Sklep pod Novou Radnicí

Mincmistrovský sklep

Useful Information

Location:	Dominikánské nám. 1, 658 78 Brno. Entrance from Panenské ulice, Brno. (49.194141, 16.606298)
Open:	All year daily Wed-Mon 9:30-18, last entry 17:15. [2023]
Fee:	Adults CZK 150, Children (3-15) CZK 80, Children (0-2) free, Students (-26) CZK 80, Seniors (65+) CZK 80, Disabled CZK 80, Family (2+2) 350. Groups (20+): 10% discount. Three underground attractions in one day: Adults CZK 370, Children (3-15) CZK 190, Children (0-2) free, Students (-26) CZK 190, Seniors (65+) CZK 190, Disabled CZK 190, Family (2+2) 860. [2023]
Classification:	Cellar
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Sklep pod Novou Radnicí, Dominikánské nám. 1, 658 78 Brno, Tel: +420-513-035-040. E-mail: TIC BRNO, Radnická 2, 602 00 Brno, Tel: +420-542-427-150. 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

13th century

cellar built on order of the Mint Master shortly after the foundation of the city.

Description

Sklep pod Novou Radnicí (Cellar under the New Town Hall) is an underground museum with an exhibition to the history of the town. The exhibition is called Ohnivý kůň a drak (Fiery Horse and Dragon Exhibition) and is actually a collection of legends about the city. The stories are told with massive use of multimedia, virtual reality, laser, beamers, animation, and sound effects. The first story, about the fiery horse is a ghost story, which resembles very much the script of the movie Ghost Rider. A rich man who did not fulfil a gift given by his ancestors to a monastery and burned the contract was after his death transformed into a burning horse by the devil on which the devil rides through Brno every night. The other legend is a little longer:

Der Lindwurm von Brünn
Im Torweg des Rathauses zu Brünn in Mähren hängt an Ketten ein ausgestopftes Krokodil, das an einen Lindwurm erinnern soll, der einst der Schrecken der Umgegend war.
Mancher Tapfere hatte im Kampfe mit dem ungefügen Drachen sein Leben eingebüßt. Nun lebte in Mähren auch ein Ritter namens Obeslik. Der hatte in einem heftigen Zornesausbruche seinen Freund erschlagen. Er wurde dafür zum Tode verurteilt. Da bat er den Herzog um die Erlaubnis, gegen den Lindwurm ziehen zu dürfen. Der Landesherr gewährte diese Bitte. Dem Ritter wurde die Freiheit und eine Belohnung versprochen, wenn er siegreich aus dem Kampfe zurückkehren sollte.
Obeslik nahm ein scharfes Schwert und ein mit ungelöschtem Kalk gefülltes Kalbfell mit und wagte sich so in das Gebiet des Lindwurmes. Kaum war der Ritter der Höhle des Tieres zu nahe gekommen, so eilte der Lindwurm wütend auf ihn zu. Obeslik warf dem Ungetüm rasch das Kalbsfell hin und bestieg einen hohen Baum. Der Drache verschlang gierig das gefüllte Kalbsfell und eilte dann zu dem Baume, auf dem der Ritter saß. Hier wühlte er den Boden ringsum auf, um den Baum zu stürzen. Dem Ritter wurde bange. Doch bald stellte sich bei dem Lindwurme ein brennender Durst ein. Er ließ das Wühlen und entfernte sich, um Wasser aufzusuchen.
Was Obeslik erwartet hatte, geschah. Kaum hatte der Drache getrunken, so begann der Kalk in seinem Magen zu brausen und tötete das Ungeheuer. Der Ritter war gerettet. Freudig zog er mit der Haut des Lindwurms in die Hauptstadt ein. Der Herzog hielt sein Versprechen. Er begnadigte den Ritter und schenkte ihm viele Güter.

The Lindworm of Brno
A stuffed crocodile hangs on chains in the doorway of the town hall of Brno in Moravia as a reminder of a lindworm that was once the terror of the surrounding area.
Many a brave man had lost his life in the fight with the unassembled dragon. In Moravia there also lived a knight named Obeslik. In a violent outburst of anger, he had slain his friend. He was sentenced to death for it. He asked the duke for permission to go against the Lindwurm. The sovereign granted this request. The knight was promised freedom and a reward if he returned victorious from the battle.
Obeslik took a sharp sword and a calfskin filled with unslaked lime and thus ventured into the territory of the Lindwurm. No sooner had the knight come too close to the beast's lair than the lindworm rushed furiously towards him. Obeslik quickly threw the calfskin to the monster and climbed a high tree. The dragon greedily devoured the stuffed calfskin and then rushed to the tree where the knight was sitting. Here he stirred up the ground all around him to topple the tree. The knight became frightened. But soon the lindworm developed a burning thirst. He stopped digging and moved away to look for water.
What Obeslik had expected happened. No sooner had the dragon drunk than the lime in its stomach began to roar and killed the monster. The knight was saved. Joyfully he entered the capital with the skin of the lindworm. The duke kept his promise. He pardoned the knight and gave him many goods.

Source: Hans Fraungruber (1911): Österreichisches Sagenkränzlein, Wien, Stuttgart, Leipzig 1911

The dragon came from the town of Trutnov (Trautenau) and was killed by the local inhabitants under the leadership of Albrecht von Trautenau and given to the city of Brno as a gift for the state parliament in 1024.

The "dragon" exhibited in the Brno City Hall is a stuffed Nile crocodile. It was probably given to the city in 1608 by the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus to win over the Moravian people. Corvinus had received the crocodile on one of the crusades as a gift from a Turkish sultan.

This museum was formerly called Mincmistrovský sklep (Mintmaster's Cellar), as it is the cellar of the house of the Mint Master, which is today the New Town Hall. Before the new exhibition was created, it contained an exhibition on minting in Brno and Moravia. There was also an exhibition on the history of the Fish Market, which was also called Forum Piscium, today's Dominican Square. It commemorated the gothic Royal Chapel, which stood at the lower part of Dominican Square but was destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century. And then there was an exhibition on the statutory city of Brno. Parts of those exhibitions are still on display, but the new multimedia stuff is used for marketing.