BRNO (Ger. Briinn), the capital of Moravia, Czechoslovakia, is situated at the confluence of the Svratka and the Svitava, be tween two hills, one of which, the Spielberg (945ft.), is crowned by a fortress now used as a barracks but which formerly was an Austrian political prison. In this capacity it was rendered famous by the narrative of Silvio Pellico who was confined there from 1822 to 1830. On the lower hill lies the cathedral of St. Peter dominating the old town, which, though small and traversed by narrow, crooked streets, contains most of the important civic and ecclesiastic buildings, many of them, e.g. the Rathaus (1511), and the 15th century church of St. Jacob, rich in interesting an tiquities. Around the old town fine gardens and well-built streets have replaced the fortifications and connect old and new; 9th century Brno gives place here to the busy manufacturing sub urbs of the 19th and loth centuries. The town is the headquarters of the Czechoslovak cloth and woollen manufactures which, as well as the manufacture of machinery, are based upon the neigh bouring Rosice-Oslavany coalfield. Brewing, distilling, milling, sugar-refining, etc., reflect the fertility of the territory in which Brno lies. It is now the seat of the Supreme Court and the estab lishment of the Masarykova University (1918) revives the spirit of its mediaeval predecessor and enables Brno once more to make its full contribution to civilization. Pop. (193o) 263,646, of whom 7o% are Czechs and 25% German.