The FIT compound - an object of cultural heritage that withstood wars and imperial decrees

The only preserved unaltered charterhouse in the Czech Republic stands in Brno, at Božetěchova. For the last 20 years, it has housed FIT BUT, which may seem like a tiny fraction of its long history dating back to the 14th century, yet it seems as if the compound has been waiting for this period all along. Consider what it had to go through and what it had to endure just to become the backbone of technological progress:

Founding of the monastery

The Carthusian monastery was founded in 1375 by Margrave Jan Jindřich, who donated his private residence and land in Královo Pole to the monastery. To this day, it is still unknown why he did that. Did he want to do a good deed to ease his conscience before he died? Or did he want to be forever associated with an important monument? Either way, he stood at the beginning of the turbulent history of the monastery, as well as the entire Královo Pole.

The construction of the Holy Trinity Church began in 1375. The Carthusians also owned extensive properties in Královo Pole, a mill in Dornych, vineyards in Obřany and the villages of Střelice and Černovice. They also held a number of rights and privileges that allowed the monks to practice their ascetic way of life undisturbed, immersed in silence, work and prayer.

The indestructible charterhouse

The monastery was damaged, plundered or even burnt down many times during its existence. The Hussites, King Matthias Corvinus' troops, Protestant troops during the Bohemian Revolt and last but not least the Thirty Years' War all took their toll on it. During their campaigns, the Swedish troops destroyed most of Brno suburbs, but the charterhouse in Královo Pole miraculously survived. That is because the commanding general chose it as his headquarters during the siege of Brno.

At its peak in the second half of the 17th century, the monastery had a church, a chapter, two chapels, a priory and a sacristy, as well as a garden, ponds and a farmyard with stables, a brewery and a barrel-making workshop. The compound underwent two Baroque reconstructions. The second, a late Baroque reconstruction, which begun in 1765, is followed by the current form of the monastery, given to it by FIT at the beginning of the millennium.

No women allowed

The Empress Maria Theresa herself came to visit the monastery. According to legend, the monks refused to let her in because she was a woman. They even reportedly blocked her way. The Empress eventually left, and the monks pulled all the stones touched by her feet from the pavement.

General Laudon and the Brno brewery

Who knows if the unsuccessful visit of the Empress played a role in this, but after 407 years of operation, the monastery shut down. In 1782, Emperor Joseph II had it closed and soldiers moved into the compound. In the era that followed, even the artillery regiment of the legendary military commander General Laudon was stationed at the former monastery. Later, it was occupied by gamekeepers, a cadet school or, in 1920, by a telegraph battalion of the Czechoslovak army.

After the dissolution of the Carthusian Order, the fate of the former farmstead developed independently. The local château became the seat of the nobility and later belonged to the princely family of Schönburg-Hartenstein. The monastery brewery was turned into a malt house and leased to the Brno Moravia brewery. In 1945, the buildings became the property of the state and it was not until after the revolution in 1989 that they fell into the hands of the municipal district of Královo Pole. In the 1990s, they housed offices, workshops, warehouses and commercial premises.

The compound changes owners

In 1964, the Brno University of Technology acquired the former Carthusian monastery as a replacement for a church building on the Antonínská Street. But before the Department of Automatic Computers, the predecessor of today's FIT, could move in, it was more than necessary to perform a reconstruction. The capacity of the building was not sufficient for the people, let alone the large mainframe computers, and in some places the plaster was literally falling on people's heads. Gradually, new lecture hall complexes were built in the compound and finally, the decision was made to establish an independent Faculty of Information Technology. It meant a new life for the former Carthusian monastery, especially for the premises of the former farmyard.

 

Thanks to the varied past of the former monastery, FIT is the only faculty with a campus containing:

•      relic chapel;
•      preserved monastic cells;
•      medieval latrine (in room No. A211),
•      own château registered on the list of châteaux in the Czech Republic;
•      student club located in a brewery fermentation room;
•      two cloister gardens;
•      refectory;
•      gothic cellars