Geography

Olomouc

The ancient town of Olomouc was the residence of Premyslide appanage princes and, later on, sometimes also the residence of the Moravian margrave. In 1063, the Moravian bishopric was set up there, some time later the second oldest Moravian monastery Hradisko was founded there. In 1306, the last Premyslide, the Bohemian king Wenceslas III was murdered in Olomouc. Nowadays, the town of Olomouc is a centre of industry and seat of the second oldest university in the Czech Republic.

There are a lot of sights and fountains in Olomouc. The Neptun´s Fountain, the Merkur´s Fountain by F. Sattler from the first quarter of 18 century, the Herkules Fountain from 1688 and the Jupiter Fountain by F. Sattler, the Tritons Fountain from 1709 and the Caesar´s Fountain created by J.  J. Schauberger.

There are a lot of sights in the city. The Archbishop´s Residence, the St Wenceslas Cathedral, the baroque St Michael Church, the National Historical Museum. The Plaque Column built in 1723, the Astronomical Clock from 15th century.

The Holy Trinity Column is a monumental baroque sculpture from 18th century.

It was written on the list of UNESCO sights in 2001. The column was created by the sculptor Vaclav Render.

TOWN HALL

THE HOLY TRINITY SCULPTURAL GROUP

The experts started to discuss entering the baroque column into the UNESCO list already after 1989. The town of Olomouc suggested to list the sculptural group together with the complex of baroque fountains. The  Ministry of Culture canceled the recommendation at the last moment because of its small chances to be passed and later on it proposed only the Holy Trinity Column.  Its author, the local stonemason Vaclav Render let build the unique, 35 m high baroque column in the main square in 1716 – 1754. The town thus got a monument that has not got any analogy in Central and Eastern Europe as far as  its size and decoration are concerned. UNESCO decided to enter the Trinity into the List of World Cultural and Natural Heritage as early as in November 2000. The festive ceremony was postponed because of extensive reconstruction of the sculptural group and was held on the last  day of August 2001.

SIGHTS OF OLOMOUC

THE ARCHBISHOP´S RESIDENCE

The Arcibishops' Residence was built in 1665 - 1685 on the base of the Renaissance bishop's palace.

CAESAR´S FOUNTAIN

Caesar's Fountain was created by J. J. Schauberger in 1725.

ST WENCESLAS CATHEDRAL

The St Wenceslas Cathedral was founded by Prince Svatopluk sometime in 1104 - 1107. The church had been rebuilt several times, therefore the different architectural styles. After the fire in 1265 and in the middle of the 14th century the church was rebuilt in Gothic style and at the end of the 16th century the middle steeple was added. A dramatic restoration in neo-Gothic style took place in 1883 - 1892. This time the interior was renovated and on the south side the 100 m high tower was added and also two shorter steeples were built on the original Romanesque towers.

HERCULES  FOUNTAIN

The Hercules' Fountain from 1688 is a work of M. Mandik. It was originally situated in the place of the Holy Trinity Column.

HRADISKO MONASTERY

The quadrangular baroque Hradisko Monastery was built on the  foundations of the old monastery that is as old as the first buildings of Olomouc. The author of the baroque project is G. P. Tencalla.

JUPITER FOUNTAIN

The Jupiter Fountain by F. Sattler and V. Render was built in the mid 18th century.

SVATY KOPECEK (HOLY HILLLOCK)

The Visitation Church of pilgrimage on Svaty kopecek is a monumental baroque building designed by G. P. Tencallo. The church is very well located in the countryside as a dominant feature of the hillock above Olomouc.

MERCUR FOUNTAIN

The Mercur Fountain is a work of F. Sattler and V. Render from the first quarter of the 18th century.

ST MICHAEL CHURCH

The baroque St Michael Church is a dominant part of Olomouc panorama. The original, 12th century chapel was reconstructed in the 13th century in the Gothic style and again, in the 17th century, in the baroque style. The chapel features a preserved Gothic tower and a sacristy.

ST MAURICE CHURCH

The Provost's parish church of is a Gothic church built from the beginning of the 15th century till the middle of the 16th century with baroque style interior. It also incorporates a chapel in Gothic and Renaissance style.

THE PLAGUE COLUMN

The plaque column was built by V. Render, J. Sturmer and T. Schultz in 1723 to commemorate the last plaque in Olomouc from 1715.

OUR LADY FROM THE SNOWS CHURCH

The most dominant sight is the baroque Our Lady of the Snows Church. It was originally established as a Jesuit church in 1712-1719 with works of Lucas Glockel and Michael Klein together with master painter Harringer, who was the author of the ceiling fresco. The Helbig's organ from 1726 together with excellent acoustics are additional attractions of this church.

THE NATIONAL HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY MUSEUM

The National History Museum (no. 6) is located in the impressive building of the former church and convent of Poor Clares from 1773 - 1785. This property served previously as army barracks in conjunction with a library. A peculiar combination. A Museum of Natural Science was located here in 1848. After World War 2 it was integrated with other Olomouc museums and transformed into the present day museum.

NEPTUNE FOUNTAIN

The Neptune's fountain by V. Schuller and M. Mandik from 1683 is the oldest preserved fountain of Olomouc.

THE ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK

The Town's Astronomical Clock was created sometime in the 15th century, with various adaptations through the times. The latest adaptation from 1955 was designed by Karel Svolinsky.

THE TOWN HALL OF OLOMOUC

The Town Hall was originally built as two Gothic buildings. It was completed in 1443. The further construction in the 15th century was done in late Gothic style, when the third floor was added. A later reconstruction in Renaissance style in the 17th century.

ST JOHN SARKANDER´S CHAPEL

The St. John Sarkander's Chapel is a neo-baroque building designed by E. Sochor in 1909 - 1912. The chapel was built in the place of the town jail. There is a torture chamber underground where St. John Sarkander was interrogated.

THERESIA GATE

The Theresia Gate was a part of the city fortification, built in 1752. In 1754, on the occasion of Queen Maria Theresia's visit, it was named after her.

TRITONS FOUNTAIN

The Tritons Fountain from 1709 is a creation of an unknown sculptor. It was relocated here from the intersection of two streets in 1890.

PICTURES OF THE SIGHTS

ARCHBISHOP´S PALACE

CAESAR´S  FOUNTAN

JUPITER FOUNTAIN 

OUR LADY FROM THE SNOWS CHURCH

TOWN HALL OF OLOMOUC