Masaryk University and geology in the beautiful historic city of Brno (Czech Republic)


Brno's city center
If you have the chance to travel to the Czech Republic, you should not forget to include in your itinerary a visit to the city of Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic. Located south of Prague (about 2 hours by train), Brno is the historical capital city of Moravia of the South Moravian Region, one of 14 regions of the country.

Brno is among the most beautiful European cities that I have visited. According to Wikipedia, the city has hundreds of historical sights, including one designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and the second largest historic preservation zone in the Czech Republic next to Prague. It is a university city and boasts of several top universities (total student population of about 90,000) one of which is Masaryk University.

Masaryk University
Masaryk University, named in honor of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk the first president of Czechoslovakia, is the second-largest public university in the Czech Republic and the leading university in Moravia. It has more than 190 departments, institutes and clinics organized into nine faculties. It is commonly regarded as one of the most significant institutions for education and research in the Czech Republic and a respected Central European university. The university is home to RECETOX (Research Center for Toxic Compounds in the Environment), an excellent environmental research center which is highly regarded in Europe.

The city is not only beautiful, it is clean and orderly. The people are of course generally friendly and willing to assist visitors. A walk around the historical city center led me to the impressive St Peter and Paul Cathedral on top of Petrov hill. The hill is built up by metamorphic rocks particularly schist.

Outside the city I have observed limestones, sandstones, and metamorphic (quartzite, schist) outcrops. Most of the soils around Brno appear to be Cambisols, Chernozems, and probably Luvisols in the World Reference Base (WRB) classification system.  

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