Things to Do in Olomouc, Czech Republic: Walking Guide

Olomouc is a historic Moravian city in the Czech Republic known for its towering cathedral, UNESCO‑listed Holy Trinity Column, and a lively student atmosphere that blends medieval charm with modern cafés. Visitors can wander compact squares filled with Baroque fountains, explore centuries‑old churches, and enjoy a relaxed pace far from the crowds of Prague. Neywo offers a free audio guide for Olomouc with 93 narrated places, letting you hear the story of each site as you walk.

Explore Olomouc’s highlights

Saint Wenceslas Cathedral

The cathedral serves as the home of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olomouc and the metropolitan cathedral of the Moravian church province. Its origins trace back to a Romanesque basilica built in the first half of the 12th century, later transformed into a Romanesque‑Gothic style in the early 13th century and further altered during the Gothic period of the 13th‑14th centuries. The main tower reaches 100.65 metres, making it the second‑highest church tower in the Czech Republic and the tallest in Moravia. Inside, the nave features cross vaults from the Gothic rebuilding, while an early Baroque presbytery was added at the start of the 16th century. A Neo‑Gothic remodelling at the end of the 19th century gave the building its present appearance while preserving visible layers of its Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque past.

Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc

Rising from Horní náměstí (Upper Square), the Holy Trinity Column is a Baroque monument about 32 metres high, the tallest sculptural group in the Czech Republic. Constructed between 1716 and 1754, it was erected to honour God, the Catholic Church and the Christian faith, partly as gratitude for the end of the plague that struck Moravia between 1714 and 1716. A small chapel is housed within the column, and all artists and craftsmen involved were citizens of Olomouc, with many of the depicted saints linked to the city. The column stands in the historic heart of Olomouc, within the urban heritage reserve, beside the Renaissance town hall and its astronomical clock. Upper Square also hosts social, cultural and market events such as European Heritage Days and Christmas markets.

Church of Saint Maurice

This Gothic church is notable for its two unequal towers. It has been Olomouc’s principal city church since the Middle Ages and can accommodate around four thousand worshippers; it has been a National Cultural Monument of the Czech Republic since 1995. The current building was erected between 1412 and 1540 after repeated fires destroyed earlier structures, replacing a church whose origins reach back to an 11th‑century Romanesque rotunda. The first written mention of Saint Maurice dates from 1257. The older, rectangular southern tower likely survives from the earlier church, while the lower northern tower shows early Renaissance characteristics. Inside, the three‑nave hall contains six bays per nave, ribbed vaulting and external buttresses. A chapel dedicated to V. Edelmann was added to the northern nave in 1574, and Baroque additions followed the city fire of 1709, including a porch built in 1723.

Basilica of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary

Located on Svatý Kopeček (Saint Hill), this grand Baroque pilgrimage church dominates the Olomouc area. Built by the Premonstratensians between 1669 and 1679, it was consecrated on 1 October 1679 by Bishop Karel II of Liechtenstein Castelcorn. The original design is attributed to the Italian architect Giovanni Pietro Tencalla. Between 1721 and 1732 the interior was renewed by the Italian sculptor and stucco artist Baldassare Fontana. In 1714 the Italian architect Domenico Martinelli added a side building for representative and residential purposes.

Church of Our Lady of the Snows

Also known as Panny Marie Sněžné, this Baroque church stands on Republic Square beside the former Minorite monastery. Its richly sculpted façade is arranged in five sections and framed by two towers that form an important part of Olomouc’s city panorama. Inside, the space exemplifies the Baroque concept of bel composto, where architecture and the complete artistic design of the interior form a unified composition. The church is listed among the Czech Republic’s immovable cultural monuments.

Olomouc Castle

Referred to as the Přemyslovský palác, the castle complex grew from an original Great Moravian fortified settlement and became one of the most important castle sites in Czechia. It is first mentioned in the Chronica Boerorum of 1055. Olomouc once possessed an old and a new castle; the newer castle stood on nearby Michael’s Hill, approximately where the Faculty of Arts building of Palacký University now stands. A dramatic event occurred on 4 August 1306 when Wenceslaus III of Bohemia was murdered here, ending the Přemyslid dynasty. Within the complex lies Zdíkův palác (Zdík’s Palace), a surviving fragment of a Romanesque building commissioned by Bishop Jindřich Zdík in the late 1130s; its western and southern walls together with the eastern wing preserve some of the finest examples of Romanesque residential architecture. The palace now forms part of the visitor route of the Olomouc Archdiocesan Museum.

Church of Saint Catherine

Also called Saint Catherine of Alexandria, this Gothic church is part of the Ursuline monastery complex on Kateřinská Street. It is a single‑nave building protected as an immovable cultural monument of the Czech Republic and notably lacks a tower, preserving an unusual two‑nave, two‑storey entrance porch. The Gothic western portal dates from around 1400. During the Renaissance the entrance received richly carved doors, and a Baroque heraldic cartouche belonging to Count Albert Bedřich Vetter was later placed above it. The church and its Dominican convent were already recorded in 1287; after 1362 the building was probably rebuilt by a workshop linked to the Olomouc bishops, with the rib‑vaulted chancel belonging to that period and stone window elements suggesting work continued into the late 14th and early 15th centuries.

Arcidiecézní muzeum (Chapel of Saint Anne)

Situated beside the northwestern corner of Saint Wenceslas Cathedral within the Olomouc Castle complex, this small church is formally a rectoral church. Its core is an early Gothic structure built shortly after 1268, originally dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. The chapel is first mentioned in written records in 1349. Between 1306 and 1349 it was rebuilt to house a valuable reliquary containing the arm of Saint Anne, which the Olomouc chapter received after King Wenceslaus III was murdered in the neighbouring deanery complex. From the second half of the 17th century the chapel became the place where Olomouc bishops and archbishops were elected, reflecting an older privilege of the chapter.

Kaple Panny Marie Opatrovnice

Located at the corner of Dómská Street and Václavské náměstí on the former castle grounds, this modest chapel was built in 1860 by architect Franz Kottas. Its neo‑Romanesque rectangular plan is set at a 45‑degree angle into the wall of the adjoining property. A decorative wrought‑iron grille reveals a small interior containing an altar; at its centre stands a plaster copy of a valuable 15th‑century Gothic relief showing the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, two angels above, and figures gathered beneath her outspread mantle seeking protection. On one side of the relief are clergy (pope, cardinal, bishop, monks, nuns); on the other are secular figures (emperor, empress, king, nobleman, townsman). The two niches beside the relief were originally intended for Gothic statues of Saint Peter and Saint Paul; the relief is a copy because the original, together with those statues, is lost.

Villa Primavesi

Found on Univerzitní Street, Villa Primavesi is regarded as one of the most valuable examples of Viennese Secession in Central Europe. Built for the Primavesi family between 1905 and 1906, it has been a national cultural monument of the Czech Republic since 2010. The design blends Viennese Secession, English influences and noticeable echoes of Prague Baroque, giving the building a multi‑part form with a mansard roof and a varied silhouette. Inside, the large entrance hall features an impressive wooden staircase. The family’s wealth and artistic interests shaped the rest of the property, with works by artists such as Gustav Klimt and Anton Hanak; some of Hanak’s chairs and stained‑glass windows have survived. The villa was partly remodelled in 1916‑1917 by Josef Hoffmann, passed through several hands after the Primavesi left for Vienna, was nationalized by the Czechoslovak state in 1948, and returned to the family’s descendants in 1992.

Maria column in Olomouc

Known as the Mariánský sloup, this Baroque plague column stands on Dolní náměstí (Lower Square) with a statue of the Immaculate Virgin Mary at its summit. It was created as an expression of gratitude from Olomouc’s citizens after the plague epidemic that affected Moravia between 1714 and 1716; construction lasted from 1715 to 1723. The column was damaged during the Prussian siege of Olomouc in 1758, and the statue of Saint Sebastian was later replaced. Repairs carried out between 1985 and 1992 replaced the column shaft with a copy.

Fort Science

Locally called Pevnost poznání, Fort Science is an interactive museum that makes science accessible and engaging. It forms part of the Korunní pevnůstka complex in Olomouc and also serves as a visitor centre for Palacký University. The museum occupies a 19th‑century artillery arsenal known as Velké dělostřelecké skladiště, linking the modern science centre to the former fortification surroundings. Its four permanent exhibitions contain more than two hundred models and devices designed for hands‑on exploration of how science works. Fort Science opened to the public on 17 April 2015 during the Academia Film Olomouc festival and has been a member of the Czech Association of Science Centres since its foundation. A digital planetarium is one of its main attractions, and the venue also hosts programmes and events in its multifunctional Laudon Hall, exhibition rooms, foyer and outdoor areas.

Salmův palác

This prominent corner building on Horní náměstí (Upper Square) occupies the meeting point of two commercial streets and is one of the largest and most important palace structures in Olomouc’s historic urban conservation area. It took its definitive form at the end of the 18th century and is listed as a protected cultural monument, preserving its place among the city’s historic buildings.

Railway Museum (Olomouc)

Situated near Olomouc hlavní nádraží in the Hodolany district, the Railway Museum (also known as ČD Muzeum or the Olomouc ČD Depot) offers a close look at historic trains in a former locomotive shed near the entrance to the Hodolany railway underpass. Its location beside the main station connects the exhibits with the surrounding railway environment.

Monastery of Poor Clares and Church of St. Clare

Now housing the Regional Museum in Olomouc, this complex on Republic Square was originally a Gothic Clarisse monastery that was rebuilt in the Baroque style during the second half of the 18th century. After its dissolution in 1782 by a decree of Emperor Joseph II, the buildings served various purposes, and since 1951 they have been the main home of the Regional Museum. The setting extends toward the former city walls, providing a remarkable backdrop for the museum’s collections on local history and nature.

Explore with Neywo

Neywo’s free audio guide for Olomouc includes 5 walking tours, 1 bus route and 1 bike route, each with narrated stops that play automatically as you reach them.

• Gods, Fountains and Plague Columns: Olomouc’s Baroque Squares – 1.18 km, 94 minutes, 12 stops
• Castle Hill: Bishops, Princes and a Murder That Ended a Dynasty – 1.23 km, 92 minutes, 11 stops
• Domes, Gates and Secession: Olomouc’s Southern Old Town – 1.30 km, 75 minutes, 10 stops
• Red Church, Libraries and Stages: Western Olomouc – 1.64 km, 68 minutes, 9 stops
• East of the Centre: Evangelical Church, Orthodox Cathedral and Hradisko – 1.45 km, 41 minutes, 4 stops
• Bus 20: From the Baptist Church to the Eastern Churches – 3.6 km, 15 minutes, 6 stops
• Bezručovy sady: Villa, Fort and Castle Hill by Bike – 0.9 km, 4 minutes, 4 stops

The app tells the story of each place at your own pace, with no group and no schedule, and narration is available in 11 languages. Download Neywo to enjoy these guided walks, bus and bike routes while you discover Olomouc’s fountains, churches, castles and hidden corners.

For more ideas on where to go next, you might consider a trip to nearby Prague, the historic town of Kutná Hora, or the picturesque city of Liberec. If you’re interested in exploring further afield in the Czech Republic, the country page offers an overview of all destinations.