The Brno Conservatory, also Brno Conservatoire (Czech: Konzervatoř Brno), was established in Brno on 25 September 1919 by Moravian composer Leoš Janáček.
Leoš Janáček attempted to establish and improve high musical education in Brno from his early age. In 1881, he founded the Organ School, however, it was just the beginning of his efforts in this field. The conservatory was established by joining the Organ School, music school of Beseda brněnská, and music school of Vesna (women's educational association based in Brno). Initially, it was situated in a "greek villa", on the corner of the streets of Smetanova and Kounicova. It was the former seat of the Organ School (from 1907). Janáček was the first director of the conservatory, but the school gained its current seat only during the directorship of his successor, Jan Kunc. The building of the conservatory was designed in 1899 in the style of Neo-Renaissance by German Wanderley. It was the seat of the German Teachers Institute, founded by the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. The commemorate plaque at the building reads: „Kaiser Franz Josef I. widmete dieses Haus der Bildung von Volksschullehrern 1872." ("The Emperor Franz Josef I dedicated this house to build the public teaching 1872").
Brno (English pronunciation: /ˈbɜːrnoʊ/;Czech pronunciation: [ˈbr̩no], also known by other alternative names) is the second largest city in the Czech Republic by population and area, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative center of the South Moravian Region in which it forms a separate district (Brno-City District). The city lies at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers and has about 400,000 inhabitants; its greater metropolitan area is home to more than 800,000 people while its larger urban zone had population of about 730,000 in 2004.
Brno is the seat of judicial authority of the Czech Republic – it is the seat of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, and the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office. The city is also a significant administrative centre. It is the seat of a number of state authorities, including the Ombudsman, and the Office for the Protection of Competition. Brno is also an important centre of higher education, with 33 faculties belonging to 13 institutes of higher learning and about 89,000 students.