Back to TourPoint 1 of 6
Credits
Jaroslav František Smetánka (editor) · Public domain
Point 1 of 60 of 6 completed
The market has a voice
Get Directions
49.1923, 16.6089
On arrival
Stand on Zelný trh in a safe part of the square and listen for ten seconds before focusing on any building or fountain.
Look closer
Listen for overlapping voices, footsteps, bags, delivery sounds and trams; use the Parnas fountain only as a visual anchor after the listening exercise.
The route starts before music: with a human voice moving through a market.
Before looking for monuments, give the square ten seconds with your eyes lowered. Zelný trh was one of Janáček's listening posts. The official Janáček trail documents how he came here to study market sellers from Brno and the surrounding area, writing short pieces of speech together with musical notation. He called these records speech melodies and treated them as clues to a person's inner state. One surviving market note from 1925 even records a seller snapping back about the bad weather. The exercise here is deliberately small: pick one nearby voice and notice pitch, acceleration and pause before you notice the words.
Accessibility at this stop
This is an exterior listening stop on a busy historic square. Surfaces can be uneven and service vehicles may cross parts of the market; exact step-free circulation still needs human or on-site review.
These notes describe known conditions at this stop. Urban conditions can change, so assess the situation on site.
Your tour
0 of 6 completedMy location
You are here
1. The market has a voice
6 stops to complete
0 of 6 completed