Betlémský kostel Church

Betlémský kostel is located at the foot of the hill Špilberk in Pellicova street, in the historical centre of Brno. Its construction, carried out in a historical style with the dominant Neo-Renaissance elements, lasted between 1894-1895 and definitely changed the face of the Czech evangelical community in Brno.

The beginnings of the Czech Evangelical presence in the city date back to 1782, when the Evangelical Choir of Augsburg - the Lutheran Choir - was founded after the issue of the Tolerance Patent. However, these communities were in a surprisingly German majority, and there were successive national disputes. In 1878, a Czech part of the believers decided to leave this congregation and established their own preaching station of the reformed religion. First they placed it in Nosislav, but gradually the board established itself in Brno and began to look for a permanent residence.

The construction of the church was started in 1894 on the site of a garden restaurant called "Malá Prater" in then Špilberg Street (now Pellicova). The designer and builder was the respected Brno builder Gottlob (Czech Bohuslav) Alber. The funding of the whole project was provided by collections and gifts of believers - it means that the church came from the inner needs and solidarity of the community without greater financial support from the authorities. The ceremonial opening took place on 23 May 1895 and about five thousand believers met, indicating the expansion of the Czech reformed community.

"We preach Christ" is placed on the front of the church. This figure is extremely important from the point of view of the history of Czech culture: it was the first Czech inscription ever available to the Czech public building. At the moment of its placement, it was a symbol of not only religious independence, but also national self-confidence and the right of Czech to public space - an important gesture in era, when national identities were still intensively confronted.

After the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, the Czech Reformed Choir became part of the Czech Brotherhood Church of the Evangelical Church, which became a unifying body for Czech Protestant believers. The church has preserved its position as a key institution of the first Czech evangelical community in Brno and uses it in the long term as well as the neighbouring Red Church.

The architecture of the church represents the historical style of its time - the neo-Renaissance - which created the construction of timeless elegance. The location at the foot of Špilberk, one of the most famous places in Brno, makes the church easily accessible and meaningful in the urban structure. It stands here not only as a place for prayer, but as a cultural and historical testimony of the period when Czech society developed from centuries of national subordination and gained its voice in urban landscape.