Former brewery sites in the Brno region await new use

Brno - Several dilapidated sites of former industrial breweries in the Brno region are waiting for new uses. Construction workers are currently carrying out demolition work at the brewery in Jehnice, which was still operational during World War II. Apartments will be built on the site. Another investor is building a guest house at the site of the former brewery in Sokolnice near Brno. Beer production will be returning there, according to ČTK.

The brewery in Jehnice was one of the largest breweries in the Brno region. It was built in the 19th century by a family of textile entrepreneurs led by Theodor Offermann, who owned the entire local estate. The initials T.O. are still visible in the façade of the main brewery building, which will be the only part preserved. The other buildings have already been demolished by the investor. In the area, which has long been dilapidated, new apartments are planned. The amount of the investment has not been disclosed, nor has a completion date.

The main building of the brewery, with elements of industrial architecture, will also be used for residential purposes, stated Milan Pangrác, chairman of the board of Check & Correct. The Jehnice brewery was the last industrial brewery still brewing beer in the present-day Brno alongside the current Starobrno. It produced up to 50,000 hectoliters annually.

The brewery owned by Count Mitrovský in Sokolnice was somewhat smaller and had already ceased operations before the war. In recent years, the building has fallen into disrepair. A new investor will open a microbrewery with a restaurant there later this year. The building will serve as a guest house. "I estimate the investment will amount to around ten million crowns," said the owner of the building, Lukáš Roupec, to ČTK. He plans to open the microbrewery first. "I expect to start installing the technology in April or May, and everything will be ready by autumn," he stated. The investor does not intend to change the appearance of the complex. He plans to preserve the chimney, which will be complemented by some typically brewery elements. The coat of arms of the Mitrovský family, which adorns the façade, will also remain on site.

Changes are also likely being prepared at the site of the former large brewery Moravia at the corner of Kotlářská and Štefánikova streets in Brno. The buildings are owned by two owners. A new owner recently purchased the former administrative building, which is a protected monument as the palace of the brewing family Morgenstern. The façade has already been renovated, but the new owner does not yet want to announce his plans.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, there were around ten large industrial breweries in Brno and its surroundings. However, beer is now only brewed on a large scale at Starobrno. The history of brewing in Brno was showcased last year in an exhibition at Špilberk Castle. While some old brewery buildings are being renovated, others remain in ruins. Examples include the Brauner brewery complex on Pekařská Street or the old brewery in Brno-Ivanovice.