Brünn

Brünn, a city of the Austrian empire, the capital of Moravia, is beautifully situated, partly on the slope of a hill, and partly in a pleasant valley at the confluence of the Schwarzawa and the Zwittawa, 93 miles N. of Vienna by rail. Behind the city, on an eminence (984 feet), rises the castle of Spielberg, formerly the citadel, and now used as barracks, but notorious as the state-prison where Silvio Pellico was confined from 1822 to 1830. Surrounded by walls till 1860, Brünn possesses a steam-tramway and numerous other modern improvements. Among the most interesting buildings are the cathedral of St Peter; St James's Church, a Gothic edifice, with a tower 305 feet in height; the church of the Minorites; and the Augustine convent. The Stadttheater, opened in 1882, was the first continental theatre lit by electricity. Brünn is one of the most important manufacturing towns in the Austrian dominions. Its woollens are specially celebrated, and it has also large manufactures of machinery, linen, leather, paper, ironware, upholstery, liqueurs, and numerous chemical products. Pop. (1881) 82,660; (1890) 94,462 (40 per cent. Czechs).