Labyrinth pod Zelným trhem

Podzemí pod Zelným trhem

Useful Information

Location:	Zelný trh 21, 658 78 Brno. (49.192905, 16.609635)
Open:	All year Tue-Sun, Hol 9-18. First tour 9:30, last tour 17:30, tours every hour. [2023]
Fee:	Adults CZK 180, Children (6-15) CZK 90, Children (0-5) free, Students (-26) CZK 90, Seniors (65+) CZK 90, Disabled CZK 90, Family (2+2) 420. Video CZK 50. Groups (20+): 10% discount. [2023]
Classification:	Cellar
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=1 km, VR=13 m.
Guided tours:	self guided, St=212, L=1,000 m, VR=13 m.
Photography:	allowed, video with permit
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Aleš Svoboda (2001): Brněnské podzemí. Brno : R-atelier, 2001. p.165 Ladislav Lahoda (2004): Tajnostmi podzemí : po stopách legend a příběhů z temnot : podzemím českých zemí : od hradních sklepů až k podzemním továrnám. Praha : Lubor Kasal, 2004. 166 pp. Jaroslav Hromas et. al. (2002): Podzemí v Čechách, na Moravě, ve Slezsku. Praha : Olympia, 2002. 269 pp., map Aleš Svoboda (2005): Brněnské podzemí. [Kniha druhá]. Brno : R-atelier, 2005. 207 pp. Kamil Pokorný (2006): Podzemní kryty v Brně. Magazín 2000 záhad. Roč. 13, č. 9 (2006). 1211-4928. pp. 12-13
Address:	Labyrinth pod Zelným trhem, Zelný trh 21, 658 78 Brno, Tel: +420-542-212-892. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2009	major reconstruction of the cellars.
APR-2011	opened to the public.

Description

The Labyrinth pod Zelným trhem (Labyrinth under the Cabbage Market) is a series of medieval cellars, also called Podzemí pod Zelným trhem (Cellars under the Cabbage Market). Zelný trh (Cabbage Market, Vegetable Market), located in the middle of the city, is one of the oldest squares in the city and was for a long time specialized on the trading of food, hence the name. As a result, the cellars below the square were specialized in food keeping, beer brewing, and maturing of wine. The oldest cellars were dug in the Middle Ages, but most of them are from the Baroque era. Originally the cellars were not connected, they had different owners, but in 2009 they underwent a major reconstruction and numerous cellars were connected. The biggest cellar is almost 23 m long and 4 m high, the deepest cellar is 13 m below the surface.

As they had the main purpose to cool perishable food, they became obsolete with the invention of refrigerators at the end of the 19th century. It seems the cellars were used during World War II as air raid shelters. There are other exhibitions, an alchemist’s laboratory, a prison, and a torture chamber, which seem to be reconstructed urban legends, and not actually history of the cellars. In other words, they are fictitious stories which are told for the entertainment of the visitors.

During the 20th century the cellars became a problem for the buildings above, there was the danger of collapse. As a result, some of them were filled in. The others were renovated, to stabilize them, and the opening as a museum in 2009 was more or less a side effect. At first this was the central museum for all subterranea of Brno, and called Muzeum brněnského podzemí (Museum of Brno Underground). This name was reduced to Brněnského Podzemí (Brno Underground). After several other underground sites had been opened, much of the exposition became obsolete, and so the exhibition was completely updated. Now it shows the old legends and urban legends of Brno and some replicas of cellars which are not open for the public.