Brno

Brno is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 404,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic after the capital, Prague, and one of the 100 largest cities in the European Union. The Brno metropolitan area has approximately 730,000 inhabitants. Brno served as the capital of Moravia from the Middle Ages until 1948, and remains the political and cultural hub of the South Moravian Region. Brno is an important centre of the Czech judiciary. The Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office, as well as state authorities, such as the Ombudsman and the Office for the Protection of Competition, are all located here. Brno is also an important centre of learning and higher education, with 10 universities, 29 faculties and a student population of over 65,000, as well as more than 60 secondary schools throughout the city. The Brno Exhibition Centre is one of the largest in Europe.