Many music festivals, five food festivals, and a lot more besides will be attracting visitors in Brno in 2020. Villa Tugendhat is celebrating 90 years since its completion, a new area of the city’s underground will be opened, and Brno will keep its place among UNESCO’s Creative Cities by supporting music throughout the year. Photo: KK / Brno Daily.
Brno, Jan 23 (BD) – Villa Tugendhat is celebrating 90 years since its completion. The villa was designed for Greta and Fritz Tugendhat by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. A project commemorating the 90th anniversary will be named after him and displayed in the House Of Art. The main part of the celebrations will be held in the villa, including exhibitions, lectures, and cultural events.
| Villa Tugendhat The villa for the Tugendhat couple was a gift from Greta’s father, whose villa stands below his daughter’s. It was built for the price of 30 ordinary houses at the time. The family used it only until 1938, when they fled the republic. After that the villa was used as a base for the German and later Russian army, including their horses. It later served as a gymnastics school and a rehabilitation centre. It was renovated in the 1980s and was the venue for the signing of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The villa was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. |
Another Brno architectural event this year is the 150th anniversary of the birth of architect Adolf Loos, whose work can be seen in Prague, Vienna and Paris, including the house of writer Tristan Tzara. His work will be featured in the exhibition The European Adolf Loos: Traces Of Adolf Loos in Brno and Beyond.
BRNO INDUSTRIAL is a new project introduced by Brno City Tourist Information Centre (TIC BRNO), which will explore the city’s industrial tradition. Brno was a leader in the textile industry for almost 300 years, which left a mark on the city that is still visible today. The project will tell the stories of important figures, map today’s creative industries, and open a new area of Brno’s underground. This focus on the industrial heritage of the city will be featured in the Open House Brno festival in Spring 2020.
Support for music in the region is one of the city’s goals. Since 2017, Brno has been listed as one of UNESCO’s Creative Cities thanks to its support for music as a tool of strategic development.
A new city guide, #BrnoCityOfMusic, tells the story of music in the city and describes the present day situation. The biggest music event of 2020 is the Janáček Festival, which will present 28 productions in 19 days over September and October. Last year the festival won at the prestigious International Opera Awards. Other music festivals to look forward to are:
| What | When |
| JAZZFEST | March 15th – June 9th |
| The Easter Festival of Spiritual Music | April 5th – 19th |
| The Ibérica Festival | June 22nd – 28th |
| Festival UPROSTŘED | July–August |
| POP MESSE BRNO | July 25th – 26th |
| Špilberk International Music Festival | August |
| International Guitar Festival | August 4th – 9th |
| Marathon of Music Brno | August 13th – 16th |
| The International Folk Festival | August 27th – 30th |
| Groove Brno | October–December |
In 2020, Brno will release the results of Gourmet Brno, an independent ranking of its cafés, bars, wineries, pubs, bistros, restaurants and patisseries, for the fifth year. As well as the city guide, which will be available online, there will also be a guide for the whole South Moravia region. Food and drink will also take centre stage at a number of events organized throughout the year:
| What | When |
| Brno Beer Festival | April 22nd – 25th |
| The Good Food Festival | May 13th – 16th |
| The Beer Festival Of František Ondřej Poupě | September |
| St. Martin’s Wine Festival | November 11th – 15th |
| Christmas Markets | November–December |
Other festivals this year allow you to explore new cultures without leaving Brno: taste French food, watch French movies, and discover French traditions at Bonjour Brno (April 1st – 26th), or explore the exotic vibe of Brazilian Days (June 12th – 14th). Sports fans can visit the Olympic Festival (July 24th – August 9th) for the second time and try out more than 50 sports at the Police Sports Club, Kometa Brno, and the Riviéra Swimming Pool.
The prestigious and long-running Grand Prix motorcycle race will take place in August.
Those interested in science can visit the International Fulldome Festival organized by the Brno Observatory and Planetarium, the Mendel Festival in July or the Festival of Science in September.
