U Palavy is a men’s university residence and cultural center in Brno, Czech Republic. It is working against secularism and in favor of classical education. Founded in 2008, this center hosts classes and discussion groups geared towards teaching virtue and classical philosophy.
Czech Men’s Residence – Making a Difference
The Czech Republic is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. University education and health care are covered by the state, and the standard of living is among the highest on the planet. This is also one of the most secular countries in Eastern Europe, where 25% of the nation’s 10.5 million inhabitants call themselves “atheists”.
One effort against secularism and in favor of classical education is U Palavy. Founded in 2008 in Brno, this men’s university hall of residence and cultural center hosts classes and discussion groups geared towards teaching virtue and classical philosophy. They also organize sports activities and engage in community service. All of their programs are organized according to different age groups: from high school boys to adults.
Making a Difference in Brno
Brno is Czech’s second largest city and has five public universities with 60,000 university students. It is the quintessential university city in Eastern Europe.
U Palavy hosts several intellectual and spiritual activities. There are two groups for high school students that meet every two weeks, where virtue is discussed. These students are offered one-on-one mentoring.
“Not everyone participates, but it is offered,” said Father Andrej Matis, a young Slovak priest and doctor of Philosophy, who also works with university students at U Palavy.
One of the activities that attracts the most excitement is the “Club of Thinkers”, where more than a dozen university students meet every two weeks to discuss philosophy. The students meet for dinner, listen to music and then to a short presentation on a book or article.
“Before the students come, they need to read an article on Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, or Thomas Aquinas. Then we have a discussion,” said Father Andrej, one of the moderators of the club. “In this class, we look at natural law and try to answer the big questions of life: what is happiness? What is friendship?”
The students relish engaging in lively discussions on philosophy. There is a diversity of students who attend from different faith backgrounds, and even no faith at all. Some of the students who are working on degrees in philosophy also moderate the club.
“Even for students who may be studying something technical, in the sciences, there is a great deal of interest in this. They are very enthusiastic about it,” said Father Andrej. “The students learn how to think philosophically.”
U Palavy also has groups for young professionals and older professionals.
The impact of U Palavy is not just for people living within Brno.
“We have people driving in from outside the city for our activities,” said Father Andrej.
People find out about U Palavy by word-of-mouth.
“We try to maintain a really friendly atmosphere, so that it feels like home,” said František Štourač, who is part of the team that runs U Palavy.
Learning to Think with the Greats
Michal Lukáč has been living at U Palavy as a resident for two years. He is 22 years old and grew up in Košice, Slovakia – the second largest city in the country. Lukáč studies philosophy and economics at the Masaryk University in Brno and his favorite activity at U Palavy is the Thinkers Club.
“We are open to students of different backgrounds. We even have several atheists who attend,” said Lukáč.
The Thinkers Club participants need to read excerpts from longer works before every class.
“Basically, the curriculum is natural theology, which is accessible by natural reason. Any person can understand it. We read a great deal of philosophy, for example on human happiness,” said Lukáč.
For next week’s class, the participants will be discussing Thomas Aquinas’ works.
“We have read St. Augustine, John Henry Newman, Plato and Aristotle. Two years ago, we read C.S. Lewis,” said Lukáč.
Lukáš Prusák, a 27 years-old software engineer from Slovakia, has been living at U Palavy for five years. For him, U Palavy has truly been a home away from home. He discovered this in a particular way during Covid, when he had to deal with difficult border crossings – on account of Covid restrictions – between Slovakia and the Czech Republic. It was at that point that Prusák realized he needed to find a permanent place to live in Brno.
“I discovered that U Palavy had one room left, and I was able to take it. So, during Covid, six of us lived in the house in isolation. We had a great time!” he said. “I made really good friendships, really strong. When I have been faced with hard times, they have all stood by me and helped me.”
Prusák has been especially grateful for the Thinkers Club.
“I have been attending the Thinkers Club from the beginning,” he said. “It has helped me a lot. It has made me more logical and reasonable. I realize that there have been smarter people in the past who have thought through these big questions. These great discussions that we have at the Thinkers Club have given me strong fundamentals.”
During the next year, U Palavy is remodeling a house next door with the help of a grant from ACI. This will more than double the size of their residential area to accommodate 20 students as well as increase the size of their meeting rooms. The team at U Palavy hope that this will further increase their impact in the Czech Republic.
