In her Guide to Olomouc, Anthea Gerrie follows Mozart, Mahler and Freud to this exquisite hidden gem of the Czech Republic.
With its off-the-radar location and near unpronounceable name, Olomouc is a hidden jewel waiting for everyone but the Czechs and their culture-loving neighbours who already know the secret to discover for themselves. For a city so unsung outside its homeland, Olomouc amazes with beautiful old town architecture, massive monuments which dazzled famous residents Mozart, Mahler and Freud, jaw-droppingly ornate churches and, fast-forwarding to the 21st century, some of the best street art and finest food to be had in all of the Czech Republic.
Olomouc (pronounce it Olomoats) is the country’s sixth-largest city, but it feels tiny. Perhaps because its centre is so compact and easy to explore – most trams from the austerely beautiful art deco railway station land you in the heart of the old town in less than 10 minutes.
Alight at the brand-new shopping centre, walk past the provocative new cross-on-a-throne installation demanding to know what the Pope has done for the local population, turn the corner into an elegant old street with a row of very modern mesh manta rays swimming above your head – more very classy street art – and catch your first, breathtaking glimpse of the Holy Trinity Monument which has won Olomouc World Heritage Site status.
Guides say the UNESCO designation is really for all the monuments dotting the huge expanse of Upper Square and even more magnificent Lower Square, into which it segues. Built over nearly 40 years between 1716 and 1754, the 32-metre-tall column would have dazzled the young Mozart who arrived in 1767 with his family to escape the smallpox epidemic in nearby Vienna and stayed long enough to complete his Symphony no. 6 in F major.
Mozart was not the only great composer associated with this beautiful and cultured city; Gustav Mahler came in 1883 to spend a season as director of the city theatre. He was a frequent visitor to Villa Primavesi, a jewel of a family home hidden behind the central squares which can be visited by appointment. Vienna-lovers will immediately recognise the Secession style of Josef Hoffman, who furnished it, and the many Klimts, including portraits of the lady and daughter of the house, hung to replicate the originals banker Primavesi had to sell as his business fell into decline a century ago. As lovely as the interiors are the fabulous mosaic-ceilinged entry the Primavesi children helped create themselves.
From the outside, it’s Olomouc’s cathedral which impresses, uncannily channelling Notre Dame, but from the inside, baroque St. Michael’s takes the cake with its wealth of marble and rococo – and the Parish Church is almost as grand in its own right. Don’t miss the 15th century town hall, whose astronomical clock got a striking Social Realist makeover in the 1950s. Now it’s moving figures parading at noon are not apostles but workers and peasants, reflecting Olomouc’s 40 years under Communist rule.
Punctuate a day’s sightseeing with an excellent rustic Moravian lunch at Bistro No. 66 in the heart of the old town – but come early and leave room for dinner. It’s Entree which draws many of today’s visitors from all over the Czech Republic and as far as Vienna for fine dining and elegant modern decor in an unlikely outlying lovsyionp near the bus station.
Chef Premek Forejt honed his skills at the late Michelin-starred L’Autre Pied in London before returning home to do his own very delicious thing – allow a good couple of hours to enjoy one of three multi-course tasting menus. This is a good place to taste finer Czech wines from Moravia, the country’s vineyard and the region of which Olomouc was once the capital.
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Save money to splurge on dinner with a room at the affordable but comfortable Clarion Congress Hotel opposite the station; its location can’t be beat for trams in one direction to the old town and in the other to Entree. The latter is in the same building as the eye-popping Theatre Hotel, which would be a more upscale accommodation choice offering a spa and casino, albeit slightly off the beaten track.
Olomouc is easily reached from Prague and Brno, second city of the Czech Republic, by train. More information at Czech Trains and Czech Tourism.
easyJet serves Prague from London and several other UK cities from £20 each way.
