Let me introduce myself. My name is Štefan Blaho jr.  From 1997  I work as a tour-guide of the Olomouc city.

I offer guided tours for both groups and individuals.

Guided tours offered are:

• classical for general public

• thematically oriented on architecture, Church, music, military tradition and so on for professional community

Guided tours:

• 2-hour tour
  The Holy Trinity Column,  the Town  Hall with astronomical clock, St. Michael’s Church, the former Jesuit College , the Church of St. Mary of the Snows, the Archbishop’s Palace, St. Wenceslas’ Cathedral, St. Maurice Church with Engler’s organ
   

• 3-hour tour
  The Holy Trinity Column, the Town  Hall with astronomical clock, +the Arion’s   Fountain, +Water Barracks,  + Theresian Gate, Hauenschild Palace, St. Michael’s Church, + Chapel of St. Jan Sarkander,  the former Jesuit College, the Church of St. Mary of the Snows, the Archbishop’s Palace, St. Wenceslas’ Cathedral, St. Maurice Church with Engler’s organ
   

• all-day tour
  tour of all the above mentioned monuments, + the Přemyslid Palace with unique Romanic windows, Town Hall, + Town Hall Chapel with ascent to the tower, + The Former Premonstratensian Monastery Hradisko, (1 km far from the centre), +The Basilica Minor of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary on Svatý Kopeček (Saint Hill), (8 km far from the centre)
   

• several-days tour
  + the Zoo  (more than 200 animal species and notable monkey safari, which you can see  only in Denmark), +botanical garden.  And surroundings + Nouzov, +Náměšť na Hané, +Helfštýn, +the Javoříčko and Mladeč Caves, +Kroměříž (UNESCO), +Slavkov (Austrelitz), +Lednice-Valtice (UNESCO) and other places.
  
   

At a special request I can arrange meals and accommodation for both groups and individuals.

According to your interests I offer guided tours also in other areas of the Czech Republic, especially in Moravia. I offer tours in these languages:

•  Czech

• English

• German

• Italian

• Polish

• Russian

 I can also offer high-quality tour-guide services in neighbouring states – Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. I can also offer you tours to Italy, where I studied for two years and which belongs among my most favourite countries.

I am a member of the Tour guide’s association of the Czech Republic.  I posses a license for tour-guiding, translating and interpreting.

Everything depends only on you and our individual agreement.

Olomouc

and what you maybe don’t know:

• The Holy Trinity Column is the biggest Baroque monumental sculpture group not only in the Czech Republic, but it doesn’t find comparison even in the other parts of Europe. For its uniqueness it was enlisted on the list of UNESCO.

• Regarding its historical development Olomouc is comparable only with the capital city Prague and thanks to the fact that till 1642 it was the capital of Moravia.  And it would have probably continued to be the capital even henceforward if it wasn’t for the 8-year  Swedish occupation and almost complete destruction during thirty-years war.

• After this year it was substituted by Brno in the function of the Moravian metropolis and Olomouc became only “the second city”, but it never lost its glance of the former  biggest city.  There are also some other ‘second cities’ which are, in their countries, considered more beautiful that the capitals. I have in mind the former capital cities of Poland, Krakow and of Russia St. Petersburg.

• Therefore you   probably would not be not surprised that Olomouc is the most monumental city in Moravia, which preserved its perfect ground plan of a medieval town. You also would not be surprised that Olomouc always competed with Prague.
  
   

• 16^th century      first Moravian University founded (Prague 14^th century)

• 15^th century      according to the myth the astrological clock was constructed, in the              - 16^th century      it was confirmed also in a written document (Prague 1490)

• 11^th century      presumed period of the first Jewish settlement in the town, which Means much earlier than in other towns ((Prague 10^th century)

• 11^th century the new Moravian bishopric  founded (Prague 10^th century)

• 11^th century First Olomouc monastery  built (Prague 10^th century)

• First in Moravia, but always second after Prague.  Here are some examples where Olomouc comes before Prague:

• Olomouc became an important centre already during the era of the Great Moravia  (9^th   century), it was inhabited by Slavs probably from the 6^th century

• finds of Germanic and Celtic settlement, this Olomouc has in common with Prague

• Maybe the people of Olomouc wanted to have a city founder more famous that the people of Prague’s legendary Libuše, and therefore, in the period of Renaissance, they invented a myth about alleged foundation of the town by Julius Caesar.  The town for sure was not neither built nor founded by this Roman Emperor, but still the historians will have to rewrite the historical books. A recently  discovered  Roman camp from the 2^nd century AD  is the most northward situated camp in the central Europe.
  
   

• Something to conclude with.  Olomouc is a city rich in music and Church tradition, and therefore it is by right called the Moravian Salzburg.
  
  
   

• Balduino (12^th century),  the first known Olomouc composer, he came from Rome

• J. Gallus Handl (16^th century), in Slovenian Petelin, Olomouc bandmaster, together with Orlando di Lasso, he is considered the most important Renaissance composer

• W. A. Mozart (1767), as only an eleven-year-old he composed here, during his stay by Leopold di Podstat-Lichtenstein, his symphony F-major named after Olomouc

• L. van Beethoven (1823), he composed his famous ‘Missa solemnis’ for the St. Wenceslas’ Cathedral. He dedicated it to his friend, Olomouc Archbishop and Austrian Duke Rudolf Johann,

• G. Mahler (1883), he worked as conductor in the local theater

• B. Smetana, A. Dvorak, L. Janacek, the best known Czech composers often stayed in the city

Not only music and Church tradition made the city famous.  Among the students of the Olomouc University were noted figures such as:

• A. Waldstein, better known in the German-speaking countries as Wallenstein (Schiller’s trilogy)

• J. M. Mendel, Moravian scientist and founder of genetics

The 18^th and 19^th century, when the whole Olomouc turned into one of the biggest baroque fortresses of Austria-Hungary, contributed to the fact that the city was visited voluntarily or involuntarily by many famous figures:

• J. M. Lafayette, French general and fighter for the independence of the USA, spent involuntarily 4 years in Olomouc prison

• J. V. Radecky/Radetzky, famous field marshal was the commander of the Olomouc fortress

• M. I. Kutuzov, legendary Russian commander, during Napoleonic Wars he negotiated with Austrian side in Olomouc Archbishop’s Palace

• J. A. Bakunin, Russian revolutionary and one of the founders of the Anarchist Movement was also imprisoned in Olomouc.

From the very beginnings Olomouc was visited by many kings and emperors. Here are a few of them:

• G. J. Caesar, according to the legend the founder of Olomouc, Latin city name is Juliamons,

• Wenceslas III, the last king of the Přemyslid dynasty was even assassinated near the Cathedral in 1306,

• Charles IV, Czech king and Roman Emperor, in his youth, when still a margrave, often spent some time here,

• Matthias Corvinus, the most famous Hungarian king was crowned Czech king in Olomouc,

• Jan III Sobiecky, Polish king known as a saver of Vienna from Turks, stayed here overnight, such as many other Poles, during his journeys to Austria or Italy,

• Maria Theresa, the only woman on Habsburg throne, she not only spent some time in Olomouc, but was also grateful to the city for the fact, that in 1758 the Prussian army of Friedrich II did not manage to seize Olomouc and that way indirectly saved also Vienna. A few years later Olomouc bishopric was promoted to archbishopric.

• Ferdinand I, Austrian Emperor abdicated in Olomouc Archbishop’s Palace.

• Francis Joseph I, was crowned Austrian Emperor in the same place. He  was only eighteen years old at the time and he reigned for incredible 67 years.

It was the revolutionary year 1848, which meant immense changes for the whole Europe. Nothing would be the same as before.  The Court of Vienna flees to Olomouc  and the city unofficially becomes the capital of Habsburg monarchy.  And it is also the last time when the city of Olomouc played some significant role in the European history.

There is thou still much more I would like to tell you and therefore I’m looking forward to your visit.