Palace Moravia

Completed in 1937

Palace Moravia, also known as Kapitol Palace, is located on the corner of Malinovsky Square and Theatre Street in Brno. The block of buildings is located on the spot of the Neo-Renaissance Doret’s Court (designed by architect Karl Matzenauer) and the former variety theatre. The location was originally intended for the international Ritz Hotel, but during its construction (1926–1929) the building was designed as a commercial and administrative palace with residential areas, based on the winning design by Ernst Wiesner. The building was complemented in 1935–1937 by another four-storey building, the current House of Trade Union Services (formerly the Moravian Land Life Insurance), built during the reconstruction of Doret’s Court according to Wiesner’s project. The two buildings represent a unique and also the only modern architectural unit on the Brno Ring Road. The complex is now a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

The original building contained the Kapitol cinema, a bar, a café, shops and residential quarters. The architect had to deal with problems connected with the geological characteristics of the location and also with the plot’s difficult shape. The structural engineer Jaroslav Valenta participated in the design. Owing to an original architectural design, Wiesner’s building does not appear exaggeratedly monumental because the building’s mass is hidden in the interior space. The building has six storeys and features corner towers covered by travertine. The building’s façade is made of brick, with parts of the fundamental reinforced concrete construction. The upper storeys are glazed. The building’s central part consists of a large light well with a glass pavilion. The corner floor plan ensure a maximum illumination of the façade and the building’s impressive interior. The building also had an original glass lift tower, located in the courtyard.