NÁMĚSTÍ SVOBODY

This trapezoidal pedestrian square forms, together with Zelný trh, the lungs of the old town. However, unlike Zelný trh, it has lost its market function and its former name "market from below". Its new name, Svobody, means "freedom". Located at the end of the long Masarykova pedestrian street, which connects it to the railway station, it is a landmark and has a mixture of very different styles. In the past, Svobody, like many central squares in the country, was surrounded by the houses of wealthy merchants and notables. But many of them did not survive the urban planning that transformed Brno in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In their place were built buildings of various styles, many of them with a Renaissance look. The house of the Lipp Lords, at no. 17, is one of them and embellishes the square with its sgraffito-covered façade. Not far away, the Commercial Bank, built by B. Fluchs in 1930, is a fine example of the functionalist style. Across the street, the U Čtyř Mamlasů house stands out clearly, with its facade that is, to say the least, loaded: the four "louts" in question are the four muscular colossi that support the building without difficulty and, admittedly, do not "look like they invented gunpowder." The building dates from 1928 and is the work of Germano Wanderley. At the north end of the square, the Plague Column has stood since 1679. The statues of St. Rosalie, St. Roch, St. Sebastian, St. Stephen and St. Charles Borromeo are recognizable.