Masarykova leads to Brno's elegant and spacious main square, Náměstí Svobody, the city's bustling central hub. On the eastern side of the square is the house of the four mamlases (dům U čtyř mamlasů). The façade is supported by a quartet of extremely muscled but clearly moronic 'Atlas' figures, each struggling to hold up the building and their loincloths at the same time.
Created by Germano Wanderley in 1928, the building has provoked a longstanding and robust debate over whether the statues aptly reflect the elegant face of the Moravian capital.
Náměstí Svobody dates from the early 13th century, when it was called Dolní trh (Lower market). Its plague column dates from 1680. On the corner of the square and Kobližná is the palác Říkovský z Dobrčic, also known as the house at the red ox (dům U rudého vola). At Kobližná 4, the Schrattenbachův palác has a niche containing a 1637 statue of the Madonna.
