Botanic Gardens

The official seat of Olomouc bishops and archbishops. It was in this building on 2 December 1848, that Franz Joseph acceded to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Hapsburg Empire.

Museum of Modern Art is the pale grey Art Nouveau building across from the baroque Lady Mary of the Snows church. The permanent collection is okay, but the temporary exhibitions are often very interesting and well worth the entrance fee. There’s a small lookout tower at the top which is included in the entry price of the museum.

The museum is housed in the former Clarisian convent on Náměstí Republiky (Republic Square). There are the usual collection of rocks and artifacts, and an interesting exhibit of the flora and fauna of the region, but probably the best things to see are in the old Olomouc section; woodcuts and prints from previous centuries, weapons, armour, traditional dress and many of the original religious figures from older versions of the astronomical clock.

The church appears quite plain from the outside; however, the baroque interior is one of the most beautiful in Central Europe. One notable feature is a painting of an apparently pregnant Virgin Mary, quite rare in a Catholic church. It’s also possible to enter the old monastery attached to the side of the church and climb its bell tower.

A thousand-year-old cathedral, dominates the city’s skyline with the tallest spire in Moravia (second tallest in the Czech Republic). Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa both visited the cathedral and the holy relics of Saint Jan Sarkander are interred within.

The building has undergone a thorough restoration and now houses the extensive Archdiocese museum. The building is the oldest in Olomouc and much of the original stonework has been exposed. On the upper floors, the circular chapel of St Barbara is a highlight.