Olomouc, CZ

I've posted, deleted, and reposted this photo many times, always trying to get someone to look at it. For some bizarre reason, it's one of my most unpopular photos, but here I go again.....Astronomical clocks can be found in many towns in the Czech Republic, and two of the most notable are in Prague and Olomouc. An astronomical clock is called an "Orloj" in Czech, so this one, in Olomouc, is called the "Olomoucky Orloj." This one dates to 1953, replacing an earlier one, and being built under Communism, it glorifies workers, scientists, and ordinary citizens instead of Monarchs, religious leaders, and such. The music which plays when it chimes sounds like the Internationale to me, although if someone knows for sure that would be great.

This is the Archdiocesan Museum in Olomouc, where I saw a book that was printed (or rather, handwritten) before 1000 A.D., very rare, indeed, and even more so given that it wasn't a bible.

This is St. Vaclav's, or St. Wenceslas's, Cathedral in Olomouc. Built in 1131, it is one of the oldest cathedrals in the Czech Republic, although it was renovated in 1883-1892, meaning that it looks somewhat different now from the way it did originally. There are a number of stories associated with it, of course, but one of the most notable, supposedly true, as that Mozart composed his 6th symphony here. As a result, there's a monument to him on the wall of the Archdiocesan Museum on the left.

Here's another shot of St. Vaclav's (St. Wenceslas's) Cathedral in Olomouc, essentially ripping off my similar shot of York Minster.

This is the famed "Aeroplane Bar" in Olomouc. It is in fact a genuine Tupolev Tu-104 airliner, the first successful design of jet airliner in history, as the very first jet airliner, the De Havilland D.H.106 Comet, had an unpleasant habit of blowing up in flight. It was also the first jet airliner built in the Communist bloc, and not to be outdone, Boeing introduced the 707 a few years later, finally giving the west an airliner to be proud of. In any case, this Tu-104 will unlikely ever fly again, as it's well....a bar, and in any case one of the wings is smashed at the tip.

Here you can see the Olomouc City Museum on the left and St. Vaclav's (St. Wenceslas's) Cathedral in the distance.

I unfortunately I didn't get the number of this tram, but it works for the transit agency of the city of Olomouc, Moravia, in the Czech Republic, and it's a Tatra T3, I know that much. The building to the right of it is the city museum of Olomouc.

This is the small street of Panska in Olomouc. I took this photo solely because I liked how it looked, and now I still like it, so I've posted it here.

I took this photo largely for my Dad, who teaches Latin. I don't know the significance of this building, but it's in Zerotinovo Namesti in Olomouc, if that's any clue. Any info on it would be welcome.

Here's a shot of Zerotinovo Namesti in Olomouc. The building on the right is interesting, I think, but I've been unable to find out what it is. There's Latin on it, which is interesting. If anybody knows anything else, it would be cool to know.

Here's a shot of Staromestske Namesti in Olomouc. I don't know very much about the monument on the left, but these types of sculptures are very common in Czech city centres, most of them dating to the Baroque period. Again, if anybody has any info on it, post it in the comments! :-)

This was taken during my second trip to Olomouc, a bus trip that I took with UJOP during the summer. This is one of the narrow streets of Olomouc that, surprisingly, is somewhat of a shopping street. The largest shopping center on the street is Prior, which is on the left in this picture. It's a Communist-era building which has recieved heavy criticism not just for its dated design, but also because it blocks the view of the neighboring, and historic, Kostel sv. Moritz.

This was one of the few good angles that I could get of this church, which was built in 1257, but rebuilt many times due to fire damage. It still has its medieval look, though.

Here's another view of Obchodni Dum Prior in Olomouc.

Prior is served by tram service, and come to think of it, this is one of my first good photos of an Olomouc tram. The city does indeed have a fleet of these Tatra T3's, in several variants, as well as some Skoda 03T's.

I unfortunately have forgotten the name of this street, or perhaps alley might be just as good a word, as buttresses cross the street. There was a bit of construction being done on this portal or doorway of sorts.

A new bell had also just been delivered when I visited, I think for the Radnice, or town hall. The original photo that I took was decent, but needed to be cropped, so instead I added vignetting in iPhoto.

This building is called the "deer" or "jelen" building, and is on a corner in Dolni Namesti.