Czechia’s second city is nothing like Prague: It’s quirky, cheap and ‘feels like a big village’

07.10.2024 - 02:49 / euronews.com

Midday is 11am in Brno, marked by the chiming astronomical clock which remains an enigma even to the locals. On the hour, this large, erect black granite structure releases a marble to one of three catch points - usually guarded by the hands of children.

Every wonky piece of art and unusual sculpture here has a legacy or folk story that speaks of Brno citizens' courage and lighthearted nature.

Like many, I hadn’t heard of Czechia’s southern second city before. I associated the country with the busy capital and popular stag-do destination, Prague.

But on my 1.5-hour train from Vienna, university student Ilona Szarazova tells me, “Brno feels like a big village, everybody knows everybody and you’re never stressed.”

I soon realise that off-target expectations and unexpected quirks are part of the fun in this undiscovered gem.

Walking to the centre of the main plaza, Freedom Square, I reach Brno’s beloved clock.

“We’ve got a good sense of humour,” local guide Sára Anna Hudcovicová says. “This is our version of the mediaeval mechanical clock in Prague. I think it’s coincidental that many of our sculptures look like a, you know…”

Phallic in appearance, this unusual structure symbolises Brno’s bravery in its defence against the Swedish siege in 1645 - which is why it was designed to look like a bullet.

According to the myth, Swedish soldiers planned to give up attempts of invasion one day at 12pm. When the locals found out, they adjusted the city clocks to ring an hour early.

Nothing’s quite as it seems here. I’m in one of Europe’s leading tech innovation hubs yet I’m wooed by the late-gothic period architecture and neo-Renaissance elegance of Vegetable Market square.

Around the stalls selling autumnal dried bouquets and early Oktoberfest pints, it’s atmospheric but not too busy. While 13 universities are in the surrounding metropolitan area, only 400,000 people live in the city.

“Beneath our feet is a labyrinth of passages and cellars,” Sára says. “You can go down there to see where food sold at the market was stored in the 13th century.”

Among the abundant deck chair socialising spots, parks filled with benches and calming water features, are plenty of impressive attractions. Holding the remains of 50,000 people is the second largest catacombs in Europe.

A 20-minute walk away is Žlutý Kopec Reservoirs, four underground water tanks that were shut down in 1997 - and this year newly opened to tourists and for music events.

While they date back to 1894, there’s something futuristic about the illusion of infinite space created by diagonal rows of pillars through each dimly lit chamber.

Mendel’s Greenhouse, where the theory of genetics sprung from, a 1770 cathedral and the 13th-century UNESCO-listed Tugendhat Villa, to name a