Palacký University
Palacký University, Olomouc was re-established by the Act of the Interim National Assembly, passed on February 21, 1946. It followed up with the tradition of the old Olomouc university, which was established in 1573 and closed in 1860. Therefore the Olomouc University can justly be considered the second oldest university in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia.
At present the Palacký University, Olomouc is formed by eight faculties: St. Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology, Faculty of Medicine, Philosophical Faculty, Pedagogical Faculty, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Physical Culture, Faculty of Law and Faculty of Health Sciences.
Approximate number of students is 21 000.
Olomouc
The city of Olomouc is one of the oldest cities in Moravia, the eastern part of the Czech Republic, and capital of the region of Central Moravia. This region is bordered by Drahanská vrchovina (highlands), Nízký Jeseník (mountains) and Oderské Vrchy (mountains). The region is famous for its agriculture, industry and beautiful countryside, as well as its historical and cultural traditions. The city itself dates back to the ninth century, when it was a power-centre of the Great Moravian Empire, an early Slavonic state. A century later it became the main political, ecclesiastical and trade centre in Moravia within the Pøemyslid Czech state. The Olomouc bishopric was founded here in 1063. The royal town itself was founded around 1250 and developed in close proximity to the seat of the bishopric and the castle. Olomouc was the capital of Moravia until the late Middle Ages, when the land diets were held alternately in Olomouc and Brno. After 1642, when Olomouc was occupied by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years’ War, the administration definitively moved to Brno. Olomouc, however, still remained an ecclesiastical, cultural and military centre until the nineteenth century. The bishopric was raised to an archbishopric in 1777.
Today Olomouc has more than 100 000 inhabitants and due to its long and important history it is one of the most beautiful cities in the Czech Republic. It is the second largest urban preservation area in the country (after Prague) and is rich in architectural monuments of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles, of which the Pøemyslid palace and several of the Olomouc churches are the most spectacular. The neo–Gothic cathedral of St Wenceslas is the seat of the archbishop and the city’s most important church. The Holy Trinity Column in the main square is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Below the ring of the bulwarks surrounding the city centre arose an almost continuous belt of parks, which now separates the ancient town quarters from the recent residential and industrial quarters.
In close proximity to the city, the Baroque church and abbey of Svatý Kopeček (The Holy Hill) dominates the countryside from the top of a small hill. In addition to being an internationally notable pilgrimage site, it is a popular recreation area for the people of Olomouc, offering many hiking trails as well as a first–class zoo.
František Palacký (1798–1876)
František Palacký, whose name Palacký University bears, was first of all the most influential Czech historian of the nineteenth century. His History of the Czechs in Bohemia and Moravia became, for a long time, the standard work about the Czech Middle Ages. Apart from his historical research, he actively participated in the Czech social and political life of the mid-nineteenth century. He represented political Austro-Slavism and federalism, which was a goal of Czech politicians, but was never realised. To honour the achievements of František Palacký and his contribution to Czech culture, the university in Olomouc was named after him in 1946.
