Olomouc
Town|name = Olomouc|name_local = |country = Czech Republic|image_coat_of_arms = Olomouc_coat-of-arms.png|region_type = Region|region_type_local = kraj|region_name = Olomouc|region_link = Olomouc Region|region_name_local = Olomoucký|population = 100 752|population_as_of = 2005|area = 103|founded = |founded_type = |elevation = 220|lat_deg = 49| lat_min = 36|lat_hem = N|lon_deg = 17|lon_min = 15|lon_hem = E|website =
www.olomoucko.cz|image_location = CZE Olomouc location.png}}
Olomouc (
IPA: ) (
German Olmütz,
Polish Ołomuniec,
Latin Eburum or
Olomucium) is a city in
Moravia, in the east of the
Czech Republic. The city is located on the
Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis of Moravia.
Olomouc contains several large squares, the chief of which is adorned with
Holy Trinity Column, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. The
column is 115 ft. high and was built in 1716"1754.
The most prominent church is the
St. Wenceslas cathedral. In the end of the 19th century it was rebuilt in
neo-Gothic style, but it kept many parts from the original church, which had also been rebuilt many times (
Romanesque crypt,
Gothic cloister,
Baroque chapels). The highest of its three spires is 328 ft.
(image) The church neighbours with the Bishop's Palace (often incorrectly called the Přemyslid Palace), a 12th century
Romanesque building.
(image) The real Přemyslid Palace, i.e. the residence of Olomouc members of the governing Přemyslid Dynasty, used to stand nearby.
The St. Maurice church, a fine Gothic building of the 15th century, and the St. Michael church are also worth mentioning. The
Neo-baroque chapel of St. John Sarkander stands on the place of a former town prison. Catholic priest John Sarkander was imprisoned here in the beginning of the
Thirty Years' War. He was accused of collaboration with the enemy and tortured here, but did not reveal anything because of the
Seal of Confession, and died. The
torturing rack and Sarkander's gravestone are preserved here. He was
canonized by
Pope John Paul II during his visit in Olomouc in 1995.
Another place that
John Paul II visited here was Svatý Kopeček, a part of Olomouc lying on a hill, with the magnificent
Baroque church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary looking down at the city. The Pope promoted the church to Minor
Basilica.
The principal secular building is the town hall, completed in the 15th century, flanked on one side by a
Gothic chapel, transformed now into a museum. It possesses a tower 250 ft. high adorned with an
astronomical clock.
The old university founded in
1573 and suppressed in
1860, was reopened in
1946 and called
Palacký University.
Olomouc is also proud of its six
Baroque fountains. The fountains survived in such a number thanks to cautious policy of the city council. While most European cities were removing old fountains after they had built their water supply piping, Olomouc decided to keep them as water reservoirs in case of fire. For their decoration ancient
Roman motifs were used. Five of them depict
Roman gods
Jupiter (image),
Mercury (image),
Triton (image),
Neptune and
Hercules (image), and one depicts
Julius Caesar, the legendary founder of the city.
(image)Olomouc is said to occupy a site of a
Roman fort founded in the
imperial period, the original name of which,
Mons Julii, would have been gradually corrupted to the present form. Though this is just a legend, archaeological excavations revealed remains of a
Roman military camp from the time of
Marcoman Wars here.
Olomouc was an important centre of the
Great Moravian Empire in the 9th and early 10th century. At a later period it was long the capital of the province of
Moravia. The
bishopric of Olomouc was founded in
1063, and raised to the rank of an
archbishopric in
1777.
In
1306 King
Wenceslaus III stopped here on his way to
Poland, where he wanted to fight
Wladislaus I the Elbow-high to claim his rights to Polish crown, and was assassinated. With his death the whole Přemyslid dynasty died out.
During the
Thirty Years' War, in
1640, Olomouc was occupied by the
Swedes for eight years. They left the city in ruins and so it ceded its position to
Brno. Olomouc was then fortified by
Maria Theresa during the wars with
Frederick the Great, who besieged the city unsuccessfully for seven weeks in
1758. In
1848 Olomouc was the scene of the emperor
Ferdinand's abdication, and in
1850 an important conference between Austrian and German statesmen called
Punctation of Olmütz took place here. On the conference
German Confederation was restored and
Prussia submitted its leadership to the Austrians.
Largely because of its ecclesiastical links to Austria, Salzburg in particular, the city had a
German influence since the
Middle Ages. It is difficult assess the ethnic makeup of the town before an accurate census was taken. However, official documents from the second half of the 16th century and early 17th century reveal that the town's ecclesiastical constitution, the meetings of the Diet and the locally printed hymnal, were all in the Czech language. Also, the first treatise on music in the Czech language was published in Olomouc in the mid 16th century. The political and social changes that followed the Thirty Years War increased the influence of courtly Habsburg culture. The 'Germanification' of the town was probably more a result of the cosmopolitan environment of the town than by design. As the cultural, administrative and religious centre of the region, it drew officials, musicians and traders from all over Europe. Despite these influences, the Czech language still persisted, particularly in ecclesiastical publications throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. When the Austrian-born composer and musician Philip J. Rittler accepted a post at the Wenceslas Cathedral in the second half of the seventeenth century, he still felt it necessary to learn Czech. However, the use of the Czech language in official matters went into decline and by the 19th century, the official statistics record that the number of Germans was three times higher than the number of Czechs¹. Olomouc was enclosed with city walls almost until the end of the 19th century. This suited to the city council, because demolishing the walls would allow extending the city, which would result into settling a lot of Czechs from neighbouring villages. The city council preferred Olomouc smaller, but German. Expansion came after the
WWI and establishing
Czechoslovakia, when Olomouc integrated two neighbouring towns and 11 surrounding villages and thus gained new space for its growth.
Despite its considerable charms, Olomouc hasn't been discovered by tourists in the same way that
Prague,
Český Krumlov and
Karlovy Vary have. Its inner city is the second largest historical monuments preserve in the country, after
Prague.
¹Tichák, Milan (
1997).
Vzpomínky na starou Olomouc, pp. 13. Olomouc:Votobia. ISBN 80-7198-184-2
Olomouc was mentioned in "Disappear," a 2001 song by
R.E.M. from their album
Reveal.
*
Gregor Mendel *
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart *
Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia *
Jacobus Gallus *
Gustav Mahler *
Leopold Mozart *
Yelena Shushunova *
János Bolyai *
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor *
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette *
Albrecht von Wallenstein *
Wenceslaus III of Bohemia *
Joseph Radetzky von Radetz *
Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon *
Ľudovít Štúr *
Bretislaus I of Bohemia *
Eliška Junková *
Marek Heinz *
Viscount Taaffe *
Hans Joachim von Zieten *
Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary *
Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt *
Vratislaus II of Bohemia *
Josef Dobrovský*
Alois Musil *
Alois I, Prince of Liechtenstein *
Bohuslav Hasištejnský z Lobkovic *
Johann Jahn *
Gottfried Finger *
František Tomášek *
Karel Kryl *
Veronika Vařeková *
Jan Zrzavý *
Olga Taussky Todd *
Jan Čep *
Jiri Hudler *
Jiří Paroubek *
Leopold Josef Graf Daun *
Archduke Eugen of Austria*
Adam Jerzy Czartoryski *
Karl Ferdinand von Buol*
Aloys Pennarini *
Wilhelm Tomaschek, born here
*
Eduard Zirm *
Karl Farkas *
Otto Hönigschmid *
Pavel Dostál *
Jan Perner *
Rudolph of Austria (Cardinal) *
Wenceslas Pantaleon Kirwitzer *
Vilém Prusinovský z Vicíkova*
John Sarkander*
Karel Plíhal *
Maxi Gnauck *
Svatopluk of Bohemia *
Sobeslav I of Bohemia *
Vladislaus II of Bohemia *
Frederick of Bohemia *
Wenceslaus II, Duke of Bohemia *
Eva Romanová *
Jarek Janis *
Georg Flegel *
Alan Gratz *
David Prinosil *
Leo Fall *
Franciscus Illenfeld *
Kateřina Neumannová *
Gustav Brom *
Alois Švehlík *
Natalia Yurchenko *
Alois Vašátko *
Karel Brückner *
Vladimír Hučín *
Jaroslav Janis *
Radek Drulák *
Radoslav Látal *
Děpold I of Jamnitz *
Jaromir, Bishop of Prague*
Municipal website (cz, en)
*
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Holy Trinity Column*
Palacký UniversityPortals
*
Olomouc - travel information, basic facts, hotels, sights
*
Portal covering Olomouc*
Another Olomouc portal*
Portal for Olomouc Students
