Brno

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The dragon of Brno is a legendary beast in the folklore of Moravia.

Hanging above the entranceway to the Town Hall of Brno.

Story

The dragon is said to have lived in Brno upon the River Svratka in his cave, tormenting the people from both near and far. People were scared of the beast but did not know how to get rid of him. The councilmen pledged a grand reward of one hundred gold coins but nobody took up the offer.

One day a journeyman-butcher, who roamed throughout the world, entered the Blue Lion Inn. Everyone in the inn was talking only about the dragon. The journeyman listened, and then he said: "I shall rid you of that dragon. Just fetch me a large ox-pelt and a sack of unslaked lime." The people of Brno were suspicious of him, but brought what he wanted. The butcher sewed the lime into the ox-pelt, loaded it onto a wagon, and disappeared.

When he arrived at the point in the river where the dragon had his lair, he put the pelt on the ground and waited. After a short while, the dragon crept up and took up the pelt. Having devoured it all, the dragon washed it down with the water of the River Svratka, and went to have a rest.

This proved to be a mistake, for the lime began to boil inside and the dragon kept on expanding until he burst. Brno was liberated. The hero got his reward and continued to wander the world. Since then the citizens of Brno have never again had to fear any beast.


The stuffed crocodile of Brno

Hanging above the entranceway to the Town Hall of Brno, the capital of Moravia, is the notorious Dragon of Brno, which is in reality a stuffed crocodile, brought back long ago from a strange and distant land when such animal was unknown by most Europeans.

In Trutnov it is said that the "dragon" was killed in his den by the servants of Sir Albrecht Trut when they were establishing the town in 1006. A few years later Prince Oldrich summoned an assembly to Brno to appoint his son as Margrave of Moravia. Many noblemen were present at the occasion. One of them was Sir Albrecht Trut who came with all his entourage, bringing the stuffed "dragon" as a gift for the Prince.

The Prince is said to have had it hung by three chains in the entrance gate of the Town Hall for all to see. There are other rumours that the dragon was brought back by the crusaders from one of their crusades, and others have heard that it was presented to the gentlemen of the Town Hall by a Turkish Sultan.