BUT-FCE participates in this network from academic year 2007/2008. Our partner universities are:
To apply for a CEEPUS mobility grant please visit CEEPUS home page www.ceepus.info. Once your application will be accepted, we’ll look forward to welcome you in Brno.
Transportation
Transport to Brno
Brno is situated in Central Europe, with good and frequent connections of all kinds to all the surrounding countries and major cities, so it is a relatively easy city to reach.
Though Brno does not have an international airport, it is quite convenient to fly to Prague or Vienna, and from there continue to Brno by train, bus or by mini-buses operated by Czech Airlines or Student Agency. If you travel by air to Vienna, you can then proceed to Brno by train or by bus from the coach station.
The main north-south railway line in Central Europe passes through Brno, which means that it is easily accessible by train from most points on the Continent. The journey from Prague by fast train takes three and half hours; EC trains shorten the journey to only 2 hours 45 minutes.
Vienna is closer than Prague, only 1 hour 40 minutes away.
Brno has direct coach links with many cities in Europe. These may not be available every day, but they are convenient, and ticket prices are very low.
Brno is situated at the meeting point of motorways D1 (Prague - Brno) and D2 (Brno - Bratislava). Both are part of the trans-European road system, which links France with the Ukraine (E50) and Scandinavia with the Balkans (E65). Other major roads lead northeast to Poland and the Baltic states and south to Austria and Italy.
Useful web addresses on transportation - also in English and German:
Public Transport in Brno
In the Integrated Public Transport System of the South Moravian Region (abbr. IDS JMK) are connected all the existing transport modes in the big part of the South Moravian Region and City of Brno. Under the same conditions you can travel in local trains, regional busses, public city transport of Brno (trams, busses, trolley-busses) and city transport in the City of Blansko (busses).
In all of these lines you can use the same tickets and pay the same prices and the very similar regulations are used. You can find more information about the South Moravian Integrated Public Transport System at http://www.kordis-jmk.cz/EN/indexmie.htm.
You can not use the IDS JMK tickets in speed trains and in Ex, IC and EC trains as well as in busses which are not marked with the three digits numbers. There is a variable tariff system used to determine IDS JMK fares. The fare is determined by the expected length (time) of your travel and the number of fare zones. As long as you do not travel more than the time and number of zones you have paid for, you can transfer as many times as you like, even from train or trams to buses and back again. You can not transfer with two tickets - the 2 zones / 10 minutes ticket and the four-station ticket.
To use the transport you need a validated ticket (stamped in a yellow machine immediately after getting on the vehicle) or a travel card. To get the student travel card you need 1 photograph and a certificate proving that you are a student of BUT (if you want this travel card, contact your international advisor). Individual PT tickets can be purchased at newsstands and in some shops, if you buy tickets directly from the tram/bus/trolley-bus driver, it will cost you more.
Intercity Transport
Brno area and the whole republic have a wide network of bus and train links. All bus tickets can be bought at the main Bus Station at Zvonařka when travelling to Praha, bus tickets are also available against the Grand Hotel nearby the Main Railway Station. The bus to Praha goes every half an hour, a student ticket costs about 100 crowns.
You can buy train tickets at the Main Railway Station - both intercity and international - at a reduced price on your International Student Identity Card. Information about bus and train timetables can be found at National timetable information system (in German and English).
International Students Club
International Students Club is a friendship organization of Czech students who support all international students studying at Brno University of Technology. We befriend and help international students during their time here in Brno through practical help, social and recreational activities, trips, Czech conversation classes. The goal of the International Club is to create a comfortable and open background for all international students at BUT. See web page of International Students Club - www.isc.vutbr.cz.
Welcome Week at the Beginning of the Semester
Central foreign department runs a welcome programme together with the International Students Club at the beginning of every semester. Welcome week includes 4 days of intensive course in Czech ( from Monday to Thursday) at the language department of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and 3 day orientation weekend. During this time you will visit BUT centre, faculties and meet some university representatives. A tour of Brno and its surrounding, an excursion to the South of Moravia is also arranged. The whole programme is provided free for Erasmus, CEEPUS and other exchange students.
Excursions and Free Time
The International Students club organizes a variety of day trips and one-day excursions as part of the Czech background course during each semester. In recent years, we have organized a trip to major points of interest in Moravia and in and around Brno. You can have a look at the web page for international Erasmus students who studied at Brno University of Technology in the spring semester of 2002 and winter semester 2001. The web page contains plenty of pictures from excursions taken in the Moravian Carst, a wine cellar in Pavlov, Castle Lednice and glassworks in Jihlava.
Culture
Brno's cultural life is extremely rich and varied. National Theatre companies in the Janacek and Mahen Theatres play full-scale operas, ballets and plays, while the city's two experimental theatres, the Goose on a String and HaDivadlo companies, offer exciting and controversial alternatives to more traditional productions. Those interested in a dose of Western culture can find the latest films in the original English, alongside films in Czech for the more adventurous, at the city's many cinemas and two multiplexes.
Notable among Brno's numerous galleries is the Moravian Gallery, featuring works by major Czech and international artists, and the Brno City Museum (located in the historical Spilberk Castle), featuring several exhibits dedicated especially to the city's rich history. The State Philharmonic Orchestra performs regular concerts in various halls, often featuring the work of great Czech composers such as Dvorak, Smetana and Janacek, whose creative life was so closely linked with Brno. The city was also a major centre of the Functionalist movement in architecture between the wars, and today buildings such as Mies van der Rohe's landmark Tugendhat Villa (recently designated a UNESCO World Heritage site) are open to the public.
Information Centre
The city of Brno operates a cultural and information centre at Radnická 8, in the building of the Old Town Hall. It has a wide selection of maps, brochures and other information on Brno and the surrounding region, and also acts as a ticket agency, selling tickets for a number of cultural events.
Sports
Brno offers a wide range of sporting and recreational opportunities. The city of Brno also provides dozens of sporting facilities, including three indoor swimming pools, six open-air swimming pools and two winter stadiums. The enormous Boby Centrum, the largest of these facilities, boasts squash facilities, a bowling alley and some of the best workout facilities in the Czech Republic, not to mention the country's largest discotheque. The Brno Lake, easily accessible by public transport, is a popular site for swimming and outdoor recreation. Golf, hiking and skiing are also available in the area.
Other Useful Information
Currency
The Czech currency is called "koruna" (crown, abbreviated Kč), which is made up of 100 haléřů (hellers, abbreviated hal.). Coins in the following denominations are in circulation: 10 hellers, 20 hellers, 50 hellers, 1 crown, 2 crowns, 5 crowns, 10 crowns and 20 crowns. In addition there are the following notes: 20 crowns, 50 crowns, 100 crowns, 200 crowns, 500 crowns, 1,000 crowns, 2,000 crowns and 5,000 crowns. Rate (October 2007): 1 EUR = 27 CZK
Emergency Services
Throughout the Czech Republic, there is one set of emergency numbers for use in case of fire, the urgent need for an ambulance, or crime. These are as follows:
Pharmacies
Most of the medicines available elsewhere can be obtained here, though not in every pharmacy. In case you need some kind of medicine in the evening, at night or over the weekend, when shops are normally closed, there is a non-stop pharmacy located in the centre of the city.
Emergency cases
If you are faced with an urgent need for medical attention at a time when doctors' offices are not open, and you are confined to bed, call the first-aid service; a doctor will come to examine you within a very short time. In other cases you should go in person to the emergency service at nám. 28. října 23, which is open Monday - Friday from 19:00 till 6:30 and non-stop on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Emergency dental care is also available at the same address.
Money matters
The cost of living is low in the Czech Republic compared to most Western countries, and you will be able to live comfortably without spending large sums. Bank machines are generally the easiest and cheapest way to manage money here, and the Brno city centre features numerous conveniently located bank machines.
Foreign currency can be exchanged at any bank, though you might check around to see which one gives the best rate, since these can vary a little. The small exchange booths in the centre of Brno and Masarykova Street are said to offer good exchange rates.
Police
There are two separate police forces in the Czech Republic, the National Police Force (Policie České republiky) and Municipal Police Forces (Městská policie). The Czech Police deal with such areas as criminal activities, road traffic (accidents, fines and so on), and visas for foreigners. The Municipal Police have limited powers to maintain law and order within the town or city where they work.
Post Offices
Most post offices are only open on weekdays. The one beside the Main Train Station remains open non-stop, 24 hours a day seven days a week.
Public Holidays