Archiepiscopal palace in Olomouc, Baroque palace in Olomouc, Czech Republic
The Archiepiscopal Palace in Olomouc is a Baroque building with two main floors and a Neo-Baroque facade featuring three decorated entrance portals. It wraps around two inner courtyards and sits in the historic center of the city.
The building was rebuilt between 1664 and 1669 under Bishop Karl II von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn after it was badly damaged during the Thirty Years War. Over the following centuries, successive bishops added new rooms and decoration to reflect the style of their own time.
The reception rooms on the ground floor display styles from different periods, including Rococo, Empire, and Neo-Baroque, each commissioned by a different bishop. Walking through them, you notice how the taste and sense of display shifted from one occupant to the next.
The building has multiple levels with uneven floors, so sturdy and comfortable shoes are a good idea. Taking time to look at the inner courtyards as well as the facade from the outside gives a fuller sense of the whole place.
In 1805, Russian Tsar Alexander I and Austrian Emperor Francis II met in the palace halls for talks just before the Battle of Austerlitz. This makes it one of the few buildings in Central Europe where two reigning emperors were present at the same time.
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