Brno (German Brünn), city in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic, at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers. It is the center of the Czech wool-manufacturing industry. Other manufactures include cotton and linen textiles, hardware, chemicals, soap, and beer. Coal mining and farming are the chief occupations in the surrounding region. Masaryk University (founded in 1919) and an agricultural college are in the city. Religious and historical sites include the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (15th century); the Church of Saint James (13th century); and Spilberk Castle (13th century), which served at various times as a residence for Czech kings, a military fortress, and a prison.
Brno was founded in the 9th century and became a free city of the Holy Roman Empire in 1278. Strongly fortified, it was often the scene of fighting, particularly during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and during the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). Slavkov (Austerlitz), the site of a famous victory by Napoleon I of France, is located nearby. Before Austria-Hungary was defeated in World War I (1914-1918) the city was the capital of the crown land of Moravia. In 1918, when Czechoslovakia was formed, Brno was made the capital of the province of Moravia, and after 1927 it served as capital of the province of Moravia and Silesia. Brno became the capital of the newly created region of Jihomoravsky (South Moravia) in 1960. The region was abolished as a political division in 1990 after the collapse of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. In 1993 Brno became part of the Czech Republic after Czechoslovakia ceased to exist. Population (1999 estimate) 384,727.
