czech website) shows a total shitload of creativity.

The desolated tram station (June 2011).

Náměstí svobody sq. + villa Tugendhat + fireworks. Everything Brno got on one place, for your convenience. I just miss the superbikes. (by Miss3.cz)

The former prison itself is a beautiful, abandoned place.

The “Urban interventions” exhibiton closes on June 30, so do not dare to miss it. It is opened daily except Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. See the venue on a map.

A wooden wall separating the dining room from the rest of the floor. Source: ČT

The restoration of villa Tugendhat has led to another interesting story. A beautiful interior wall, stolen from the villa Tugendhat dining room by Gestapo in the 1940s, has been considered lost for good for the last 70 years. That changed few days ago, when Brno-based historian Miroslav Ambroz found the original macassar wood wall, cut into pieces, paneling the canteen of the Faculty of Law at Veveří st.

The building of the Faculty of Law served as a local gestapo headquarters during the WW2. According to the website of Czech television, it is quite likely that the original wall will be restored and moved back to villa Tugendhat. You may see it next year, when the €6.3M reconstruction finishes.

Villa Tugendhat was confiscated in the autumn of 1939, as its owners were Jews. Most of the original equipment has been stolen or destroyed. The bulding remains to be a property of the Czech state. In 2001, it was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

If you have only few hours to spend in Brno (or to show the town to your family or friends), go to these beautiful places.

Best-known points of interest

These four places have become the symbols of Brno:

Špilberk Castle (website, map)

Špilberk as seen from Petrov

A castle built in the 13th century has an interesting exposition in a former prison; by the way, the Italian “Carbonari”, such was Silvio Pellico, suffered right there in the 19th century.

Many cultural events take place at the castle, so check out its official website for fresh news.

Špilberk is surrounded by a nice English landscape park.

St. Peter and Paul’s Cathedral (Czech website, map)

Petrov as seen from Špilberk

The second landmark of Brno. The first church at this place was founded in the 12th century but the cathedral got its distinctive shape as late as in the end of the 19th century.

You can observe the whole town from one of the towers for a small fee. (Don’t do that if you suffer from acrofobia.)

Old town hall (map)

Old town hall seen from Průchodní st.

This building had been the home of the town council until the 20th century and it is still a home of two symbols of the town: “the dragon of Brno” and “the wheel of Brno”. They both are exposed in the gateway and you don’t have pay anything to see them.

Brno Tourist Information Centre is located in the gateway too. They may help you with many possible problems – it is also a good place to buy souvenirs or maps.

During summer months, an old man coins ducats right under the dragon and the wheel, so if you want to have a nice (& cheap!) souvenir from Brno, ask him for a coin!

The dragon and the wheel of Brno. According to legends, the wheel was made by Jiří Birk during only one day, including rolling it from Austrian border to Brno; the dragon terrorized the people living in a village on the edge of the town, but it was captured by a brave man.

Villa Tugendhat (website, map)

The building is known for its beautiful interior and garden; you won't appreciate that from the street.

Functionalist building from 1920s has been a UNESCO World Herritage Site since 2001.

Villa Tugendhat is considered a masterpiece, designed by the German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Built between the years 1928-1930 in Brno, in today’s Czech Republic, for Fritz Tugendhat and his wife Greta, the villa soon became an icon of modern architecture. (Wikipedia)

Sadly, it is being repaired right now and no visitors won’t be allowed until 2014.

Famous onyx wall and garden sharing the spacial patterns with the interior are worth of the wait.

Museums and galleries

Art afficianado will appreciate these points of interest:

Moravian gallery (website)

The Museum of applied arts at Husova st.

The most important gallery in Brno has five buildings in total: The museum of applied arts at 14 Husova st., Pražák palace at 18 Husova st. and Governor’s Palace at Moravské náměstí sq. Josef Hoffmann Native House is not located in Brno and the the fifth building, a villa of architect Jurkovič, is now being repaired and closed for public.

The Moravian museum (website)

Dietrichstein palace at Zelný trh sq.

One of the biggest museums in the Czech republic has several expositions. You can learn a lot about natural science in Dietrichstein palace at Zelný trh sq.

The Institute of Ethography takes place in the “House of noble women” at the top of Kobližná st.

Finally, one of my favorite places in Brno is the Anthropos museum, located at the bank of Svratka river. It focuses on the prehistory and it exposes a real-size model of mamooth or a copy of the beautiful and famous Venus of Dolní Věstonice.

Less known attractions

Most guides forget about these wonderful points of interest:

Shanty towns

The roofs of Písečník

In the 1920s, many people were so poor they have to live in a tiny houses built in abandoned quarries. As the socioeconomic conditions of the Czech nation have improved, the shanty towns have become quite “hip” places to live in. Check out the fairy tale like Kamenná kolonie.

Little angel showing his butt to the town hall (map)

Little man showing his butt

Church of St. Jacob has a nice sculpture on its southern facade – a small angel, showing his bare butt.

According to a legend, the master builder of the church was upset about the members of the town coucil; however sculptures like this one were quite common in the middle ages.

Observation deck at the top of the House of Lords of Lipá (map)

The top floor of a beautiful middle ages house at Náměstí svobody sq. carries an observation deck. Good place to look over the historical centre of the town for a small fee.

Fountain at Náměstí svobody sq. (map)

Kids love the fountain.

Some people think that the fountain constructed in 2006 looks like a big fish tank. I like it anyway, as it refreshes the air during hot months and it is surrounded by verses of the best known poet of Brno, Jan Skácel.

Pub “U Bláhovky” (gallery, map)

There are several pubs with a great beer in Brno, but many consider this one to be the best. It looks like an old-fashioned Bohemian pub and it offers Pilsen so great that you will most likely have to drink it standing on the street.

Alfa Passage (website, map)

A giant functionalist buidling located in the centre offers several reasons to visit it: there are two famous cafés (Švanda and Alfa), a chocolate store and two shops for gourmets.

Capuchin crypt

Capuchin crypt

What you are, we have been. What we are, you are going to be — that is a disturbing but true message writen on the wall of the Capuchin crypt, full of mummified bodies.

A pic of Tugendhat Villa taken from Černopolní st.

The best known tourist attraction of Brno, functionalist Tugendhat villa, closed on January 1 and will open again after long four years. Meanwhile, it will be repaired for CZK 140M+ (€5.3M+).

Tugendhat villa was built in the 1930s by Tugendhat family. It was designed by Mies van der Rohe and its cost was more than 10 times higher than the cost of a standard luxurious house.

The building was confiscated by Nazis and later maltreated by Red Army soldiers and communist regime. Its interior was partially destroyed and exterior has been decaying so bad that it induced speculations about removing the villa from the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Without the functionalist architecture designed and financed by Jews, Brno would have a totally different, much less elegant face.

History

First Jews came to Brno in the 13th century and their population was growing fast, as Brno was among the few tolerant towns opened to the community.

The original ghetto was located roughly around the current Masarykova st.

In 1454, all Jews were forced out of the town. It was probably because of all the money Jews had loaned to the local politicians, who decided to solve their debt in this immoral way.

The expelled community settled in towns Boskovice, Rousínov, Slavkov, Dolní Kounice and Ivančice.

Until 1848, the access of Jews to Brno was strictly regulated. However, during the 18th and 19th century Jews returned to do business in the town and generally speaking they had great success. Many of the factories in neigborhoods Cejl, Židenice and Trnitá belonged to Jewish businessmen.

The great synagogue, built in the 1850s and destroyed by nazis in 1939

20th century: great rise, tragic fall

The First Republic of Czechoslovakia (1918–1938) was probably the luckiest period for Jews in Brno, even though being so short. In that era, the Jewish community gave Brno several great minds who shaped the face of the town:

Actor Hugo Haas. Source: Wikimedia Commons

• Otto Eisler, architect; designer of the only remaining synagogue of Brno at Skořepka st.
• Arnošt Wiesner, architect; author of several buildings in the centre, incl. today Komerční banka at Náměstí Svobody sq. and also the designer of the town’s crematorium.
• Roman Jakobson, linguist; Jakobson’s works influenced the complete field of social sciences. Mr Jakobson was not born in Brno nor died here but he stayed here for some time and was connected to other great minds of the town.
• Hugo Haas; actor; one of the most popular Czech film stars.
• Alfred Stiassny, businessman; owner of villa Stiassny, later used as a hotel for diplomats.

It’s good to remind that the Tugendhat family, who built and owned the coolest villa ever, were also Jews.

There were 12,000 Jews living in Brno in 1938. One year later, nazis came to Brno and started working on their evil plan of cleaning the planet from Jews. Only approx. 1,000 of Brno’s Jews survived the war.

Beautiful “Great synagogue” was destroyed as soon as in March 1939. “New synagogue” survived the war but was torn down in 1985 to clear a space for a new hospital. (There was a plan of turning the synagogue into a theatre, which would be really cool; what a pity.)

The Jews in Brno today

There’s a small community of pracising Jews in Brno. The only “running” synagogue in Moravia is located at Skořepka st. near centre — it is a pure functionalist building built in 1934, so it looks like a gym.

Jewish cemetery in Židenice

The biggest Jewish cemetery at Moravia is located in quarter Židenice and is opened for public. (By the way, although the Czech word for a Jew is “Žid”, there have been almost no Jews living Židenice and even the name of the quarter is derrived from a certain Bohemian surname.)

Brno has a small museum of Jewish culture, located at Třída kapitána Jaroše st.

I myself have several friends from Jewish families. They don’t practise and I think they don’t even believe in God but still are proud about their origin.

Jewish cuisine anyone?

As far as I know, there’s no Jewish restaurant in Brno (hey, that’s a great business niche!) but I have eaten in a nice Jewish restaurant Makkabi in Boskovice, a poetic small town with a ghetto north of Brno.

To be continued

I will try to post an article about a certain minority each week. I’ll also write an article about all the wonderful Jewish ghettos and synagogues in towns around Brno sooner or later.

Links and further sources

The Jewish Community of Brno has a nice website but it lacks an English version.

If you are looking for a grave of some person burried in Brno, try this search engine.

I highly recommend a bilingual book “Brno židovské” by Jaroslav Klenovský. The book contains a great list of further sources:

Literature and sources about the Jews in Brno

Černá Pole (“black fields”) neighborhood is a part of Brno-sever district and offers a high quality of living. It is located close to the centre but most of its streets are quiet.

There are some great pubs and you can tell your friends that you live close to Villa Tugendhat, the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Way cool.

If you have enough money, buy a villa or a house there. Otherwise, why not to rent a small flat in Černá Pole?

A typical street of Černá Pole with tenements built in the 20th century.

Pros

• One of the most beautiful residential quarters of Brno.
• Many shopping facilities.
• Great restaurants and pubs.
• There are several masterpieces of modern architecture: Vila Tugendhat, Café Era etc.

Cons

• Parking issuses. Ask your landlord about parking in a court yard.
• The rents are slightly above average, but still afordable.

Semi-detached houses near Mendel University.

Best restaurants and pubs

Betlém (27 Krkoškova st.) is not only the best restaurant in Černá Pole, it is one of the best restaurants in Brno, thanks to delicious meals based on the traditional Czech cuisine, great Dalešické beer, nice interior and above-average waiters. It offers the best fried potato chips in Brno.

U Lasa (110 Merhautova st.) is one of the few tap-your-own-beer pubs in Brno. A good thing is they close as late as at 2 a.m., a bad thing is that the quality of the beer (Starobrno) went down during last year.

Hluchá zmije (34 Jugoslávská st.) is an almost legendary pub with less known Czech beers on tap (Polička or Dudák anyone?).

U žíznivé opice (46 Merhautova st.) is a swinging wine bar, popular among students and other alternative souls. Speaking of alternative places: Traubka (8 Traubova st.) and Mýdlo (3 Traubova st.) are among the most important hubs of alternative culture in Brno.

Map

Zvětšit mapu

The Glass Room by Simon Mawer

Wealthy Jewish car manufacturer Viktor Landauer and his gentile wife Liesel have been made a gift of land by Liesel’s parents to build their own house. “Something good and solid,” Liesel’s father advises. But Viktor doesn’t want something good and solid: what he wants is something modern. And what he gets is a modernist masterpiece, Der Glasraum, the Glass Room.

The architect employed by Viktor is a man named Rainer von Abt, a disciple of Adolf Loos. “I wish to take Man out of the cave and float him in the air,” Von Abt proclaims. “I wish to give him a glass space to inhabit.” The house, when it is built, has vast windows, an onyx wall, white ceilings and white floors. It is the definitive modern house, for definitive modern people.

A review in The Guardian

I’ll buy and read the novel as soon as possible.

Source: iDnes.cz.