Koblizna - Brno, Czech Republic
Posted by: 
ToRo61
N 49° 11.721 E 016° 36.669
33U E 617379 N 5450421
Koblizna - an urban pedestrian zone
Waymark Code: WM1A00Y
Location: Jihomoravský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 05/23/2024
Views: 0
In today's trek to Czech puzzzle-waymarks we will finish the Brno series, which we started with the typical symbol of the city (
visit link) and continued on through other interesting places in Brno.
I mentioned the local tradition of urban pedestrian zones. One of the typical examples of these zones is Kobližná Street. Don't be fooled by the jigsaw puzzle or my photos, it is indeed a very busy place...
"The street is named after a medieval term for making doughnuts (in Czech, ‘koblihy’), a craft once heavily practiced here. The historical name of this important commercial street disappeared only once, from 1961 to 1990, when it was replaced with the name of the first human in space and called Gagarin Street. A city sewer used to flow down Kobližná Street towards the moat on the eastern side of the town and then further to the Ponávka Stream. Menínská brána (the Menín Gate) was originally located on the corner of Kobližná and Jánská Streets before it was moved in 1348 to its current location.
Several significant buildings are located in this street today. Obchodní dum Centrum (the Centrum Department Store), which was initiated by Tomáš Bata and was originally designed as a 23-storey skyscraper, stands where Kobližná opens to Malinovského námestí (Malinovsky Square). Based on a design by Vladimír Karfík, it was intended to be the tallest building in Europe, but due to the unstable bedrock under the foundation, the number of planned floors was reduced before construction began. The department store was built between 1930 and 1931. It acquired its current appearance in 1966. On the upper part of the street, not far from Námestí Svobody (Freedom Square), are Palác šlechticen (the Palace of Noble Ladies), which today houses the Ethnographic Institute of Moravské zemské muzeum (the Moravian Museum), and Schrattenbachuv palác (the Schrattenbach Palace), which has served as the headquarters of Knihovna Jirího Mahena (the Jirí Mahen Library) since the 1950s."
Source and more information: (
visit link)