Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and acclaimed work,
The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise
of the Heart
(written in Czech, not Latin), argued that all human
knowledge and ambition is futile if unaccompanied by faith and
charity. His fame spread across the Atlantic: In 1636, Comenius
was asked to become the first president of Harvard University.
Still hoping to return home (and afraid of sea journeys after
he almost lost his life in a storm in the North Sea), Comenius
declined the offer.
For the remainder of his wandering life, Comenius taught
and wrote in Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, England, and
Sweden, never able to return
home. Alfons Mucha power-
fully captured Comenius' tra-
gic fate as a homeless exile—a
fate to be shared by thousands
of free-spirited Czechs—in one
of the canvases of his
Slav Epic
(see page 222).
During the communist era,
Comenius' grave (in Naarden,
near Amsterdam) became a
shrine for Czech exiles; imme-
diately after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the site was swamped
with Czechs who came to pay their respects. Today, Comenius
is considered one of the founders of modern education, and his
legacy is alive far beyond Olomouc. In the Czech Republic and
Slovakia, Comenius' birthday is celebrated as Teachers' Day,
while the Comenius Medal is the highest UNESCO award for
achievement in education.
St. Michael's Church (Sv. Michal),
located at the highest
point in town, dominates Olomouc's skyline (free, open long hours
daily). It's a fine, single-nave Baroque church full of illusory paint-
ings, fake armor, and fine Gothic frescoes hidden under Baroque
whitewash. As it was rebuilt after looting by the Protestant Swedes
during the Counter-Reformation, the Catholic propaganda is really
c r a n k e d up. h e t h re e -dome d c ei l i n g — a rem i nder of t The Tr i n it y —is
an unusual feature. From the cloister, stairs lead down to the 11th-
century “rock chapel” and its tiny lake. The chair in the dark hole
on the left is an invitation to pray or meditate. This humble grotto
was the site of the first hermitage here on Olomouc's high rock.
As Michael is the Christian antidote to paganism, archaeologists
assume that this church sits upon a pagan holy spot.
St. Moritz Church (Sv. Mořic)
is a must-see for its pair of
asymmetrical towers, which look more like fortresses. The church
