Freedom Square, Brno

Freedom Square is the central plaza of Brno and has been the city's principal marketplace since the thirteenth century. Ringed by burgher houses, palaces, and the ornate House at the Four Mamlases with its straining stone figures, it functions as the social heart of the Moravian capital. A distinctive black astronomical clock shaped like a bullet stands near its centre, dispensing a glass marble each day at eleven. Seasonal markets, fountains, and cafes fill the space, which links the surrounding pedestrian streets of the old town.