Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Olomouc's History
The fortune and misfortune of Olomouc has always come from
its strategic location at the intersection of Eastern Europe's
main east-west and south-north routes: Merchants, pilgrims,
kings, and armies had to pass through the city.
Until the 1640s, Olomouc was the second-largest city
in the Czech lands. The king's younger brother governed
Moravian politics from here, while the archbishop kept the
spirits (and the lands) of Moravians in God's hands—that is,
his own.
Olomouc was trashed by passing armies during the
Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and occupied by Sweden
for the last eight of those years. More than 70 percent of
the town's population died in battles or from plagues, and
the Moravian capital was moved to Brno. In 1709, Olomouc
burned to the ground...only to emerge from the ashes with a
Baroque flair during the Habsburg years. The new Olomouc—
filled with churches, colleges, statues, and fountains—became
the largest Baroque town in the country. But its prosperity
again ended abruptly, as Prussia (occupying what is now
western Poland and eastern Germany) threatened to invade
Vienna—and Olomouc was right in the way. The Habsburgs
had Olomouc's students and monks leave, and replaced them
with soldiers who would defend the city. They surrounded
Olomouc with tall, thick walls, and what once was a cultural
center became an immense fortress. The Prussians laid siege
to the city, but never managed to take it. The ring of walls and
moats that protected the town also ended up preventing the
encroachment of modern-day architecture into the historic
center.
Olomouc eventually began to thrive again, but it remains
overshadowed by Brno. Today, it still comes in second as the
economic powerhouse of Moravia. But ever since Palacký
University was founded here in 1946—on the grounds of the
centuries-old theological university—Olomouc has become
Moravia's intellectual center.
Archbishops have ruled from here for a thousand years, filling the
town with churches and monasteries. In 1946, these buildings were
turned into faculties of Palacký University.
Being a student town, Olomouc feels young and alive (though
quiet during summer weekends and school vacations, when the
students clear out). Olomouc has managed to blend the old and the
new better than any other town in the country. The McDonald's on
the Baroque main square is not an intruder, but simply a contented
acknowledgment of modern times.
To generalize, the Moravians are seen as friendlier and more
community-oriented than the more individualistic Bohemians.
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