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46
WIZZ MAGAZINE
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012
FEATURE
BRNO
“Brno’s club life peaks in
October, as 80,000 students
celebrate autumn term”
for creatives, whether homegrown or travellers.
You can wind up with a bunch of new friends before
drinking up your €1 espresso or finishing your €1.50
home-baked pie. “If you want to know what’s up in
Brno, go to Spolek,” says Julie Kalodová, a popular
local food blogger. Beside Spolek, at 22 Orlí Street,
Julie also recommends nearby Coffee Fusion at 25
Jánská Street, Caffé del Saggio at 2 Helceletova Street
or popup espresso stand Kofi Kofi, usually parked at
Ceská Street and Mendlovo Námestí Square.
The caffeine boost should keep you up all night so
make the most of it. “Club life in the Moravian capital
culminates in October and then March, when
nearly 80,000 students celebrate the start of
fall and spring terms,” says Lukáš Gottwald, the
promoter of Brno Party University nights. Among his
recommendations are Fléda club (pictured right) at
24 Štefánikova Street (“a multi-genre venue hosting
both parties and concerts; well-known international
DJs spin the tables there every now and then”), 7. Nebe
at 9 Jánská Street (“a recently renovated disco club
near main square Námestí Svobody”) and Perpetuum
at 9 Rooseveltova Street (“a well-designed club
promoting progressive, trance and electro events”).
Fans of design, fashion and architecture will have
a good time, too. Brno’s best-known sight is the
UNESCO-protected Tugendhat Villa (45 Cernopolní
Street), built by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1929,
an apex of early functionalism architecture and
since taken over by the Nazis and the Soviets. In spring
2012 it reopened after a two-year refurbishment. You
can book your tour in advance at Tugendhat.eu
The House of Arts (2 Malinovského Square) and the
Moravian Gallery (18 Husova Street) are two must-go
places, the latter hosts an International Biennale of
Graphical Design until 28 October 2012.
Downtown Brno offers the best known global fashion
brands. Vankovka shopping centre is a good place to go
when you have an hour to spend before your departure.
If you’re interested in indie fashion and design, pop into
stores Pokojík (45 Smetanova Street), LoveMusic (17
Pekarská Street) and Minimon (36 Pekarská Street).
Even if you have already been to Brno, there are
always reasons to return. As the city grows, new cafés
and restaurants pop up every week. In June 2012, a
recently discovered ossuary beneath the church of
St. Jacob opened to general public, being the second
largest place of its kind in Europe, the catacombs of
Paris being the largest. The place is perfectly safe, but
still somewhat unnerving. Bones and skulls of 50,000
people rest in a place smaller than a tennis court,
arranged into frightening ornaments.
Somehow, it’s just another eccentric aspect of the
creative, bizarre and outlandish Czech city.
TOP:
FLÉDA CLUB WILL BE
PACKED WITH STUDENTS
ABOVE:
TRAMS PASS THE
CHURCH OF ST THOMAS
ALAMY