Historical and Cultural Heritage of Olomouc — Guided Tour and Dinner – Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Guided sightseeing of the city centre (3:00pm–5:00pm)

The Town Hall and The Holy Trinity Column
The Town Hall and The Holy Trinity Column (night view)
The Arion Fountain and The Holy Trinity Column (night view)
Romanesque Bishop’s Palace
St. Wenceslas Cathedral
St. Wenceslas Cathedral Presbytery
Chapel of St. John Sarkander
Hotel and Restaurant V Ráji

Meeting of interested people will be at 2:50pm in front of the Art Centre of Palacky University (i.e. conference location) or at 3:00pm in front of the Town Hall main entrance (see the map), where our tour starts. We will know about the history of Olomouc and its churches, chapels and palaces, including the Holy Trinity Column, which is the largest collection of Baroque statues within the framework of one sculptural group in Central Europe. The Holy Trinity Column is a monument of world renown and was registered onto the UNESCO List of World Cultural Heritage in 2000. The walk will finish at the Olomouc Archdiocesan Museum.

The Olomouc Archdiocesan Museum seeing (5:00pm–6:00pm)

Olomouc Archdiocesan Museum was established in 1998 as part of the Olomouc Museum of Art. It consists of the first museum of its type in the history of the Czech Lands. It includes the Romanesque Palace of the Moravian Bishops next to St. Wenceslas Cathedral at the Olomouc Přemyslid Castle. As of the year 1999 the northern part of the former Castle was gradually reconstructed for the needs of the Museum, the building of the chapter deanery and its husbandry yard.

Relaxation in the St. Wenceslas Cathedral within tones of organ (6:00pm)

The St. Wenceslas Cathedral towers are indelibly linked with the panorama of the town. The southern tower, exactly 100.65 metres in height, is actually the highest church spire in Moravia (and the second highest in the Czech Republic). The three-aisled hall of the church comes from the original medieval layout. The Gothic pillars of this hall come from the 13th century. A presbytery with dimensions of 35 × 23 was originally created as an early Baroque part of the building. At the end of the 19th century, this presbytery, together with all the interiors and exteriors, was rebuilt in the Neo-Gothic style. Two staircases lead from the presbytery down into a crypt. On the south side of the church, there is the entrance to the St. Stanislaus Chapel. Tombstones from the 16th and 17th century are situated on each side of this entrance. By one of the pillars is a Neo-Gothic altar with a reliquary with the relics of St. John Sarkander, who was canonised by Pope John Paul II in 1995. The cathedral’s organ is one of the finest Romantic period instruments in the Czech Republic.

Dinner/Banquet in the restaurant “V Ráji” (7:00pm)

The hotel and restaurant “V Ráji” is located in the city centre near the conference location. It is a well-known restaurant to provide a top quality gastronomic services in a pleasant enjoyable atmosphere (“V Ráji” translates to English as “In Paradise”).