Primary School Pupils Discover Nine New “Legends” From Brno History

The legends, which were written for a story competition, “Brand New Legends of Brno”, will be exhibited on Moravské namesti until September 30th, with illustrations by local artist group Hearts of Creation. Photo: Courtesy of City District Brno-Centre.

Brno, Jul 28 (BD) – Brno primary school pupils have created nine new “legends” about the history of Brno, as part of a writing competition for young people. The winning entries will be exhibited in Moravské namesti until the end of September, but unfortunately only in Czech.

The exhibition will feature not only the legends from this year, with graphic rendering created by artists from the group Hearts of Creation, but will also recap some of the stories from previous years of the competition, which is now in its fourth year. “Brand New Legends of Brno” follows on from the previous successful projects: “Brno Legends I – Multimedia Topography” (2017), “Brno Legends II” (2018) and “Urban legends – Brno Legends” (2019).

The exhibition was welcomed by Brno-střed District Mayor, Vojtěch Mencl (ODS): “Getting the pupils involved was an excellent idea, for which I thank the authors of the concept, Jan Krajčirovič and Tomáš Pavčík. I had a lot of fun reading their stories and I believe that visitors to the park on Moravské náměstí will also enjoy them. I definitely recommend visiting the exhibition to everyone.”

The exhibition on Moravské náměstí is one of several steps the Brno-střed District has taken, together with the Brno Tourist Information Center and the City of Brno, to enhance the life of the city centre this summer, and increase the space for entertainment and leisure. These include placing 400 sunbeds around the center, creating rest zones in Zelny trh, Dominikánské náměstí, náměstí Svobody, and the park in Moravské náměstí.

“How Joseph II ended up in a madhouse”. Photo: Courtesy of City District Brno-Centre.

Nine Brand New Legends of Brno

1.    Valerie Lochmanová – “Moravské náměstí: How Joseph II ended up in a madhouse”

Emperor Joseph II did many important things during his life: he abolished slavery, founded the modern state, and established a park in Lužánky. After his death, the grateful people of Brno built a statue for him. It stood on Moravské náměstí for a long time, but during the 20th century it somehow ended up in the grounds of the Psychiatric Hospital in Brno-Černovice.

2.     Iva Píšalová – “The door of the civil defense shelter at Nové sady & Benešova: How Brno nearly got a metro”

When the London Underground opened for the first time, in Brno they also decided that they no longer wanted steam locomotives standing on the streets and blowing smoke through the windows…

3. Martina Krbůšková – “Cejl Prison: Unhappy souls in Cejl”

Many innocent people were sentenced to prison in Cejl, where they suffered in inhumane conditions. Eventually, the prison was closed, yet much suffering and injustice remained within these walls. When it gets dark, things start to happen in prison…

4.    Massimo di Lenardo – “Studánka Park: The well, which is now fed by the main water supply”

Once upon a time there was a miraculous well under the church on Petrov, whose water had healing properties. But then the water spoiled… Today the well is fed by the main water supply.

5.    Natálie Nová – “Husova: The city that lost its walls”

Brno has been surrounded by walls for centuries. They saved Brno many times. But a new era arrived and the walls began to be more of a problem…

6.    Nikola Nevěřil – “Avion: The narrowest hotel in Central Europe”

As the city grew, houses began to rise in height, leaving only a low dilapidated pub in the narrow alley between these two houses. It was bought by a hotelier who wanted to build a hotel in its place. But the place was too narrow. This hotel is called Avion, which in French means aeroplane…

7.   Arlene Binderová – “Jošt: The equestrian statue in Brno’s Moravské náměstí”

The Holy Roman king Jošt of Luxembourg was the most powerful man of his time. But he was king for only a few months; he wanted to accomplish many things, but succumbed to disease before he could finish them. Before his death, he called a priest from St. Thomas Abbey in Brno and told him his message for future generations, and one other great secret… That’s why, after many centuries, a statue of Jošt appeared in Brno.

8.    Jan Ondráček – “Centrum Department Store: The lowest skyscraper in the world”

The industrialist Tomáš Baťa is famous all over the world. He wanted to have a flagship store built in Brno, the tallest building in what was then Czechoslovakia. But when construction began, it was haunted by one problem after another. Baťa began to wonder why the construction was failing… And since then, Brno has the smallest skyscraper in the world.

9.    Albert Pátik – “Brno Observatory: Aliens in Brno”

In 1954, an observatory was built in Brno. But no one knew that in addition to observing the stars, it would serve many other purposes… And so, as a reminder of that event, there is a statue of a small flying saucer in the park on Kraví hora.

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