Katedrála svatého Václava v Olomouci Church

St. Wenceslas Cathedral is located on Wenceslas Square in Olomouci and serves as the home cathedral of the Olomouc Archdiocese. At the same time, it is the metropolitan dome of the Moravian Church Province. Since 1995 it has been one of the national cultural monuments of the Czech Republic.

It was originally a Romanesque basilica, which was consecrated by Bishop Jindřich Zděk in 1131. The beginning of the 12th century therefore represents the time of birth of this important building. But the following years have brought serious trials - fires in 1204 and 1266 have damaged the church considerably. After these disasters, Olomouc Bishop Bruno of Schauenburg had a costly reconstruction in the Gothic style completed by demanding sculptures. During the 13th and 14th centuries, the temple underwent further Gothic modifications, when the ship of the cathedral was encapsulated with crosses. Early Baroque presbytery was created in the early 16th century.

The cathedral is also linked to one of the major events of Czech history. On August 4, 1306, the Czech king Václav III., the last of the main line of the House of Přemyslívov, was murdered in the neighbouring house of the former dean. His remains were buried in the crypt of the church, but, in 1326, by order of his sister, Queen Elisa Přemysnánka, they carried them to the Weaponry monastery. In 1469, a part of the Czech and Moravian lords was declared a part of the cathedral for support of Hungarian king Matthias Korvin as Czech king.

Today's presbytery dates back to 1617-1618. In 1803, however, the lightning strike caused an extensive fire, in which all three towers in the facade burned. Their place was taken by a single central tower above a common ledge. The project of the new facade was developed by Jan Thalherr in the spirit of classicism. Radical reconstruction came in the last twenty years of the 19th century when Archbishop Bedřech of Fürstenberg had the temple rebuilt in a neo-gothic style according to the designs of Gustav Meretta and R. Völkel (1883-1892). Two front towers were built 68 metres high and three neo-gothic portals with tympanones. On the north side was the chapel of St. Cyril and Methodius, on the south side of the presbytery the current main tower of 100.65 meters high. The outer wall of the presbytery was reinforced by six pillars with gothic windows.

The tower is the second highest church tower in the Czech Republic after the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew in Pilsen and the highest neo-gothic tower in the country. In the tower hang the bell Václav, the biggest bell in Moravia and the second biggest bell in the Czech Republic. The general reconstruction of the cathedral took place in 1999-2008 and was divided into three stages. The cathedral was thoroughly restored as part of these rebuilding and new bells were placed in the towers in 2008. Today, the Cathedral belongs to the Czech Republic. Václav is one of the main landmarks of Olomouce and is undoubtedly one of the most important architectural works in Moravia.