it was the first tram service in today's Czech Republic.
Major battles
• In the 15th century Brno was besieged twice, in 1428 and again in 1430 by the Hussites during the Hussite Wars. But both attempts to conquer the city failed.
• In the 17th century Swedish army under the leadership of General Lennart Torstenson laid siege to the city in 1643 and in 1645. This was an important part of the Thirty Years' War, and Brno was the only city in Moravia which succeeded in defending itself against Swedish sieges.
• In the 18th century Brno was besieged by Prussians in 1742 under the leadership of Frederick the Great, but also without success.
• In December 1805, Battle of Austerlitz, took place nearby the city, the battle is also known as the "Battle of the Three Emperors". Brno itself didn't interfere with the battle but the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte spent several nights here and again in 1809.
• In 1945 Brno was conquered by the Red Army under the leadership of Rodion Malinovsky, ending seven years of occupation by Nazi Germany.
The capital city of Moravia
In the mid 11th century, Moravia was divided into three separate territories; each one of them had its own ruler, coming from the Přemyslids dynasty, but independent of the other two, and subordinated only to the Bohemian ruler in Prague. Seats of these rulers and thus "capitals" of these territories were castles and towns of Brno, Olomouc, and Znojmo. In the late 12th century, Moravia began to reunify, forming the Margraviate of Moravia. Since then, until the mid of the 17th century, it was not clear which town should be the capital of Moravia. Political power was therefore "evenly" divided between Brno and Olomouc, but Znojmo also played an important role. The Moravian Diet (cz: Moravský Zemský sněm), the Moravian Land Tables (cz:
