Svratecký náhon, Medieval mill race in Brno, Czech Republic

The Svratecký náhon today is only the surviving fragment of a mill race: it begins at the Kamenomlýn weir on the Svratka, runs culverted along Žabovřeská street past the waterworks, then surfaces near the Pisárecká radial road interchange and flows in an open channel along Bauerova street past the Riviéra pool to a small basin by the velodrome, from which it returns to the Svratka.

The original race may have been a side channel of the Svratka, adapted in the 13th century to bring water to medieval Brno and its mills, including the Starobrněnský, Lamplův and Dornych mills. The Pisárky section still visible today was probably added around 1800. The meander at Mendlovo náměstí was filled in 1896, the section from sv. Anna to Nové sady was culverted before 1943, and the rest disappeared after the war, likely in the 1950s; the Staré Brno stretch was buried in the early 1960s.

The area around Dornych, where the race ran between houses and textile factories, was called Brno's or Little Venice. The race also fed two sets of baths: a municipal swimming pool on the west edge of Mendlovo náměstí, rebuilt by Bohuslav Fuchs in 1927, and shower baths near Lamplův mlýn, converted by Fuchs into municipal baths in Kopečná street in 1927–1928.

The site is partly accessible, but be aware that large sections are hidden beneath the modern city surface. Visiting requires some patience to navigate the scattered remains and understand the waterway's original path.

The stretch around Dornych, where the race ran between houses and textile factories, was nicknamed Brno's "little Venice". The canal bed there was uncovered during archaeological work in 2016–2017, when the Vlněna factory complex was demolished for new office buildings.