Olomouc Town Hall and astronomical clock

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Olomouc

The Town Hall is a four-winged building with an inner courtyard in the middle. The bay window of the Gothic chapel of St. Jerome rises from the southern façade. Inside, a number of original vaulted rooms have been preserved, including the ceremonial hall.

As one of the few town halls in the Czech Republic, it still serves its purpose - as the seat of the municipal officials - to this day.

The Olomouc astronomical clock is set into the northern facade of the town hall. The present-day form of the astronomical clock dates from the 1950s and is an interesting proof of the propaganda role of the official art of that time. It is an example of a work of socialist realism. The mosaic decoration consists of medallions on the sides of the niche, depicting the works characteristic of each month of the year, and a calendar listing the dates of events considered significant by the communist propaganda of the time. Karel Svolinský, the author of the design, applied the folkloric motif of the ride of the kings at the top of the niche. The first written mention of the original astronomical clock dates back to 1519. The clock has been rebuilt several times throughout its history and equipped with various types of moving puppets. The most artistically valuable was probably the Baroque adaptation designed by the painter Jan Kryštof Handke. The oldest parts of today's astronomical clock date back to 1898, when the clock was equipped with a heliocentric dial. The clock was damaged by the events of World War II and completely rebuilt in 1947-1955 by Karel Svolinský.

In the Town Hall there are exhibitions on the history of the town, the astronomical clock and the town hall. All exhibitions are freely accessible during the office hours of the City Hall and during the "Olomouc in a nutshell with a guide" tours connected with the climb up the City Hall tower.

Olomouc is a beautiful city, so don't miss other attractive places with interesting history in its centre.