History of GVID

Our history

The historical roots of our grammar school go back indirectly to 1883, when a branch of the Czech grammar school was established. At first, several classes of the lower grammar school were taught there. In 1885, this branch became an independent lower grammar school and in 1898 it also gained a higher degree and the right to hold matriculation examinations. For the next 40 years the institute was known as the First State Real Gymnasium or unofficially as the Old Brno Gymnasium.

In 1929, the school built its own building, designed by Prof. Syřiště for more than 4 million crowns (today it is the seat of the Faculty of Sports Studies of Masaryk University). The new premises were modernly designed. At that time students used 14 classrooms, special rooms for learning physics, chemistry and drawing. There was also a gymnasium, an outdoor playground and showers. During this period, the life of the school was associated with the work of many outstanding personalities.

At the end of the 19th century, František Bartoš, an ethnologist and philologist, was the head of the grammar school. Leoš Janáček, a composer, also taught there for a certain period of time. Among the graduates were the classical philologist Vladimír Groh, the writer František Kožík, the doctors Jan Vanýsek and Jan Navrátil, the conductor František Belfín, the architect Ivan Ruller, and the president of the Constitutional Court Zdeněk Kessler. After the end of the occupation during World War II, when the building was used by the German police, the First State Real Gymnasium resumed its activities.

After 1948, several conceptual changes in secondary education took place in Czechoslovakia, which also affected the predecessor of our school - the Old Brno Gymnasium. The most significant was the transformation into an eleven-year secondary school. In the 1950s, a decision was made to build a new campus for this institution.

The modern history of the grammar school in Old Town Brno thus begins on 1st September 1957, when a completely new school building was inaugurated at the then 47 Koněvova Street. Shortly afterwards, another organisational transformation took place. After the merger with the eleven-year secondary school in Mendel Square in 1961, the so-called Secondary General Education School (SVVŠ) was established for pupils aged 15 to 19. The following school year, 1962/63, a specialisation in programming and computer operation was established, which is still part of the school's educational offer today. In 1968, the name was changed again to Gymnasium, and attendance was extended from three to four years. In September 1970, several classes from the closed gymnasium in Opuštěná Street were transferred to our school. The following year, Prof. Miluše Kleinová founded the student choir Mladí madrigalisté (Young Madrigalists). In 1977/78 a specialised class for top athletes was opened.

Among the important graduates of the school there are many personalities of cultural, social, sporting, scientific and political life. To name a few, we can mention the actor Miroslav Donutil, Tomáš Matonoha, the founder of the COMICA ECONOMICA theatre, Bohumír Štědroň from Charles University, Věra Černá, the world champion on the balance beam in 1979, Petr Duchoň, the former mayor of Brno and a member of the European Parliament, and Tomáš Julínek, the Minister of Health.

The most recent "history" of the school after 1989 is connected with several curriculum changes. The multi-year studies were restored in 1990. At this time, the school was also oriented towards several branches of study - traditionally programming, science and humanities. Since school year 1992/93, this concept has been replaced by an orientation towards two programmes of study - programming and general studies. Specialisation is made possible for students by choosing from a large number of optional subjects in the last two years of their studies.  On 1 July 2004, the Gymnasium, Brno, Vídeňská 47 and the Gymnasium, Brno, Táborská 185 were merged into one entity, with the resulting separate workplace at Táborská 185 being gradually abandoned. Extensive reconstruction works have been carried out in the building at Vídeňská 47 since then, such as replacement of windows, modernization of the heating system, reconstruction of the electrical installation, etc. From 1 July 2015, the school changed its name to Gymnázium Brno, Vídeňská, a contributory organisation.

School principals since 1957:

Karel Hanák (1957-1960)

Josef Kolomazník (1960-1989)

Pavel Čermák (1990-1991)

Jaroslav Veverka (1991-1994)

Jarmila Červenáková (1994-2004)

Pavel Faltýsek (2004-2014)

David Andrle (since 2014)