Week 25: Brno Christmas Market
Dec. 21, 2022(Photos from 9 December, post written 22 December)
I have to admit that since the house is currently in a “waiting” state while the concrete dries, I had a grand plan to do a really nice post about the Brno Christmas Market to make up for it. So I went to the Christmas Market, took some photos and did some shopping with a plan of returning to get better pictures after it snowed and wowing everyone with how pretty and awesome the markets are here.
My plans however were changed two days after these photos were taken when less than a week after getting over my last cold, I came down with another one. I actually think it’s likely that I got this second cold at the Christmas Market. Unfortunately, this year the respiratory viruses are completely wild here and a lot of people are getting sick. I’m still sick 11 days later and am hoping that one day I may recover!
Either way, I wanted to share the Christmas Market photos that I did get, even though they’re not as nice as I would have liked them to be.
Česká
As previously mentioned, the public transport in Brno is spectacular. When I
take the tram to the city center, Česká is the tram stop that I get off at.
It’s the main tram stop on the north side of the city center. It stops right
in front of my favourite bookstore (Knihy Dobrovský). You can see some of
the Brno trams below.
I love this part of Brno because it has pretty European architecture and nice
cobbled streets.
There are 71 náměstí, or town squares, in all of Brno. The city center itself has 13.
Moravské Náměstí is near the Česká tram stop and has recently been completely
renovated. During the Christmas season, there is a ferris wheel which is
really pretty at night because it’s completely lit up.
Currently, the green space is surrounded by fencing as they are waiting for the
grass and plants to get settled before people can start using it. Normally,
this would be a place that people could sit in the grass and dogs and kids
could play.
You can see here some of the newly planted trees and new sidewalks that go
through the park.
Across the street, but still part of Moravské Náměstí is one of the many churches in Brno. By a rough count, there are 12 churches just in the Brno city center, about 3/4 of which are Roman Catholic. One of these is the Church of St. Thomas that you see below. It is a baroque style church that was built between 1665 and 1675 to replace a gothic style one that was damaged during the Thirty Years’ War in the early 1600’s.
During Christmastime, Moravské Náměstí not only has the ferris wheel but
also a merry-go-round and some of the famous Christmas market stalls.
Moravské Náměstí is on the outer edge of the city center pedestrian zone.
The entire center of the city is accessible only on foot with the exception
of a few trams, emergency vehicles and bicycles. The PĚŠÍ ZÓNA signs mean
pedestrian (walking) zone and the red sign with the circle means that
motorised vehicles (except public transport) are forbidden.
Merry-go-round at Moravské Náměstí
This is a view looking south from Moravské Náměstí toward the main city
square, Náměstí Svobody (Freedom Square).
A side street with some construction going on. The city of Brno seems to be
always under construction in some place or another as they aim to keep the
city up-to-date and well-maintained. These old buildings require a lot of
maintainence and the facades need frequent cleaning and updating.
This is a terrible photo of main city square. It’s triangle shaped and there is always something going on. Year-round there are different markets, small music festivals and other interesting events. For the most part, it’s made up of a lot of old buildings with the exception of the one hideous glass one that snuck its way in at some point in the past.
You can see the annual Christmas tree nicely decorated as well
Zelný Trh (Cabbage Market) has the largest number of Christmas market stalls and for good reason. Zelný Trh is home to Brno’s almost year round market which has been running since the year 1190, before Brno was even established. It was originally a general market and only later came to specialise in the vegetables and fruit that we see today. It is the oldest fruit and vegetable market in Central Europe, having been in continuous operation for 850 years and operating under the name Zelný Trh for 700 years.
Behind Zelný Trh, you can see Brno’s cathedral, The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.
This photo is taken from the north-western corner of Zelný Trh. You can see
a better view of the stalls and the Grandezza Hotel.
The organ grinder is there every year and I’m always dissappointed that he
doesn’t hae a friendly monkey sitting on his shoulder!
Dominikánské náměstí
A short distance from Zelný Trh is Dominikánské náměstí (Dominican Square) which is today home to the Brno Nativity Scene at Christmas time. The square was completely reconstructed during 2018 to what you see today. Prior to that time it was used as a fish market in the 13th and 14th centuries and more recently as gardens for the church on that square and even later for parking. The 2018 reconstruction removed the parking and turned it back into a more traditional open market style square.
The large yellow building in the background is the new Town Hall which was built in 1935.
While this isn’t a Christmas Market thing, I still thought I’d include it because I think it’s interesting. One of my favourite things about Brno is that there are these little bakery stands all of the city near the tram stops. You can get fresh baked bread and pastries of all sorts of varities, both sweet and savory.
This particular one is at the Zoo tram stop (yes, Brno has a zoo! - a post
for another time) and it’s always nice to be able to grab a fresh snack if
you’re hungry or bread for dinner on the way home.
