Olomouc Landmarks

OLOMOUC was sufficiently developed in 1063 to become a bishopric.

Its city walls, much of which survive today, are said to have helped defeat a Mongol invasion in the mid-1200s, although many historians claim the incident was confused with a later battle against Hungarians.

The walls are still impressive

But the walls proved less successful in repelling Germans, and indeed the city's Germanic population largely supported the Nazis until the closing stages of WW2.

Olomouc's infrastructure largely survived the war, but the city's 15th-century astronomical clock was shot up by retreating German soldiers in 1945.

The clock was restored by the post-war communist government, but given a Socialist Realism makeover

Memorial to Soviet troops who died in fighting for the city