Berans’ Söhne – Zbrojovka

The present-day Zbrojovka (Brno Armory) complex was created in 1918 by converting the former Berans’ Söhne textile factory, standing on the banks of the Svitava River since 1894. Upon the creation of the Czechoslovak Republic, the state-owned company Brno Czechoslovak Arms Manufacturing Plants was founded. To complement the Beran company original buildings, the factory premises were expanded along Lazaretní Street to the embankment of the railway line to Česká Třebová, creating a vast, modern complex, complete with an interesting administrative building at the entrance, which also housed the plant director’s apartment.

Aside from weapons for the Czechoslovak army, Zbrojovka’s production included sewing machines or licensed Remington typewriters as well. In addition to its own arms production, the factory assembled German and Austrian rifles of the Mauser and Manlicher brands. In the 1920s, the production of house-brand vehicles was launched as well, starting with the OMEGA and Disk models, later shifting to the “Z 18”. In 1935, the Z 6 “Hurvínek” people’s car, among others, was constructed in Zbrojovka. Due to the worsening political situation in Europe, the automobile manufacturing was discontinued, leaving the factory with arms production only from 1936 onwards.

During the Second World War, weapons for the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS were assembled in Zbrojovka, making the factory site one of the main targets of the Allied air raids on Brno and ultimately leaving it heavily damaged at the end of the war. After the war, the company was designated to develop new tractors. As a result, a prototype of the Zetor Z-25 tractor was constructed in November 1945. The name is composed from “Zet” (first letter of the name Zbrojovka) and “or” (the end of the word tractor). Later, the tractor production was gradually moved to the Líšeň plant, which has even adopted the first tractor’s name into its title.

In the 1980s, the production of weapons was gradually phased out, shifting the company focus to ICT equipment production, before the struggling Zbrojovka’s complete demise after 1989. As of now, the entire site is privately owned and scheduled for establishing a residential and administrative district called the New Zbrojovka. The revitalization plans provide for preserving some of the original factory buildings, adapting them to housing.