Old Town Hall (Stará radnice)

Inside one of Brno city centre’s most remarkable historical buildings, today you will find the principal symbols of three of Brno’s most enduring legends: the Brno Dragon, the cart wheel, and the crooked pinnacle of the portal. The Old Town Hall also hosts a tourist information centre and two permanent exhibitions (Master Mason Anton Pilgram and Quiet Heroism), plus there are the Renaissance halls, and high above them all, a magnificent view across the centre of Brno from the town hall’s lookout tower.

 The Old Town Hall, a building that dates to the 13^th century and which is the oldest secular/civic building within the modern city (all older buildings are religious), became a National Cultural Monument on 1 July 2024.

As opposed to the past, when the town’s leadership would assemble behind its walls, its primary role today is cultural. The council worked here until 1935, after which the local authority relocated to the New Town Hall on Dominikánské náměstí (Dominican Square).

The town hall courtyard with its late 16^th century Renaissance arcade is the work of Italian builders; additional modifications are the results of reconstruction during the early Baroque. These days it is the venue for concerts, festivals, theatrical performances, and the occasional film screening.

Address: Radnická 8

In the town hall passageway you will see the famous Brno dragon and cart wheel, as well as the crooked pinnacle on the Gothic portal. On the ground floor is situated the tourist information centre, while on the first floor above is the permanent exhibition Master Mason Anton Pilgram, devoted to Brno’s most distinctive figure in the arts during the late medieval period: a builder, sculptor, stonemason, and not to forget, creator of the Old Town Hall’s Gothic portal.

Here you can also take a self-guided tour of the Crystal Hall, Fresco Hall, the mysterious Treasury, or climb the 173 steps up the 63-metre-high Old Town Hall Lookout Tower, whose top offers dizzying views over the city from every point of the compass.

Address: Radnická 10

On the first floor of the Old Town Hall you can visit the exhibition Quiet Heroism, which you enter through the Café paměti národa (Memory of Nations Café) at Radnická 10. This is the address of the Memory of Nations Institute, whose permanent exhibition guides you through the twentieth century, telling you the true stories of eyewitnesses. The institute also invites the public to meetings and lectures, organises educational programmes (not just for schools), and runs a studio for recording testimonies from that time.

Enjoy the Old Town Hall in a different way: play it like a game! Discover more about the Play Brno application here.

Download a brochure about the Old Town Hall!

Nearest stop of public transport: Zelný trh