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104-541: The villages of Češkovice, Dolní Lhota, Horní Lhota, Hořice, Klepačov, Lažánky, Obůrka, Olešná, Skalní mlýn, Těchov and Žižlavice are administrative parts of Blansko. Blansko is located about 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of Brno . It lies in the Drahany Highlands . The highest point is the hill Bukovec with an altitude of 596 metres (1,955 ft). It is situated in the valley of the Svitava River;

208-547: A horsecar service started to operate in Brno, the first tram service in what would later become the Czech Republic. Gregor Mendel conducted his groundbreaking experiments in genetics while he was a monk at St. Thomas's Abbey in Brno in the 1850s. Around 1900 Brno, which consisted in administrative terms only of the central city area until 1918, had a predominantly German-speaking population (63%), as opposed to

312-575: A twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of international links between municipalities akin to what are known as sister cities or twin towns today dating back to the 9th century, the modern concept was first established and adopted worldwide during World War II . Throughout history, many cities have participated in various cultural exchanges and similar activities that might resemble

416-490: A "similar attitude towards food," whereas Chicago 's link with Warsaw , Poland began with Chicago's historic Polish community . The twinning of Indianapolis with Monza , Italy, is due to both cities' long association with auto racing . A twin towns program was instituted in the United States in 1956 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed a citizen diplomacy initiative. Sister Cities International (SCI)

520-519: A "tuning" partnership based on a shared musical heritage and culture offer, at the initiative of Bristol Mayor George Ferguson . Annecy , France and Nerima , Tokyo have for several years shared a partnership based on their "co-existent animation industry". Toledo, United States twinned with Toledo, Spain in 1931, and was the first city in North America to engage in town twinning. Vancouver, Canada twinned with Odesa, Ukraine in 1944,

624-612: A 2024 discovery of at least 3 three mammoths bones and prehistoric tools dating back 15,000 years. The town's direct predecessor was a fortified settlement of the Great Moravian Empire known as Staré Zámky , which was inhabited from the Neolithic Age until the early 11th century. In the early 11th century Brno was established as a castle of a non-ruling prince from the House of Přemyslid , and Brno became one of

728-506: A brief tour of the city. In 2011, the city announced plans to build a metro system light rail system to alleviate overcrowding of trams and to reduce congestion on the surface. Railway transport began operating in the city in 1839 on the Brno–Vienna line, the first operating railway line in the modern-day Czech Republic. Today, Brno is a transnational railway hub, with nine stations for passenger traffic. The current main railway station

832-534: A common etymology . These similarities usually arise from sharing the same or related language or having been a colony or previously conquered. The twinning of towns and cities is sometimes done for political purposes. The Hungarian city Gyöngyös was twinned with the Azerbaijani city of Shusha in 2013, signing the twinning agreement with representatives from the Azerbaijani government; Hungary recognised Shusha as de jure part of Azerbaijan , even though it

936-575: A factory in the Republic of Karelia in Russia and offered the same profit-sharing plan to its Russian employees. China's sister city relationships are managed by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries , a united front organization. Sister city initiatives are an increasingly widespread mechanism for Chinese public diplomacy . From the early 2000s until 2024,

1040-499: A gift of timber from his native country for use in the new Civic Theatre, which when finished was named Belgrade Theatre . The purpose of twinnings was then expanded to encourage trade and tourism or to reflect other links, such as towns sharing the same name or migration links. By the 2000s, town twinning became increasingly used to form strategic international business links among member cities, and may include localities of any scope such as villages, prefectures, or countries. In

1144-401: A hierarchical relationship. In the 2010s, Tokyo began to actively promote 'city diplomacy' with other global cities at the initiative of governor Yoichi Masuzoe . Relationships between communities can also arise because of shared names; they may be named after one community (as in the case of Córdoba ), they may share names (as in the case of Santiago de Compostela ), or their names may have

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1248-611: A link that still exists. Since 9 April 1956 Rome and Paris have been exclusively and reciprocally twinned with each other, following the motto: "Only Paris is worthy of Rome; only Rome is worthy of Paris." Within Europe, town twinning is supported by the European Union. The support scheme was established in 1989. In 2003 an annual budget of about € 12 million was allocated to about 1,300 projects. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions also works closely with

1352-569: A separate district, the Brno-City District , surrounded by the Brno-Country District . Brno is divided into 29 administrative divisions (city districts) and consists of 48 cadastral areas . The "Brno-City District" and "Brno-Country District" are not to be confused with the "city districts" of Brno. The city districts of Brno vary widely in their size by both population and area. The most populated city district of Brno

1456-558: A sister-city or twin-city relationship, but the first officially documented case of such a relationship was a signed agreement between the leaders of the cities of Toledo, Ohio and Toledo, Spain in 1931. However, the modern concept of town twinning appeared during the Second World War. More specifically, it was inspired by the bombing of Coventry on 14 November 1940, known as the Coventry Blitz . First conceived by

1560-409: A sort of international relations that works in parallel to the conventional system involving embassies, ambassadors, and treaties negotiated at the level of nation states . According to Rodrigo Tavares , the earliest formal attempts to establish city diplomacy across national boundaries took place in the 19th century. Only a handful of cities were involved in the 19th-century efforts; it was not until

1664-546: A twin town. Twinned towns are often chosen because of similarities between them; thus about 15 towns in Wales are twinned with towns in Brittany , and Oxford is with Bonn , Leiden , Grenoble and other university cities. In Italy, two sets of twins are Rovigo with Viernheim , and Bedford with Tulcea . Many former West German cities are twinned with former East German cities; these twinning links were established before

1768-462: Is Brno-Centre , which has over 91,000 residents, and the least populated are Brno-Ořešín and Brno-Útěchov , with about 500 residents. By area, the largest district is Brno-Bystrc (27.24 square kilometres (10.52 sq mi)) and the smallest is Brno-Nový Lískovec (1.66 square kilometres (0.64 sq mi)). Brno is the home to the highest courts in the Czech judiciary . The Supreme Court

1872-428: Is 9.4 °C (49 °F), the average annual precipitation is about 505 mm (19.88 in), the average number of precipitation days is 150, the average annual sunshine is 1,771 hours, and the prevailing wind direction is northwest. The weather box below shows average data between years 1961 and 1990. Its height above sea level varies from 190 m (623 ft) to 497 m (1,631 ft). The highest peak in

1976-620: Is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic . Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 400,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic after the capital, Prague , and one of the 100 largest cities of the European Union . The Brno metropolitan area has approximately 730,000 inhabitants. Brno is the former capital city of Moravia and

2080-591: Is a unique slang that originated in Brno. The biggest festival in Brno is the fireworks competition festival, Ignis Brunensis (Latin for "Flame of Brno"), held annually in June, part of the "Brno – City in the Centre of Europe" festival. Ignis Brunensis is the biggest show of its kind in Central Europe, usually attracting 100,000–200,000 visitors to each display. Sister city A sister city or

2184-721: Is also an international road transport crossroads. There are two motorways on the southern edge of the city: the D1 leading to Ostrava and Prague , and the D2 leading to Bratislava . Not far from the city limits is the D52 motorway leading to Vienna . Another planned motorway, the D43 , will connect Brno to northwestern Moravia. The city is gradually building the large city ring road (road I/42). Several road tunnels have been built at Pisarky, Husovice, Hlinky, and Královo pole, and more are planned. Due to

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2288-501: Is also one long bikeway leading to Vienna , approximately 130 kilometres (81 mi) long. Several hiking trails of the Czech Tourist Club also pass through Brno. The city spends about 30 million euro every year on culture. A vibrant university city with about 60,000 students, Brno is home to many museums, theatres and other cultural institutions, and also hosts a number of festivals and other cultural events. Since

2392-701: Is among the largest exhibition centres in Europe. The complex opened in 1928 and established the tradition of large exhibitions and trade fairs held in Brno. Brno hosts motorbike and other races on the Masaryk Circuit , a tradition established in 1930, of which the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious races. Another cultural tradition is an international fireworks competition, Ignis Brunensis , which attracts tens of thousands of visitors to each display. The most visited sights of

2496-455: Is from 1136. It was the site of dispute between Jindřich Zdík , the bishop of Olomouc , and Prince Wratislaus of Brno regarding the rights to construct a church in the village. From the end of the 14th century, a new settlement began to grow on the left bank, known as Nové Blansko ("New Blansko"), which later became the core of the modern town. Both parts developed administratively and economically independently until 1526, when they merged. In

2600-415: Is in a separate smaller painting (above its main one) showing a beech tree, intended as a symbol of prosperity and from which Carshalton Beeches in the borough derives its name. Another example of the use of public art is the wall sculpture of the partner cities of Munich , Germany. A recent study has concluded that geographical distance has very little, if any, influence upon communities' selections of

2704-797: Is on Burešova Street, the Supreme Administrative Court is on Moravské náměstí (English: Moravian Square ), the Constitutional Court is on Joštova Street, and the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office of the Czech Republic is on Jezuitská street. According to the 2021 census, Brno had 398,510 inhabitants. The largest ethnic groups reported (without options to choose between) were Czechs (51.6%), Moravians (18.7%), Slovaks (1.5%), Ukrainians (0.9%), Vietnamese (0.4%), and Poles (0.2%). 23.7% of inhabitants did not write any nationality. In

2808-626: Is the Blansko Castle. The Renaissance castle was built in 1604–1605 by reconstruction of a Gothic fortress from the 14th century. Today it houses the Blansko Region Museum with exhibitions of Moravian Karst and its exploration, the tradition of the iron industry in Blansko and the production of artistic castings. The Church of Saint Martin was built in 1672–1691. It replaced an original Romanesque and later Gothic church from

2912-474: Is the central hub of regional train services, used by about 50,000 passengers every day, with around 500 trains passing through. The station is operating at full capacity; the main station building is outdated and lacks sufficient operating capacity, but the construction of the new station has been postponed several times for various reasons. A referendum over whether to move the station was held on 7 and 8 October 2016, coinciding with regional elections . Brno

3016-454: Is the last preserved foundry and ironworks from the 1850s. It is a typical example of the industrial architecture of the mid-19th century. The town hall from 1885 replaced an old wooden structure with a tower which originated from the 16th century. In 1904, the clock tower was completed. Blansko is twinned with: Brno Brno ( / ˈ b ɜːr n oʊ / BUR -noh , Czech: [ˈbr̩no] ; German : Brünn )

3120-447: Is twinned with Dorval, Quebec ; Huai'an, China , and Neyagawa, Osaka , Japan. Town twinning begins for a variety of reasons. Generally, partner towns have similar demographics and size. They may arise from business connections, travel, similar industries, diaspora communities, or shared history. For example, the partnership between Portland, Oregon and Bologna , Italy arose from shared industries in biotechnology and education, and

3224-643: The Bohemian ruler in Prague . The seats of these rulers and thus the "capitals" of these territories were the castles and towns of Brno, Olomouc , and Znojmo . In the late 12th century, Moravia began to reunify, forming the Margraviate of Moravia . From then until the mid of the 17th century, it was not clear which town should be the capital of Moravia. Political power was divided between Brno and Olomouc, but Znojmo also played an important role. The Moravian Diet,

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3328-571: The COVID-19 pandemic . The airport also serves as one of the two bases for police helicopters in the Czech Republic. The other airport, Medlánky Airport , is a small domestic airport serving mainly recreational activities such as flying hot air balloons , gliders or aircraft RC models . Cycling is widespread in Brno due to lowland nature of the landscape. Existing tracks for cycling and roller skating in 2011 totalled approximately 38 kilometres (24 mi), and are gradually being expanded. There

3432-503: The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic abolished Moravian autonomy and Brno thus ceased to be the capital of Moravia. Since then Moravia has been divided into administrative regions, with Brno the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region . In 1960s and 1970s, large panel housing estates were built in border districts, such as Bohunice, Líšeň, Bystrc and Vinohrady. During the communist era, most of

3536-519: The Old Czech brnie 'muddy, swampy.' Alternative derivations are a Slavic verb brniti (to armour or to fortify) or a Celtic language spoken in the area before it was inhabited by Germanic peoples and later Slavic peoples . The latter theory would make it cognate with other Celtic words for hill, such as the Welsh word bryn . Throughout its history, Brno's locals also referred to

3640-607: The UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2001. One of the natural sights nearby is the Moravian Karst . The city is a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and was designated a " City of Music " in 2017. Brno is divided into 29 city districts, further sub-divided into 48 administrative parts. The districts are: The etymology of the name Brno is disputed. It might be derived from

3744-723: The World Economic Forum . In addition to C40, other organisations facilitating city diplomacy include the World Cities Summit , City Mayors Foundation , the Smart City Expo World Congress , the Strong City Network and 100 Resilient Cities. As of 2016, there were over 125 such multilateral networks and forums to facilitate international collaboration between different municipal authorities. A Bill introduced in

3848-620: The 12th century. In 1707–1708, the church was reconstructed and a new tower was added. The tower is open to the public and serves as a lookout tower. The church has one of the oldest bell still extant in Moravia . The wooden Church of Saint Paraskieva was built in Carpathian Ruthenia in 1601–1641 and brought to Blansko in 1936. It is the oldest church of the Ruthenian Gothic type in the country. The Klamovka Ironworks

3952-672: The 14th century, Brno became one of the centres for the Moravian regional assemblies, whose meetings alternated between Brno and Olomouc. These assemblies made political, legal, and financial decisions. Brno and Olomouc were also the seats of the Land Court and the Moravian Land Tables , thus they were the two most important cities in Moravia. From the mid 14th century to the early 15th century, Špilberk Castle had served as

4056-638: The 1990s Brno has experienced a great cultural "rebirth": façades of historical monuments are being repaired and various exhibitions, shows, etc., are being established or extended. In 2007 a summit of 15 presidents of EU Member States was held in Brno. Despite its urban character, some of the city districts still preserve traditional Moravian folklore, including folk festivals with traditional Moravian costumes, Moravian wines, folk music and dances. Unlike smaller municipalities, in Brno annual traditional Moravian folk festivals are held in several city districts, including Židenice , Líšeň , and Ivanovice . Hantec

4160-581: The 1990s, when the Nottingham City Council in the UK considered installing a tram network, it consulted experts from its twin city of Karlsruhe , which has one of the most extensive and efficient tram networks in Germany. With assistance from Karlsruhe's specialist engineers, Nottingham completed its second tram line in 2013. In 2014, Bristol and New Orleans announced their intention to form

4264-405: The 19th century, the ironworks prospered and developed and the expansion of the production of artistic cast iron occurred. In 1849, the railway from Brno to Česká Třebová was opened. In 1905, Franz Joseph I of Austria granted Blansko the status of the town. In 1949, Blansko became the capital of Blansko District instead of Boskovice. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the town became the centre of

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4368-613: The 2001 census, when the most common nationalities were list to choose between, 76.1% were Czechs and 18.7% Moravians (94.8% Czechs in the broader sense). Brno experienced its largest increases in population during the 19th century at the time of the Industrial Revolution , and in 1919 due to a merger with surrounding municipalities. Since 1990, many companies created or spun off as part of privatization from former national enterprises have disappeared. Before 1990, engineering companies were very important in Brno; since then,

4472-533: The 2019 session of the US Congress would have legislated for a City and State Diplomacy Act to create a new Office of Subnational Diplomacy at the Department of State . H.R.3571 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): City and State Diplomacy Act. Recently, the field of city diplomacy has taken a step beyond city-to-city exchanges to target the facilitation of dialogue between cities and multilateral organs, such as

4576-512: The Dutch city was still occupied by the German Army in the final months of the war, and children from each city took part in exchanges in 1945 and 1946. Similarly, in 1947, Bristol Corporation (later Bristol City Council) sent five "leading citizens" on a goodwill mission to Hanover . Reading in 1947 was the first British town to form links with a former "enemy" city – Düsseldorf ,

4680-705: The Environment). The city cultivates this sector via supporting organisations such as the South Moravian Innovation Centre and the VUT Technology Incubator. Public transport in Brno consists of 12 tram lines, 14 trolleybus lines (the largest trolleybus network in the Czech Republic) and almost 40 day and 11 night bus lines. Trams (known locally as šaliny ) first appeared on the streets in 1869; this

4784-584: The French town; formal twinning charters were not exchanged until 1986. The practice was continued after the Second World War as a way to promote mutual understanding and cross-border projects of mutual benefit. For example, Coventry twinned with Stalingrad and later with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, all three cities having been heavily bombed during the war. The city of Bath formed an " Alkmaar Adoption committee" in March 1945, when

4888-602: The German-speaking majority of close to 55,000 by the addition of the Czech communities of the city's neighborhood. Included in the German-speaking group were almost all of the 12,000 Jewish inhabitants, including several of the city's better known personalities, who made a substantial contribution to the city's cultural life. Greater Brno was almost seven times larger, with a population of about 222,000 – before that Brno had about 130,000 inhabitants. In 1921–1928, Brno

4992-611: The Moravian Land Tables, and the Moravian Land Court were all seated in both cities at once. However, Brno was the official seat of the Moravian Margraves (rulers of Moravia), and later its geographical position closer to Vienna also became important. Otherwise, until 1642 Olomouc had a larger population than Brno, and was the seat of the only Roman Catholic diocese in Moravia. In 1243

5096-648: The Nazis, including those in Brno. The Faculty of Law became the headquarters of the Gestapo , and the university hall of residence was used as a prison. About 35,000 Czechs and some American and British prisoners of war were imprisoned and tortured there; about 800 civilians were executed or died. Executions were public. The Nazis also operated a subcamp of the Auschwitz concentration camp , which held mostly Polish prisoners, an internment camp for Romani people in

5200-633: The Netherlands, the term is jumelage , partnerstad or stedenband ("city bond" when providing mutual support). In Greece, the word αδελφοποίηση ( adelphopiisi  – fraternisation) has been adopted. In Iceland, the terms vinabæir (friend towns) and vinaborgir (friend cities) are used. In the former Soviet Bloc , "twin towns" and "twin cities" were used, and in Russian, they use города-побратимы (sworn brother cities). The Americas, South Asia, and Australasia use

5304-574: The Scottish village of Dull and the US town of Boring, Oregon , agreed to twin their municipalities to promote tourism in both places, playing on their names. Recently some towns have made novelty twinning arrangements with fictional or virtual locations. Wincanton , England is partnered with Ankh-Morpork from Terry Pratchett 's Discworld books . Town twinning has increasingly been used to form strategic international business links. For example, in

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5408-548: The US). In Japan, the international city relations may be split into multiple terms, such as Sister Cities, Friendship Cooperation Cities, Business Partner Cities (BPC), Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Sister Ports / Friendship Ports, etc. China mostly uses the term "friendship cooperation cities" rather than "sister cities", as the Chinese words for sisters, "姐妹" (reading: jiěmèi, literally elder sister and younger sister), could imply

5512-527: The United Kingdom, the term "twin towns" is most commonly used; the term "sister cities" is generally used for agreements with towns and cities in the Americas. In mainland Europe, the most commonly used terms are "twin towns", "partnership towns", "partner towns", and "friendship towns". The European Commission uses the term "twinned towns" and refers to the process as "town twinning". Spain uses

5616-825: The United Nations. Not only cities and towns, but also provinces, states, territories, and regions enter into twinning agreements. For example, the Canadian province of Alberta has "sister province" agreements with Gangwon, South Korea (since 1974), Hokkaido, Japan (since 1980), Heilongjiang, China (1981), Jalisco, Mexico (1999), Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine (2004), Lviv, Ukraine (2005), Guangdong, China (2017), and California, United States (2018), as well as policy-oriented (as opposed to economic and cultural) agreements with Nevada, United States (since 2013), Missouri, United States (2015), and Texas, United States (2018). The earliest known town twinning in Europe

5720-622: The Veverka, Ponávka, and Říčka. The Svratka River flows through the city for about 29 km (18 mi), and the Svitava River cuts a 13 km (8 mi) path through the city. Brno is situated at the crossroads of ancient trade routes which have joined northern and southern European civilizations for centuries, and is a part of the Danube basin region. The city is historically connected with Vienna, which lies 110 km (68 mi) to

5824-549: The area of the city is forest, 28% of the total. Due to its location between the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and the Southern Moravian lowlands (Dyje-Svratka Vale) , Brno has a moderate climate. Compared to other cities in the country, Brno has a very high air quality, which is ensured by a good natural circulation of air; no severe storms or similar natural disasters have ever been recorded in

5928-435: The battle is also known as the "Battle of the Three Emperors". Brno itself was not involved with the battle, but the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte spent several nights here at that time, and again in 1809. In 1839 the first train arrived in Brno from Vienna; this was the beginning of rail transport in what is now the Czech Republic . In the years 1859–1864 the city fortifications were almost completely removed. In 1869

6032-421: The centres of Moravia along with Olomouc and Znojmo . Brno was first mentioned in Cosmas' Chronica Boemorum dated to the year 1091, when Bohemian king Vratislaus II besieged his brother Conrad at Brno castle. In the mid 11th century, Moravia was divided into three separate territories; each had its own ruler, coming from the Přemyslids dynasty, but independent of the other two, and subordinate only to

6136-405: The city include the Špilberk Castle and fortress and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul on Petrov hill, two medieval buildings that dominate the cityscape and are often depicted as its traditional symbols . The other large preserved castle near the city is Veveří Castle by Brno Reservoir . Another architectural monument of Brno is the functionalist Villa Tugendhat , which was added to

6240-424: The city's economy has largely reoriented itself towards light industry, logistics, and services. The city later gained importance in other fields of engineering , especially in software development . After 2000, foreign technology companies began establishing their branches in Brno, and many Czech companies with local or global reach were also founded here. Companies operating in Brno include Gen Digital (one of

6344-412: The city's occupation by the Red Army on 26 April 1945 and the end of the war , ethnic German residents were expelled . In the Brno death march , beginning on 31 May 1945, about 27,000 German inhabitants of Brno were marched 64 kilometres (40 miles) to the Austrian border. According to testimony collected by German sources, about 5,200 of them died during the march. Later estimates by Czech sources put

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6448-454: The city, and a forced labour "education" camp in the present-day district of Dvorska. Between 1941 and 1942, transports from Brno deported 10,081 Jews to Theresienstadt (Terezín) concentration camp . At least another 960 people, mostly of mixed race , followed in 1943 and 1944. After Terezín, many of them were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp , Minsk Ghetto , Rejowiec and other ghettos and concentration camps . Although Terezín

6552-493: The city. Under the Köppen climate classification , Brno has an oceanic climate ( Cfb ) for −3 °C original isoterm, but near of the (−2.5 °C average temperature in January, month most cold) or include by updated classification in humid continental climate ( Dfb ) with cold winters and warm to hot summers. However, in the last 20 years the temperature has increased, and summer days with temperature above 30 °C (86 °F) are quite common. The average temperature

6656-470: The commission (DG Education and Culture) to promote modern, high quality twinning initiatives and exchanges that involve all sections of the community. It has launched a website dedicated to town twinning. As of 1995, the European Union had more than 7,000 bilateral relationships involving almost 10,000 European municipalities, primarily French (2837 twinnings) and German (2485 twinnings). Public art has been used to celebrate twin town links, for instance in

6760-422: The congestion in private transport, the city is continuing to try to build more parking ramps , including underground, but these efforts have not always been successful. Air transport is enabled by two functional airports. The public international airport, Brno-Tuřany Airport , saw a sharp increase in passenger traffic up to 2011, however the number of passengers declined in the following years, especially during

6864-435: The death toll at about 1,700, with most deaths due to an epidemic of shigellosis . After the reestablishment of an independent Czechoslovak state after World War II , Prime Minister Edvard Beneš delivered a speech in Brno demanding the expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia . Shortly afterwards, 20,000 ethnic Germans from the city were expelled into Allied-occupied Austria . After the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état ,

6968-406: The end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, Brno retained its status as the sole capital. This was later confirmed by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II in 1782, and again in 1849 by the Moravian constitution. Today, the Moravian Land Tables are stored in the Moravian Regional Archive , and are included among the national cultural sights of the Czech Republic. During the 17th century Špilberk Castle

7072-441: The engineering industry and the population grew rapidly. As a result of new construction, most of the historic buildings disappeared. The largest industrial employers based in the town are Pyrotek CZ ( aluminum processor), ČKD Blansko (manufacturing of hydro machines, heavy-duty machining tools and mechanical engineering metallurgy, founded in 1950), and a branch of Synthon (producer of generic drugs ). The longest tradition has

7176-410: The fall of the Iron Curtain . Famous examples are the partnerships of Hanover and Leipzig , both of which have important trade fair grounds , or between Hamburg and Dresden. The first US-German town twinning was in 1947 between Worthington, Minnesota and Crailsheim . St Petersburg in Russia holds the record for the largest number of partnership arrangements with other communities. In June 2012,

7280-403: The form of seven mural paintings in the centre of the town of Sutton , Greater London. The five main paintings show a number of the main features of the London Borough of Sutton and its four twin towns, along with the heraldic shield of each above the other images. Each painting also features a plant as a visual representation of its town's environmental awareness . In the case of Sutton this

7384-507: The genocide in 2016, some twin agreements such as Edirne – Haskovo were terminated by Turkey. China manages sister city relationships through the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). In April 2019, CPAFFC president Li Xiaolin said, “Friendship city relations have become one of the important channels to implement the Belt and Road Initiative .” In January 2020, Shanghai canceled its sister city relationship with Prague after Prague's mayor signed

7488-571: The headquarters, brand AVG Technologies still used), Kyndryl (Client Innovation Centre), AT&T , Honeywell (Global Design Center), Siemens , Red Hat (Czech headquarters), an office of Zebra Technologies , and formerly Silicon Graphics International (Czech headquarters). In recent years, the quaternary sector of the economy, i.e., activities in science, research, and education, has also begun to develop in Brno. Examples include AdMaS (Advanced Materials, Structures, and Technologies) or CETOCOEN (Center for Research on Toxic Substances in

7592-531: The late 16th century during the rule of the Žalkovský of Žalkovice family, Blansko was promoted to a market town . The family had rebuild the local Gothic fortress into a Renaissance residence. From 1698 the Gellhorn family owned the estate and founded here the first foundry and ironworks. In 1766, Blansko was bought by the Salm-Reifferscheidt family. They owned it until 1945. In the first half of

7696-695: The local police, and is also entitled to grant citizenship of honour and the Awards of the City of Brno. The head of the Assembly of the City of Brno in personal matters is the Chief Executive, who according to certain special regulations carries out the function of employer of the other members of the city management. The Chief Executive is directly responsible to the Lord Mayor. The city itself forms

7800-602: The majority of the town is situated on a slope above the left bank of the Svitava. The eastern part of the municipal territory lies in the Moravian Karst Protected Landscape Area. Blansko was originally founded as a settlement on the right bank of the Svitava, today the local part called Staré Blansko ("Old Blansko"). It was located on an important trade route from Bohemia to the regions around Danube . The first written mention of Blansko

7904-476: The mayor's insignia and represents the city externally. As of 2021, the lord mayor is Markéta Vaňková of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). The executive body is the city council and local councils of the city districts; the city council has 11 members including the lord mayor and her four deputies. The assembly of the city elects the lord mayor and other members of the city council, establishes

8008-525: The municipal area is the Kopeček Hill (479 m (1,572 ft)), and the highest point overall lies in Útěchov on the border with the municipality of Vranov . Legally, Brno is a statutory city , consisting of 29 administrative divisions known as city districts. The highest body of self-government is the Brno City Assembly. The city is headed by the lord mayor , who has the right to use

8112-583: The number of China's sister city relationships doubled. More than one-third of Chinese sister city relationships are with sister cities in the east Asia Pacific region. Town twinning is supported in Japan by the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations , a joint agency of local governments established by the Japanese government in 1988 (similar to Sister Cities International , its counterpart in

8216-882: The permanent seat of the Margraves of Moravia; one of them was elected the King of the Romans . Brno was besieged in 1428 and again in 1430 by the Hussites during the Hussite Wars . Both attempts to conquer the city failed. In 1641, during the Thirty Years' War , the Holy Roman Emperor and Margrave of Moravia Ferdinand III ordered the permanent relocation of the diet, court, and the land tables from Olomouc to Brno, as Olomouc's Collegium Nordicum made it one of

8320-852: The political and cultural hub of the South Moravian Region. It is the centre of the Czech judiciary , with the seats of the Constitutional Court , the Supreme Court , the Supreme Administrative Court , and the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office, and a number of state authorities, including the Ombudsman , and the Office for the Protection of Competition. Brno is also an important centre of higher education, with 33 faculties belonging to 13  institutes of higher education and about 62,000 students. Brno Exhibition Centre

8424-586: The primary targets of Swedish armies. In 1642 Olomouc surrendered to the Swedish Army , which occupied it for eight years. Meanwhile, Brno, as the only Moravian city which, under the leadership of Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches , succeeded in defending itself from the Swedes under General Lennart Torstenson during the siege of Brno in 1645, served as the sole capital of the Margraviate of Moravia. After

8528-593: The small settlements grouped together to form one fortified settlement, and Brno was granted city royal privileges by the King, and thus recognized as a royal city. As throughout Eastern Central Europe, the granting of city privileges was connected with immigration from German-speaking lands . In 1324 Queen Elisabeth Richeza of Poland founded the Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady , which now houses her grave. In

8632-527: The south. Brno is 21.5 km (13.4 mi) across, measured from east to west, and its total area is 230 km (89 sq mi). Within the city limits are the Brno Reservoir , several ponds, and other standing bodies of water, such as the reservoirs in the Marian Valley and the Žebětín Pond. Brno is surrounded by wooded hills on three sides; about 6,379 ha (15,763 acres) of

8736-501: The still operating company Metra Blansko, manufacturer of electric measurement devices, which was founded in 1911. There are no major roads passing through the municipal territory. Blansko is located on the railway line Prague – Brno . The town's football club is FK Blansko . The club participated in the 2020–21 season of the Czech National Football League , but was immediately relegated. The main sight

8840-526: The subsequent Mayor Emily Smith – had their names embroidered on a tablecloth along with the words "Little help is better than a lot of pity" and sent it, along with money (each donated six pence), to the people of Stalingrad. The tablecloth can now be seen at the Panorama Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad. The twinning between Coventry and Stalingrad was formalized in 1944 and, after the end of

8944-459: The suburbs, which were predominantly Czech-speaking. Life in the city was therefore bilingual, and what was called in German "Brünnerisch" was a mixed idiom containing elements from both languages. In 1919, after World War I , two neighbouring towns, Královo Pole and Husovice, and 21 other municipalities were annexed to Brno, creating Greater Brno ( Czech : Velké Brno ). This was done to dilute

9048-419: The term "ciudades hermanadas", which means "sister cities". Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic each use Partnerstadt (German), miasto partnerskie (Polish) and partnerské město (Czech), which translate as "partner town" or "partner city". France uses ville jumelée (jumelage, twinned town or city), and Italy has gemellaggio (twinning) and comune gemellato (twinned municipality). In

9152-523: The term "sister cities" or "twin cities". In China, the term is 友好城市 (yǒuhǎo chéngshì – friendly cities). Sometimes, other government bodies enter into a twinning relationship, such as the agreement between the provinces of Hainan in China and Jeju in South Korea. The Douzelage is a town twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union. Though

9256-454: The term is often used interchangeably with the term "friendship city", this may mean a relationship with a more limited scope in comparison to a sister city relationship, and friendship city relationships are mayor-to-mayor agreements. City diplomacy is a form of paradiplomacy that involves discussions between officials and residents of different cities. Often these cities will be located in different countries. As such, city diplomacy involves

9360-539: The then Mayor of Coventry , Alfred Robert Grindlay , culminating in his renowned telegram to the people of Stalingrad (now Volgograd ) in 1942, the idea emerged as a way of establishing solidarity links between cities in allied countries that went through similar devastating events. The comradeship between the two cities continued, when again in response to the Battle of Stalingrad , 830 women in Coventry – led by

9464-742: The town in other languages, including Brünn in German, ברין ( Brin ) in Yiddish , and Bruna in Latin . The city was also referred to as Brunn ( / b r ʌ n / ) in English, but that usage is not common today. The asteroid 2889 Brno was named after the city, as was the Bren light machine gun (from Brno and Enfield ), which was widely used in World War II . The Brno basin has been inhabited since prehistoric times , as seen in

9568-418: The turn of the millennium that it became much more common. The first priority of those carrying out city diplomacy typically overlaps with the core aims of municipal government – improving the lives of local residents. Yet they will often collaborate with peers in other cities to work on issues of planet-wide concern, such as efforts to address climate change . The phrase "city diplomacy" is formally used in

9672-407: The war, similar links were established to foster friendship and understanding among former foes as an act of peace and reconciliation, with new twinnings between Coventry and German cities: Kiel as early as in 1947 and Dresden in 1956. In 1957, Coventry was officially twinned with Belgrade, even though the link actually dates back to 1953 when then Yugoslav Ambassador visited Coventry and offered

9776-539: The workforce was employed in industry, mainly machinery. After 1989, part of the workforce switched from industry to services, and Brno became the IT centre of the Czech Republic. Nevertheless, new industrial zones were built at the edge of the city, such as Černovická terasa in the east of the city. Brno is located in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic, at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, and there are also several brooks flowing through it, including

9880-826: The workings of the United Cities and Local Governments and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group , and is recognised by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy . A March 2014 debate in the British House of Lords acknowledged the evolution of town twinning into city diplomacy, particularly in matters of trade and tourism, but also in culture and post-conflict reconciliation. The importance of cities developing "their own foreign economic policies on trade, foreign investment, tourism and attracting foreign talent" has also been highlighted by

9984-576: Was between Paderborn , Germany, and Le Mans , France, in 836. Starting in 1905, Keighley in West Yorkshire, England, had a twinning arrangement with French communities Suresnes and Puteaux . The first recorded modern twinning agreement was between Keighley and Poix-du-Nord in Nord, France, in 1920 following the end of the World War I . This was initially referred to as an adoption of

10088-574: Was controlled at the time and until 2020 by the military forces of Armenia and the unrecognised Republic of Artsakh . An attempt was made in 2003 by Preston city councillors in England to twin with the Palestinian town of Nablus in the name of solidarity. Turkey bans partnerships with any city in a country that recognizes the Armenian genocide . As a result, when Bulgaria recognized

10192-562: Was not an extermination camp , 995 people transported from Brno died there. Only 1,033 people returned after the war. Industrial facilities such as the Československá zbrojovka arms factory and the Zweigwerk aircraft engine factory (which became Zbrojovka's subsidiary Zetor after the war) and the city centre were targeted by several Allied bombardment campaigns between 1944 and 1945. The air strikes and later artillery fire killed some 1,200 people and destroyed 1,278 buildings. After

10296-580: Was originally a program of the National League of Cities , but it became a separate corporation in 1967 due to the growth and popularity of the program. Twin town cultural events include the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., honoring Washington's twin relationship with Tokyo City . Many twinned towns developed business agreements with their partners. For example, Vermont 's Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream company opened

10400-583: Was rebuilt as a huge baroque citadel . Brno was besieged by the Prussian Army in 1742 under the leadership of Frederick the Great , but the siege was ultimately unsuccessful. In 1777 the bishopric of Brno was established by the Catholic Church ; Mathias Franz Graf von Chorinsky Freiherr von Ledske was the first Bishop. In December 1805 the Battle of Austerlitz was fought near the city;

10504-567: Was the capital of the administrative region of Land of Moravia (Czech: Země Moravská ). In 1928–1948, Brno was the capital of the Land of Moravia-Silesia (Czech: Země Moravskoslezská ). In 1930, 200,000 inhabitants declared themselves to be of Czech, and some 52,000 of German nationality, in both cases including the respective Jewish citizens. During the German occupation of the Czech lands between 1939 and 1945, all Czech universities were closed by

10608-580: Was the first operation of horse-drawn trams in the modern-day Czech Republic. The local public transport system is interconnected with regional public transport in one integrated system (IDS JMK), and directly connects several nearby municipalities with the city. Its main operator is the Brno City Transport Company (DPmB), which also operates a mostly recreational ferry route at the Brno Dam Lake . A tourist minibus provides

10712-468: Was the first twinned city in Canada and the second in North America, while Denver, United States , twinned with Brest, France , was the second twinned city in the United States. Liberal, Kansas was twinned with Olney, United Kingdom in 1950, and the cities have run a joint Pancake Day race ever since. Littleton, Colorado, twinned with Bega, Australia, in 1961. Tashkent , the capital city of Uzbekistan,

10816-458: Was twinned with Seattle , Washington, in 1973. Rochester, Minnesota , and Knebworth , UK, both centers for primary medical research, twinned in 1967. Ontario, California , has five sister cities around the world. They are Brockville, Ontario, Canada (since 1977); Guamúchil, Sinaloa, Mexico (since 1982); Mocorito, Sinaloa, Mexico (since 1982); Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico (since 1988); and Winterthur, Canton of Zürich, Switzerland. Oakville, Ontario

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