Vlněna

Vlněna is the third business park developed in Brno by CTP, following on from the successful Spielberk and Ponávka projects. The complex was built on the site of the former textile factory of the same name, whose original buildings had to be demolished due to their poor structural condition. In their place, a modern mixed-use district has emerged, naturally combining working and personal life in the city of Brno.

Vlněna consists of several standalone buildings and also includes the renovated Neo-Renaissance Bochner Palace. The overall architectural concept for the complex was designed by the team of Studio acht led by Václav Hlaváček and Ben Hoek. The inner courtyard was conceived as an extensive green roof with lawns, flower beds and mature trees, designed by landscape architect Lodewijk Baljon. In 2020, the project received the Green Roof of the Year award in the Public Green Roof category.

Approximately 3,500 people work at Vlněna. In 2021, the modern coworking centre Clubco opened here, and in 2025 it was expanded by a further 2,000 m² of new green-themed space together with the opening of the professional Clubco & Detail Podcast studio. Building I, which has become the dominant feature of the entire complex, was completed in 2024. At 61 metres high, it is among the most advanced office buildings in Central Europe.

Construction is currently under way on three further buildings, designated K, X and Y, which will expand Vlněna with new office spaces, 255 accommodation units, retail facilities, a 25-metre swimming pool, and additional green and water areas. This phase of the development is scheduled for completion in 2026.

Join us in exploring the site of the former Vlněna complex and discover the history of one of Brno’s most important industrial sites, where the character of the so-called “Moravian Manchester” was shaped over more than two centuries.

The former Vlněna complex on Dornych Street in Brno developed through the gradual merging of three historic production blocks, which had formed part of Brno’s wool industry since the late 18th century. A number of important entrepreneurs and companies contributed to its development, including Johann Ch. Biegmann, Johan Bochner, the Stiassni brothers, Thomas Bracegirdle and Paul Neumark. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the site housed wool production, engineering workshops and clothing factories, before eventually becoming part of the national enterprise Vlněna.

This guided walk will take you through a place where wool manufacturing, trade, technological innovation and the everyday work of hundreds of employees were once concentrated. We will explore the individual historical sections of the complex, their original functions, and the ways in which they changed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in response to the needs of industrial production. The tour will also introduce the stories of the entrepreneurs and companies that operated here, together with the broader context of the textile industry, which fundamentally shaped the development of modern Brno.

The walk will also recall the dramatic transformations of the 20th century — from wartime damage and post-war nationalisation, through incorporation into the national enterprise Vlněna, to the gradual decline of production and the final closure of the site at the end of the 20th century. Together, we will also look at how the area has changed since the end of textile production and what form it takes today. The tour thus offers an opportunity to look beneath the surface of the contemporary urban landscape and recall the vanished world of factory buildings, industrial production and the people whose lives were connected with Vlněna for generations.

The surviving parts of the complex include the Bochner Palace of the Lords of Stražisko and the former steam mill building with its chimney.