Olomouc

Olomouc (German, Olmütz), city in the east-central part of the Czech Republic, in the region of Severomoravský (North Moravia), on the Morava River, near Brno. The trade and industrial centre of the fertile Hana Region specializing in dairy farming and barley, Olomouc has ironworks and steelworks, breweries, and saltworks. Its products include smoked meats, malt, sugar, chocolate, confectionery, cement, and machinery.

Places of interest include the Palacký University (1576), the 12th-century St Wenceslaus Cathedral, a 13th-century town hall, an archbishop's palace, several well-known fountains, and several Baroque buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries. The early 18th-century Holy Trinity Column, decorated by the eminent Moravian sculptor Ondrej Zahner, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000. Olomouc is a historic Moravian settlement; founded in 1050, the city was the joint capital of Moravia with Brno until 1640 and the two alternated after that. In 1242 the Mongols were defeated here, and the city was devastated by the Swedes in 1642. Important treaties concerned with European boundary changes were signed in Olomouc in 1478 and 1850. Population 102,607 (2003 estimate).