Assembly House
Аdress: Komenskeho nam. 8, 60200 Brno
Besední dům in Brno belongs amongst the most significant buildings of the Viennese architect of Danish origin, Theofil Hansen. Its importance as a listed building in the historical development of the city is due to its social, cultural and political significance in the life of the Brno Czechs and testifies to the German influence in the past.
The Neo-renaissance building was built in 1871-73, based on T. Hansen's project for a centre of social and cultural life for Czech Brno. During a demonstration for a Czech university in 1905, F. Pavlik, a young worker, was killed here. Besední dům has been so far most aptly characterized by a contemporary connoisseur of the 19th century Moravian architecture, Pavel Zatloukal, who says it is considered to be one of the most beautiful embodiments of the ideal of Renaissance harmony and simultaneously the culmination of palace architecture inspired by the Italian Renaissance. Since 1956 Besední dům has been used and looked after by the Brno State Philharmonic. This use is of course not privileged - apart from the philharmonic's administration the palace has remained an institute for other spheres of activity which make it nof only one of the most important centres for music but for the general cultural and social life of Brno.
