Culture

Don't believe what you read in Lonely Planet: culture in Brno is alive and well, and on many evenings and weekends you'll find that you have a healthy variety of events to choose from.

 

If you like classical music, the Statni filharmonie Brno (State Philharmonic of Brno) or some of its members give several concerts a week in the Besedni dum. For cheaper entry and a more casual atmosphere, there's the main Janacek Academy of Music conservatory (JAMU), where students give recitals almost every evening. You can get additional fixes from several annual festivals, including the Moravsky podzim (Moravian Autumn), Brno's answer to the Prague Spring, featuring Czech as well as international artists. In April the Velikonocni festival duchovni hudby (Easter Festival of Spiritual Music) features requiems, masses, and so on, and in May the Expozice nove hudby (New Music Festival) presents music by Ligeti, Cage, and people you have never heard of.

If "live music" makes you think immediately of walking bass lines and sax solos, the jazz freak in you should check out the annual JAZZFESTBRNO and its international roster of singers, combos, etc. Barborka, a pub just across the street from our second site, frequently has live jazz, as does Stara Pekarna, a bit farther off. Two conveniently-located café-bars, Minus 1 and Podobrazy, have regularly scheduled performances as well.

 

For fans of opera and ballet, the war horses (Verdi and Puccini, Tschaikovsky and Prokofiev) can be experienced at Janackovo divadlo near Moravske namesti. Brno is also a good place to see productions of homegrown operas that are rarely performed anywhere else. Throughout the season, there is a steady stream of works by Janacek, Dvorak, Nedbal, and other Czech composers.

If theatre is your thing, you'll find the standards at Mahenovo divadlo - Shakespeare, Goldoni, etc. Many smaller theatres lean more towards the experimental end. Czech might be Greek to you, but you might still enjoy seeing innovative stagings at Divadlo Bolka Polivky (run by a famous Czech film actor), Hadivadlo (down the street from the ILC office), or Husa na provazku, which means "goose on a string". (During Communist times clever wags "edited" it to Husak na provazku, or "President Husak in a noose"). Fans of musicals should find out what's playing at the Mestske divadlo, and though puppets haven't taken over Brno as they have Prague, you can find them bobbing and jerking at Loutkove divadlo Radost. Finally, Setkani (Encounter), a major festival of theatre schools from around the world, takes place every April.

 

Perhaps on top of everything else, you are a film buff as well. For first-run films, you can try the Olympia shopping mall or Velky Spalicek in the center. For that obscure one you'll never catch anywhere else, you can go to Kino Art or to Fleda, where you can watch it from a comfy couch and help it go down easier with a drink. There are several interesting festivals in Brno throughout the year: watch out for the Brnenska Sestnactka, Febiofest (a large international festival), Days of European Film (from EU or soon-to-be EU countries), and One World (focused on human rights).

There are plenty of museums and galleries for those seeking out visual art. The main exhibition spaces are located in the three branches of the excellent Moravian Gallery: the Museum of Decorative Arts and Prazak Palace on Husova and Mistodrzitelsky Palace on Moravske namesti. In addition, there are always several enlightening exhibitions inside Spilberk castle. The Dum Umeni (House of Art) offers wacky, radical installations and free admission on Wednesday. At the Galerie Design Centrum you can look at (for free) neat furniture, porcelain, etc. you wish you owned. In Brno you can see anything from wooden Japanese dolls to tapestries, but the heaviest emphasis is on contemporary design.

 

Museums are a dime a dozen here. Ones of note include the Dietrichstein Palace and Biskupsky Dvur, which have exhibits on various aspects of Moravian as well as natural history. There are house museums devoted to two of Brno's sons, Mendel and Janacek. And just down the steps from the cathedral, there's even a crypt with mummies!

 

Haven't had enough? Find more detailed information in the free bi-weekly booklet Metropolis, or buy Kam v Brne for 20 crowns from any newstand.

As previously mentioned the Lonely Planet (or the "bible" as some people wrongly refer to it) mentions Brno as a dullsville when it comes to its nightlife. Certainly whoever wrote this either hasn't been to Brno or at least the guide hasn't been updated for a long time.

 

It's very easy to find out what's going on a night in Brno - just go to Ceska where there is a Metropolis board (near the clock where everyone in Brno meets) which will tell you everything that you need to know as regards the nightlife. You can also pick up a Metropolis guide from the main cinema - Velky Spalicek.

 

So what does Brno have to offer at night - well you can choose from the many types of cafes, cellar bars, clubs, restaurants and cinemas that you will find around Brno. Probably one of the best clubs in Brno is Fleda on Stefanikova (three stops up from Moravske Namesti) mainly because of the diversity of the music on offer there. In one month you can usually choose from jazz to hip-hop to drum'n'bass to funk. They have live bands and DJ's and it even transforms into a cinema on Sunday's and Monday's complete with comfy couches. If dance music is more your scene then Perpetuum is the place for you. Here they have a variety of DJ's and live acts with everything from techno to chill-out to deep house and garage music.
There is also Babylon, which often has live concerts and also hip-hop and techno nights. There are also the infamous techno parties which are held at either the Boby Centre or at the Trade Fair if that's more your thang!! These are held monthly and are worth going to just to see thousands of people in space suits and other wacky outfits!!

If you're not too bothered about what music you're listening to (maybe you've had too many Czech pivos!!) then head to one of the many cellar bars with dance floors if you're still standing at the end of the night!! Livingstones, near to the new town hall, is probably the most well known but there is also Charlie's Hat or the Green Cat as well. There is also Remix, which is situated far too close to Husa bar, and when you leave at 1 a.m. that's usually the place you end up at!! Although that's not always a bad thing.

 

If you're looking for a decent bar then probably Husa, Bar Minus 1 or Vyhlidka (Sound Cafe) are the ones to head for. These are some of the trendier bars that are appearing around Brno, much nicer I think than the traditional cellar bars, which can be very claustrophobic.

 

So, there you go. I think we've just dispelled any rumours of Brno being a "dullsville" - on any day of the week you'll find somewhere to kick back and relax and unwind!! Just make sure you get on the right night bus at the end of the night!!