Nová radnice

The New Town Hall in Brno stands on Dominican Square, right in the heart of the city's historic centre, and has served as the seat of the municipal government for over ninety years. Unlike the far older Old Town Hall, this is the building where Brno's mayor and city administration actually work today.

Why is it called the "New" Town Hall?

The name distinguishes the building from the Old Town Hall, which for centuries was the seat of the city government and today serves cultural and tourist purposes — it houses, among other things, the famous town hall tower and the legendary crocodile on display there. Once the city administration had outgrown the Old Town Hall, Brno's authorities decided to move the seat of government into a much larger complex on Dominican Square. The building has served as the town hall since 1935.

What was the building used for before 1935?

Before it became the seat of the city administration, the complex of buildings on Dominican Square had long been associated with authority and administration — it originally served the needs of the provincial (regional) administration rather than the municipal one. The Baroque character of the buildings, which still catches the eye of visitors to the square today, is a legacy of that earlier period. Adapting the complex for the new city government required renovation work that turned the former administrative interiors into representative and functional spaces suited to a modern municipal office.

What is Dominican Square and what role does it play today?

The New Town Hall complex sits within a group of predominantly Baroque buildings that have long formed one of the more significant urban ensembles in Brno's centre. This is where the city's administrative life is concentrated today — the building serves as the showcase of local government, hosting the meetings of the city's representative bodies as well as numerous municipal departments.

What's worth knowing when exploring the surrounding area?

Visitors to Brno often compare the two town halls — Old and New — as a way of understanding how the role of the city administration changed over the centuries. While the Old Town Hall draws tourists with its Gothic architecture and legends, the New Town Hall represents a different chapter in the city's history: the shift from a medieval order to a modern, twentieth-century form of municipal governance. Dominican Square itself, where the building stands, changed its name several times over the past century and a half, itself a reflection of the region's turbulent history.

Frequently asked questions

Can visitors go inside the New Town Hall in Brno? The building serves administrative functions — it houses the city office and municipal departments — so access for tourists is more limited than at the Old Town Hall, which has a distinctly touristic character.

What is the difference between the New Town Hall and the Old Town Hall in Brno? The Old Town Hall was the historic seat of the city government and today serves cultural functions, while the New Town Hall has been the actual seat of the mayor and municipal administration since 1935 — this is where day-to-day decisions about running the city are made.

Where exactly is the New Town Hall located? The building stands on Dominican Square in Brno's historic centre, within a complex of Baroque buildings that previously served the provincial administration.

Since when has the building served as a town hall? Since 1935, when the seat of the city government was moved from the Old Town Hall to the current complex on Dominican Square.