To Glory and Praise

The Archdiocesan Museum Olomouc was founded in 1998 as a joint project of the Roman Catholic Church and the Czech state with the aim of establishing a professional expert institution that would research, preserve, and present monuments of spiritual artistic culture of ecclesiastical origin from the historical territory of the Olomouc Archdiocese. Based on this agreement, extensive cooperation was soon developed between the Olomouc Archdiocese and the Metropolitan Chapter at St. Wenceslas in Olomouc, which provided the new museum with the historical building of the Olomouc capitular deanery, and the Olomouc Museum of Art, which took over the care of the monument's reconstruction and professional administration. After a demanding reconstruction, the museum was ceremonially opened to the public on June 1, 2006.

The establishment of the Archdiocesan Museum is significantly related to the historic visit of John Paul II to Olomouc in 1995, when the Pope repeatedly called for its foundation. The idea of an archdiocesan museum is led not only by the continuity of spiritual tradition, reaching back to the Great Moravian period, but also by the uninterrupted line of artistic collecting and enlightened support of artistic culture by the Olomouc bishops and archbishops.

The location of the museum in the district of the former Olomouc Přemyslid Castle on Svatováclavský návrší (St. Wenceslas Hill) fully corresponds to both the historical significance and the spiritual character of the place, which has been the seat of the episcopal church of the Moravian metropolitans since 1141. Thanks to this fact, in 2015, the Archdiocesan Museum Olomouc was awarded the prestigious "European Heritage Label," which ranked it among the monuments referring to the historical and spiritual roots of Europe.

Currently, the museum offers visitors two permanent exhibitions and a rich exhibition, cultural, and educational program. The museum presents a selection of the most valuable and significant preserved artistic wealth of the Olomouc Archdiocese in the permanent exhibition "To Glory and Praise. A Thousand Years of Spiritual Culture in Moravia." The history of the museum complex and its immediate surroundings from the oldest prehistoric settlement to the present is the subject of the second permanent exhibition "You are here. Svatováclavský návrší through the centuries."

TICKETS

PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS OF THE ARCHDIOCESAN MUSEUM in season including Zdík Palace

ARCHDIOCESAN MUSEUM

ARCHDIOCESAN MUSEUM, MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

Audio guide in the Archdiocesan Museum Olomouc

Exhibition circuits:

The permanent exhibition is located in the representative premises of the former residence of the Olomouc capitular deans. It contains a selection of more than two hundred exhibits across art forms that are linked by their origin or provenance to the Olomouc Archdiocese. The installation in chronological order covers the period from the Middle Ages to the fading of Baroque culture in Moravia. Separate attention is paid to the collecting and artistic patronage of the Olomouc bishops and archbishops, the importance of the Olomouc chapter, and the most valuable liturgical objects made of precious metals and textiles. An integral part of the tour route is also the Romanesque palace of Bishop Jindřich Zdík and the Gothic cloister with the Chapel of St. John the Baptist.

Monstrance Golden Sun of Moravia, around 1650

CARRIAGE HOUSE

The exhibition of the Archdiocesan Museum opens in the former carriage house of the capitular deanery with the theme of the magnificent Baroque triumphal entries of the Olomouc bishops and archbishops into the city. Their most magnificent reminder is the exhibited ceremonial carriage of Olomouc Bishop Ferdinand Julius Troyer (1745–1758).

TREASURY I

The strongroom presents a selection of the most valuable artistic craft works made of precious metals from the Olomouc Archdiocese, covering the stylistic periods of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque.

ROMANESQUE AND EARLY GOTHIC ART

The Romanesque Zdík Palace from the 12th century

The axis of the exhibition is the personality of Olomouc Bishop Jindřich Zdík (1126–1150) and the wide spectrum of artistic activities he influenced. The selection of other sculptural monuments from Velehrad and Olomouc Cathedral documents the beginnings and spread of the Gothic style in Moravia.

ART OF HIGH AND LATE GOTHIC

The period of the 14th and early 15th centuries is represented by exceptionally high-quality works, which focus primarily on unique examples of beautiful style sculpture. The stylistic phase of late Gothic and early Renaissance is represented mainly by sculptural works, demonstrating the early influence of Dutch realism.

TREASURY II

The second treasury of the Archdiocesan Museum presents liturgical objects and vestments used in Christian worship. In addition to the undeniable artistic qualities and historical value of the exhibited works, our attention is primarily focused on their symbolic meaning and liturgical function.

Sebastiano del Piombo: Madonna with a Veil. Olomouc Archdiocesan Museum Picture Gallery. Photo: MUO – Markéta Lehečková

PICTURE GALLERY OF OLOMOUC BISHOPS AND ARCHBISHOPS

The beginnings of systematic artistic collecting by Olomouc bishops and archbishops date back to the second half of the 17th century. Part of their picture gallery presents the most important works of Italian, Dutch, and Central European origin.

IVORY CABINET

A large collection of ivory art objects was gathered by Olomouc Archbishop Leopold Prečan (1923–1947). In addition to French and German works from the 19th century and a rich collection of Oriental carvings, European medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque works are also represented here.

ARTISTIC PATRONAGE OF OLOMOUC CANONS

The Olomouc Chapter of St. Wenceslas, founded by Bishop Jindřich Zdík in 1141, is one of the oldest chapters in Moravia. Through their cultural and artistic patronage, the canons did not differ from the secular aristocracy. Among their significant cultural activities were collecting and patronage of sacred art.

BAROQUE ART

Artistic and cultural activity in the spiritual environment of Moravia in the 17th and 18th centuries was shaped by influences from Italy, the Danube region, neighboring Bohemia, and Silesia. The exhibition of Baroque art, located in the south wing of the former capitular deanery, presents the specific character of Olomouc Baroque.

MUSIC IN THE OLOMOUC ARCHDIOCESE

The exhibition presents some significant personalities of musical culture associated with the court of Olomouc bishops and archbishops.

production team

SCENARIO AND LIBRETTO | Gabriela Elbelová, Jana Hrbáčová, Helena Zápalková

EXPERT CONSULTANTS | Ladislav Daniel, Ivo Hlobil, Milan Togner, Pavel Zatloukal

EXHIBITION CURATORS | Gabriela Elbelová, Jana Hrbáčová, Helena Zápalková

COLLABORATION | Simona Jemelková, Martina Potůčková, Tomáš Lampar, Leoš Mlčák, Marta Perůtková

ARCHITECTURAL SOLUTION | HŠH architekti

GRAPHIC SOLUTION | Petr Šmalec

RESTORATION WORK | Romana Balcarová, Renata Bartoňová, Tatjana Bayerová, Petr Berger, Tomáš Berger, Vlastimil Berger, Alena Bergerová, Šárka Bergerová, Lukáš Bureš, Magdalena Černá, Marie Dočekalová, Petr Douda, Marie Foltýnová, Věra Frömlová, Katarína Gregorová, Mojmír Hamsík, Radana Hamsíková, Ivan Houska, Zdeněk Juppe, Ludmila Kaprasová, Marie Karenová, Radomil Klouza, Hana Kohlová, Miloslav Kubík, Jiří Látal, Vendula Látalová, Zdeňka Němcová, Václav Němec, Alois Póč, Dalibor Sedlák, Radomír Surma, Anna Svetková, František Sysel, Andrej Šumbera, Miroslava Trizuljaková, Václav Vondráček, Ladislav Vyskočil, Ladislav Werkmann, Radka Zahradníková, Ondřej Žák

INSTALLATION | Jan Kutra, Tomáš Lampar, Vlastimil Sedláček, Filip Šindelář, Ondřej Žák

Lenders:

Archdiocese of Olomouc, Benedictine Abbey of Rajhrad, Royal Canons Regular of Premontre at Strahov, City of Miroslav, Metropolitan Chapter at St. Wenceslas in Olomouc, Comenius Museum in Přerov, Brno City Museum, National Heritage Institute – regional expert workplace in Olomouc, Municipality of Lutín, Roman Catholic spiritual administration at the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Snow Olomouc, Roman Catholic parishes: Boršice u Buchlovic, Březová nad Svitavou, Dobromilice, Dolany u Olomouce, Hněvotín, Hnojice, Hodslavice, Cholina, Jesenec, Jevíčko, Kopřivnice, Kostelec na Hané, St. Maurice Kroměříž, Křenovice u Slavkova, Litovel, Mohelnice, Moravičany, Moravská Huzová, St. Michael Olomouc, St. Maurice Olomouc, St. Wenceslas Olomouc, Ostrava-Zábřeh, Přemyslovice, Exaltation of the Holy Cross Prostějov, Rajnochovice, Rokytnice u Přerova, Slatinice u Olomouce, Staré Město pod Sněžníkem, Štěpánov u Olomouce, Šternberk, Tovačov, Uničov, Úsov, Velehrad, Zábřeh, Silesian Provincial Museum in Opava, Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, Regional Museum in Olomouc and private collectors.

THE ARCHDIOCESAN MUSEUM OLOMOUC IS A HOLDER OF...