ABSTRACT
In the early nineteenth century, the Jews suffered worse repression than the Christians. A Jewish community was established in Brunn in the first half of the thirteenth century, but in 1451 the preacher John of Capistrano stirred up local hatred against the Jews, and they were expelled from the city by royal edict in 1454. By the middle of the eighteenth century, Jews were subject to a series of restrictions throughout Moravia. But because of the restrictions on Jews in Royal Cities this was much more problematic in Brunn, and Jakob Ernst's clientele may therefore have been rather wealthier and more cultured than was the norm in other places. In the early twentieth century the café was called 'Austria', and it could well have had the same name in Jakob Ernst's time. Its position, at the heart of the Jewish settlement, was well chosen.
