History of Brno underground

Stories and real events

Darkness, dampness, the musty smell of rot and rotten air and on the other hand the mystery of ancient times, forgotten history, genius loci and also human creativity and master craftsmanship of previous generations. These are the attributes of the forgotten and hidden to the human eye underground buildings and objects left by our ancestors in the historic core of the city, where they lived, worked and experienced the everyday hustle and bustle of the joys and sorrows of their time. However, Brno's underground is not only a phenomenon for those who share the same living space with our ancestors, but for all those who are interested in Brno's history. A phenomenon unrepeatable in its attractiveness, magic and omnipresent mystery. So let's take a look into these dark but captivating places over the course of several centuries...

14th century - century of builders

In the 14th century Brno was one of the most important cities of the Bohemian Kingdom. The number of inhabitants rose to a then impressive 7,500 and Brno became the third most populous city of the kingdom. The growing number of merchants, craftsmen and nobles who established their residences in the city required additional space to accommodate the new inhabitants and store more goods and food. Houses were gradually extended and new stone cellars of various sizes and numbers were built under the new tracts, connected by underground passages. Stone was initially quarried at Petrov and Špilberk, and later at the quarry on Červený Hill.

15th century - the century of merchants

In the 15th century, underground spaces were called "dungeons", "cellars", "pools" and "dungeons". However, the word "cellar" was also used to refer to merchant's warehouses and shops, more or less sunk below street level, where merchant's goods were sold. The entrance staircase to the dungeons and beerhouses was usually located in the passage, but for better supply, entrances were established directly from the street - cellar doorways with trap doors. For easier handling of stored goods, but mainly for lowering barrels, stakes were driven into the ground in front of the cellars. These encroached on the street space and complicated pedestrian and vehicular traffic. For safety reasons, they were eventually banned.

16th century - century of stabilisation

With the stabilization of the economic situation, the development of trade and the growing wealth of the townspeople, a new phase of cellar construction began and lasted throughout the 16th century. Using a new method of underground mining, cellars began to extend under public spaces. From the 16th century onwards, cellar masonry made of mixed stone and brick completely replaces brickwork. The original flat ceilings are replaced by brick vaults or cross vaults. The expansion and merging of plots has led to the creation of new Renaissance houses and palaces, which do not eliminate the original cellars but use them in new layouts. New cellars are also built into the space of the courtyard plots, even under the narrower passages of the houses.

17th century - the century of wine

In the 17th century, the desire to acquire additional space led house owners to excavate and expand cellars to the very limit of their usability. The floor of the lowest cellar was often at the level of the water table, which occasionally led to the flooding of the cellar and the destruction of stored supplies, but also sometimes to its destruction. The resulting labyrinthine cellars not only extend beneath courtyards or neighbouring properties, but extend well in front of street lines, beneath public spaces, streets and squares. Since those times, there have also been rumours of Brno's mysterious and vast corridors that reach far beyond the city walls.

18th century - the century of technology

From the middle of the 18th century onwards, the construction of underground technical objects - drainage galleries, sewerage drains and city water supply galleries, which supplied the city with drinking water, became much more intensive. Other specific underground structures of a strategic nature were also built. With the construction of the new bastion wall system, cellars and corridors of casemates were built in the area of the walls. Some of the cellars were also deliberately built in secret, as they were intended to serve as storage for valuables and property or as an escape route in the event of a threat or enemy attack.

19th century - the century of industry

With the development of manufactories and the first factory buildings in the 19th century, the construction of cellars in the city centre gradually ceased. In the suburbs, new warehouses were built that were much better equipped for storing and transporting goods. In connection with the extensive redevelopment of urban buildings, entire complexes of old cellars are being subject to the construction of new, multi-storey tenement buildings. Without access and control, cellars lose their ventilation systems and water supply capacity. However, underground structures of a technical nature are being created to support the functioning of the expanding city.

20th century - the century of modernisation

It would seem that buildings hidden for centuries under the pavement of streets and squares remain forgotten and are only discovered by chance during construction work. The fact is, however, that the underground is very often reminded of itself in a way so striking that it cannot be overlooked. In the 20th century, at a time of modernisation and redevelopment of houses and entire blocks, cellars that had lost their original function as fridges or storerooms for wine and merchants' goods were often covered with rubbish or rubble and walled up. Subsequent structural failures of houses, caving in of road surfaces and caverns in city streets were the first manifestations of the destruction of underground structures and forced the city administration to deal with Brno's underground with all seriousness.

21st century - the century of now

The systematic exploration of Brno's underground in the 21st century brings new discoveries and information about buildings that were part of city blocks and streets in the past. Cellars and underground buildings are still preserved below the level of the city ground to this day. However, many of them have irretrievably disappeared and have been replaced by new, contemporary construction. Although the incorporation of historic cellars into new buildings is technically possible, it is rarely done, and valuable cellars are then removed as an unwelcome technical obstacle to new construction. Documentation of this disappearing history is often the only evidence of the city's structural changes over the past centuries.