Wender·Vista
Brno
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileCzech Republic
in southern Moravia, southeast of Prague

Brno

— — the modernist villa above the old city.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The second city of the Czech Republic, in southern Moravia about two hundred kilometres southeast of Prague. The Špilberk fortress holds one hill, the cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul holds another, and between them the old town reads as a quiet Central European capital. On the slope above the centre stands the white Villa Tugendhat, Mies van der Rohe's 1930 house, where the modern century begins.

from the studio
Brno
— bring it home

Brno, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Brno

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Brno is the second-largest city in the Czech Republic, with about 380,000 residents, set in southern Moravia roughly 200 kilometres southeast of Prague at the confluence of the Svratka and Svitava rivers. It is the historic capital of Moravia and the seat of the country's Constitutional and Supreme Courts. Founded as a market settlement in the eleventh century and chartered as a royal town in 1243 by King Wenceslaus I, the city anchors the South Moravian Region and sits about 90 kilometres north of Vienna and 130 kilometres southwest of Ostrava.

— informed by Wikipedia — Brno
— the stone

Two hills define the silhouette. Špilberk Castle, built in the mid-thirteenth century by King Přemysl Otakar II of Bohemia, holds the western hill and served as a Habsburg prison for two centuries. The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, rebuilt in neo-Gothic form between 1889 and 1909 on the foundations of an eleventh-century Romanesque church, crowns Petrov Hill to the south. The cathedral bells ring noon at eleven o'clock, a tradition tied to the 1645 Swedish siege under General Lennart Torstensson, when the defenders rang the hour early to lift the assault.

— the visit

The old town is small and walkable, anchored by Náměstí Svobody, Liberty Square, and the cathedral on the hill above. Villa Tugendhat, the 1930 Mies van der Rohe house listed by UNESCO in 2001, sits a 25-minute walk or short tram ride north of the centre and requires advance ticket booking; visits are guided and limited to roughly 15 people per group. Brno-Tuřany Airport sits 7 kilometres southeast of the city. Direct trains reach Prague in about 2.5 hours and Vienna in about 1.5 hours.

— where
Czech Republic · Brno, South Moravian Region
— elevation
237 m · 778 ft
— position
49.1951° N · 16.6068° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km W
Špilberk Castle
hilltop fortress
2 km N
Villa Tugendhat
UNESCO modernist house
at the lake
Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul
neo-Gothic cathedral
at the lake
Náměstí Svobody
central square
90 km S
Vienna
Austrian capital
N
Brno
Špilberk Castle
Villa Tugendhat
Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul
Náměstí Svobody
Vienna
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Brno — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

In southern Moravia in the eastern Czech Republic, about 200 kilometres southeast of Prague and 90 kilometres north of Vienna, at the confluence of the Svratka and Svitava rivers. It is the country's second-largest city.

The city has roughly 380,000 residents, second only to Prague among Czech cities. It is the historic capital of Moravia and the seat of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts of the Czech Republic.

The hilltop fortress built in the mid-thirteenth century by King Přemysl Otakar II of Bohemia. It served as a Habsburg prison from the late 1700s into the nineteenth century and now houses the Brno City Museum.

The 1930 modernist house designed by Mies van der Rohe for Greta and Fritz Tugendhat, on a slope above central Brno. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001 and is open by guided tour only.

A tradition dating to the 1645 Swedish siege. General Lennart Torstensson reportedly vowed to break off the assault if Brno did not fall by noon; the defenders rang the bell an hour early and the siege lifted.

Yes. The pace is slower, the modernist architecture is unmatched in the country, and the old town can be walked in an afternoon. Direct trains from Prague run hourly and take about 2.5 hours.

— about the piece in your home

It travels well to Czech and Moravian families, anyone who studied at Masaryk University, and architects or designers who know Villa Tugendhat. A Small or Medium reads warmly without overstating the moment.

The pale stone palette and red roof accents sit well with Central-European traditional, warm Minimalist, and Modernist-collector rooms. The artwork carries a quiet European weight into otherwise contemporary interiors.

Yes. Brno's reputation as a city of interwar functionalist architecture, including Villa Tugendhat, places it among the named cities collectors of twentieth-century design follow. The composition reads cleanly against Bauhaus and Mid-century furniture.

A single Large above a console; a four-tile Mural above a standard sofa; a nine-tile Mural for a long modernist wall or a stair landing. The two-hill silhouette holds at every scale.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. Both are scratch-resistant and handle steam and splash. The colour is set into the ceramic surface and will not shift with daily wiping.

A soft microfibre cloth, slightly damp with water. No ammonia, no abrasive cleaners. The finish keeps the colour true through years of normal household use, in any climate.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is curated by Reid Wender and produced in our Knoxville studio. We do not license imagery and we do not reprint other artists' work.

— if this one stayed with you

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