After the German House in Brno, cellars remain, experts found out

Brno – Nearly two meters below the surface of today's Moravian Square, experts found a well-preserved and only partially buried cellar of the former German House. This was reported by the Brno-střed district, which commissioned the survey due to planned reconstruction of the square.

The German House stood in the area of today's square since 1891. It was built in a historicizing style according to the design of Berlin architects Hermann Ende and Wilhelm Böckmann. The building served as a community house, similar to the Czech Besední dům. It was a center for Brno's Germans, hosting exhibitions, concerts, balls, celebrations, and had, among other things, a library and café. The highlight of the German House was a large ceremonial hall for nearly 2,000 guests.

In the battles for Brno in 1945, it was heavily damaged by artillery fire and destroyed by a fire; its remains were then demolished. It has not been clear until now whether anything has survived from the German House.

"I proposed the survey with the assumption that the cellar is still there. My theory was confirmed. When they filled in the cellar of the German House, they only breached a hole in the vault and filled it with rubble until the opening became clogged. It is evident that the house was built very solidly; the only damage consists of breaches that were created for the purpose of filling in the cellar," said Aleš Svoboda, an expert on Brno's underground, who prepared the plan for the survey work for the district.

Workers have dug into the supply areas of the kitchen, while three rooms are difficult to access, but two-thirds of them are filled with rubble. "Currently, we only know the results of one of the planned nine probes. Once we have the complete results, we will decide on further actions in consultation with experts. A structural engineer's assessment will be crucial for the safe realization of the park," said the mayor of the district, Vojtěch Mencl (ODS).

The survey will continue in the coming months, with work expected to finish by mid-March next year. This will then be followed by the complete reconstruction of the park at Moravian Square.