One of the main landmarks of Brno, with its famous dungeon and summer amphitheatre, and a great place for a stroll overlooking the city. Welcome to Špilberk, or Špilas as the locals call it.
Špilberk Castle was strategically built on a promontory in the 13th century to have a perfect overview of the surrounding area. This hill overgrown with greenery and with a massive fortress at its peak greets you from afar still today.
Originally, it was an aristocratic residence, but the role of Špilberk has changed greatly over time. However, the site was always important; never did it play merely a supporting role! Thanks to the south-western bastion, Brno once resisted the Swedish invasions before Napoleon blew it up many years later. The fortress, where the Moravian margraves first lived, became the toughest prison of the Austrian monarchy. And for the last 40 years, Špilberk has been home to the Brno City Museum.
It lovingly cares for precious historical finds and artworks, and it displays these in exhibitions dedicated to the history of Špilberk and Brno as well as to local fine art. You might enjoy for example a historical exhibition of guild relics. You will find genuine exhibits of masters of all possible guilds, such as gingerbread moulds or the tools of comb makers…
Come and get a view of the whole city from the lookout tower or, on the contrary, enter the casemates with dark dungeons, a torture chamber and a rack. The local cells “hosted” the worst and most dangerous criminals, as well as many well-known characters such as the Italian patriot and poet Silvio Pellico, Baron Trenck and the robber Babinský.
Today, the castle is no longer a place of torture, it is a venue for cultural events: theatre festivals, the Summer Shakespeare Festival, the culinary Špilberk Food Festival, the Summer Cinema, classical music concerts and so on.
For children, even a mere visit to the casemates is an experience. Those who have a sweet tooth will be delighted by several buildings in the area, ranging from a bistro and a café to a restaurant and a wine bar.
To visit Špilberk Castle, you can use the BrnoPas, which brings you tips for interesting places, discounts on admission and many other benefits, including transport around Brno free of charge.
We have found other places you might like. Have a look at them.
found 12 places
This voluptuous beauty made of burnt clay brought world-class commotion to a small South Moravian village. What is it that makes her so fascinating?
Formerly a Gothic castle and a Renaissance chateau today, this dominant feature of the town of Rosice rises atop a hill. It is home to a toy museum and an anti-nuclear shelter
A paradise for little kids as well as for grown-ups. The largest above-ground maze in the Czech Republic and other attractions will put both your muscles and your brain to work.
The six thousand square metres of science show the world in an entertaining and easy-to-understand way, whether for a five-year old princess or her forty-year old daddy. It is time to launch a rocket.
Homage to all victims of the bloody conflict was paid here for the first time in Europe. Come and honour the lives lost in the battle...
Divided into areas representing the regions of Moravian Slovakia (known as Slovácko in Czech), the Strážnice Open-Air Museum will pleasantly take you through history, entertain children, and show you live folklore.
Genuine Italian refinement. The noble arches of the arcade courtyard trill like notes in an operetta, the fountain sings a romantic aria. Bella, bella!
Vranov Chateau is an exemplary secular Baroque site. That is why it is has served as a backdrop for many films and fairy-tales.
A modern temple of science, which organizes great events for laypeople. No wonder it gets so many likes.
Children as well as adults are thrilled when they come out of one of the most extensive underground labyrinths in Central Europe.
In one of the sallets of the Lednice-Valtice Area, in an empire chateau Pohansko that was built in 1...
