"Incognito in Olomouc" Olomouc by CatherineReichardt

Olomouc Travel Guide: 253 reviews and 842 photos

I escaped to Olomouc in an attempt to avoid conversation.

I had been at a conference in Karlovy Vary the previous week, and had spent a long weekend in Prague prior to that, where I had caught up with my parents and brother and rendezvoused with my oldest schoolfriend for the first time in over 20 years. By this point, I was all talked out (people who know me well would be staggered at the mere suggestion that this was possible!) and so I chose a destination which I had never heard of and where I knew nobody.

I liked Olomouc even before I got there - for a start, its pronounciation ('Oh-la-mootz') is unexpected, and simply added to its appeal. As soon as I boarded the train, I slipped into neutral gear and let my mind wander as Renoir cornfields studded with bright red poppies slipped peacefully by. And then, despite my best intentions, I got drawn into an amicable exchange with a delightful elderly Polish couple who were returning over the border to meet their grandchild for the first time which involved much smiling, gesticulation and broken German - so much for avoiding conversation!

Olomouc is a university town in Moravia and the Czech Republic's fourth biggest city - more importantly it offers the bonus of not seeming to feature significantly on the well-trodden Czech tourist trail. After the wall-to-wall tourists of Prague, it is a relief to arrive somewhere in which you feel inconspicuous and it's easy to blend into this pleasantly attractive town. It's a good place just to 'be' and to watch people getting on with their lives - one of my favourite activities, especially when it involves establishing myself in an al fresco cafe on a Saturday morning and watching impossibly young-looking girls with Big Hair and lads in shiny suits emerging from the Town Hall as man and wife!

If you feel more active, there are lots of tourist attractions in Olomouc to keep you gainfully occupied, from the hulking and truly monstrous Holy Trinity plague column to the much more aesthetically pleasing Wencelas Cathedral and the archdiocese museum in Olomouc Castle. However, for me the biggest drawcard by far is the 15th century astronomical clock which was redesigned in the socialist-realist style in the 1950s and is one of the most bizarre pieces of political propaganda that you're ever likely to come across - absolutely riviting, and (at least to my mind) worth visiting Olomouc for just by itself!

I should mention that the reason that Olomouc first appeared on my radar was because I read that it was the nearest big town to Moravsky Krumlov, the village in which the artist Alphonse Mucha's Slavic Epic is displayed. I fell in love with Mucha's gorgeously romantic Art Deco artwork when I first visited Prague in the early 90s (see my travel tip on the Mucha Museum in Prague), and the prospect of viewing this monumental patriotic opus was thrilling. By the sounds of it, the Epic is indeed epic, and the culmination of Mucha's life's work: a cycle of 20 enormous paintings depicting the history of the Czech and Slav people. This work was donated to the city of Prague in 1928, but spent 25 years rolled up because there wasn't a suitable space for its display (a condition of Mucha's donation) and it has been displayed in this relative backwater for nearly 40 years.

As it turned out, getting to Moravsky Krumlov turned out to be just a little too hard for someone who was by now thoroughly enjoying cruising in low gear, and I didn't feel so bad about this when I discovered that the Epic was due to be transferred to Prague in 2010 (a city I tend to pass through from time to time). However I see that there is currently a legal battle over the ownership of the Epic and the conditions of transfer/display, so it looks like I may just have to have another go at getting to Moravsky Krumlov - if you get there before me, let me know what it's like!

Pros and Cons

Pros:Small, neat, unpretentious and comfortably accessible
Cons:A touch too much baroque for my tastes! ;)
In a nutshell:The ideal antidote to Prague's tourist hoards!

Last visit to Olomouc: Jun 2008
Intro Updated Oct 18, 2010
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Reviews (9)

Glazed pottery figures from Olomouc - Olomouc

Pottery figures for the Christmas tree Shopping (1)

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The Baroque excess of the Holy Trinity... Things to Do (6)

Call me macabre, but I have a huge interest in the plague epidemics which ravaged Europe in the Middle Ages and the way... more travel advice

Olomouc's beguiling streetscapes Things to Do (6)

Olomouc is a rewarding place to amble around aimlessly because it's such a neat and pretty place. Unlike Prague, most of... more travel advice

Warnings and Dangers (1)
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Comments (9)

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balhannah Sep 25, 2012 at 9:50 PM

I would put those pottery figures on my xmas tree too...thought they are rather nice!
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CatherineReichardt Sep 27, 2011 at 3:38 AM

Indeed Santi - but we have a noble obligation to try our best!
Regards from a very warm Paris!
Cathy
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Redang Sep 27, 2011 at 3:09 AM

Mm, too many places in CR, too little time to vist them all
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GentleSpirit Aug 30, 2011 at 7:33 AM

Hi cathy. You did a nice job of telling why you wanted to go to olomouc and what you thought of it in terms of the vibe rather than just what you saw. especially enjoyed the page about the socialist clock. The moravsky krumlov tip is entirely new, had never heard that before. will keep it just in case i have time and my gears are on high:)
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slothtraveller Jun 14, 2011 at 3:28 AM

Wonderful Olomouc page, Cathy! I wish I had mainly good experiences in railway stations. For me, they normally mean delays and infuriation!
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willy_wonka Jun 14, 2011 at 12:57 AM

it looked like you succeeded in finding a place where you could avoid conversation - it seems alot more quieter in the photos then some of the other czech pages on vt ive been exploring today! nice page cathy!
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ettiewyn Mar 28, 2011 at 5:51 AM

Haha, this always happens to me: Just when I really want to be on my own, people start chatting to me and then they are always really nice people so that I can't refuse talking to them! Aaargh! Nice page on a town that seems great for a visit :-)
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HORSCHECK Jan 8, 2011 at 3:41 AM

Great little page with outstanding photos of Olomouc, which is still on my must visit list. The Penzion Na Hradbach really seems to be a good find.
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Gili_S Nov 5, 2010 at 7:52 PM

Nice tips & photos, was good choice to escape to Olomouc, I did the same, but I still cannot pronounce it :)