Obřanská textilní továrna Textile factory

Welcome to the Brno Ceremony. Stop for a moment, take a breath and look around you. You are standing in front of the site of the former textile factory, which is now a silent witness to the turbulent industrial flourishing of our entire region. If you look ahead, you'll see a complex of buildings that once formed the heart of local economic life. The first thing that will interest you is the very location of this place. Note that the area is not just ice where, but is uniquely set on a small island. This island was created by the distribution of the flow of the Svitavy River, where the main stream of the river separates from the so-called Giant Flange. This position was not random, but it was absolutely crucial for the whole business to function because water was the most valuable source of energy at the time.

Now let's go back in time together to understand how this complex happened. The history of this place does not begin with a big factory, but much more modest. Originally there stood the Slám Mill, which served to grind grain and process raw materials. The break occurred at the very beginning of the twentieth century, exactly nine hundred years ago, when a man named Eduard Ernst Essler bought this mill and the adjacent mill. It was the Essler family, and specifically Eduard and later Adolf, who put a new look on this place and turned it into a modern textile business.

When you watch the buildings in front of you today, it is important to know that what you see is not the result of one plan, but rather a series of changes and unfortunate events. In the year nine hundred and thirteen something dramatic happened here, which fundamentally changed the face of the complex. There was a big fire, which destroyed a significant part of the building at the time. For many, such a disaster would mean an end, but it has become an opportunity for the Essler family to start over. It is after this fire that a new building was built, which forms the basis of the current complex.

Now pay attention to the overall layout of the premises. Even though the machines are no longer running today, you can imagine what kind of activity there must have been. Notice how buildings copy the shape of the island and how closely connected to the water. In the year nine hundred and seventeen, a hydroelectric power plant was set up here. This was a huge step forward at the time, because this power plant did not serve only the needs of the factory, but provided public lighting for the entire municipality at the time. Imagine the contrast where the electric lights first lit up in the surrounding houses, thanks to the energy flowing right here, beneath your feet.

If you look at buildings from a later period, notice those that are more robust. In the year nine hundred twenty-two there was a special department designed for aprature, which in the textile industry is the final finish of fabrics to obtain the desired appearance and properties. A modern reinforced concrete building was built for this department. This material, iron concrete, was a symbol of modernity and strength at the time, and made it possible to build larger and more resilient spaces.

The next milestone that you can perceive in the history of this place is the year of nine hundred thirty-three. At that time a new Kaplan turbine was put into operation. Even though you can't see it from the outside today, it was the technological tip of its time that made it even more effective to use the power of the water from the drive. Just a year later, in the year nine hundred and thirty-four, a new building of the weaving mill was built, which definitely sealed the complex into the form we know.

When we think about this place, we can't forget about people. This factory was not only about machines and concrete, but mainly about thousands of hours of work. At the time of its greatest expansion, i.e. in the 1930s, up to 600 people worked here. Imagine every morning hundreds of men and women who came from nearby streets and villages, crossing bridges to this small island, creating substances in the noise of the weaving plant that then traveled to the region and beyond. It was a whole community where people knew each other, worked together, and worked together to build the prosperity of the Ceremony.

It's fascinating to consider the path this place has taken. From the simple mill, to the devastating flames of fire, to the modern industrial complex with its own power plant and top turbine. It's a story about courage, the ability to start over and the constant search for new technical solutions.

You might wonder why this place is so special today. The answer lies in its very essence. Obřanská textilní továrna is not only a set of old walls, but a historical monument, which represents a whole chapter of the industrial development of our regions. It is a reminder of when water was the main engine of progress and when large enterprises were born in small neighborhoods such as Obřany.

Take another look around you at the stream of the Svitavy River and the quiet drive. Feel the atmosphere of this place where nature, in the form of an island, has encountered hard industrial architecture. It is a strange harmony, which does not have many similarities in Brno. Even though the halls are quiet today, history is still breathing here.

Now they invite you to walk quietly around the premises, look at the facade of the buildings and try to imagine the incredible noise of weaving machines and the smell of processed textiles that once mixed with the damp air of the river. Explore the surrounding shores and note how the landscape around the factory gradually changed.

Thank you for spending time with us at the Giant Textile Factory. We hope you are interested in this short trip to history and that you have felt proud of our city's industrial legacy. We wish you a pleasant continuation in discovering other hidden corners of our Ceremony. Goodbye.