General Lafayette Olomouc hosted as involuntary guest for more than three years one of the most famous personalities of the time, the hero of both the French Revolution and the American War of Independence, and a personal friend of president George Washington. In an intercontinental plot of the Free Masons, the general managed to escape during a daring rescue attempt, but was later re-captured together with his rescuers. Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud stayed in Olomouc for four weeks in the summer of 1886, serving as an army physician. Sadly for Olomouc, he was absolutely miserable there, as he was forced to attend the constant military drills instead of continuing with his academic research. His only respite from what he called “playing at war“ was today’s Café Opera at the main square, which he liked to frequent. W. A. Mozart The child prodigy and later one of the most recognizable composer of classical music, spent two months in Olomouc at his young age. He was accommodated in the residence of the capitular‘s deanery – today’s Archdiocesan Museum. During his stay, Mozart often played the pipe organ at Virgin Mary of the Snow, and composed Symphony No. 6 in F major dedicating a score in it to the city. Antonín Dvořák The world famous music composer and the second Czech composer to achieve worldwide recognition after Bedřich Smetana, had a very close ties to Central Moravia. He lived in Lipník nad Bečvou and often performed in Olomouc. His great working relations and the love for the local musicians made him dedicate a cantata to one of the singing clubs, and several of his concerts made the world premiere in the two cities. In his honor, an annual international music festival "Dvořák's Olomouc" and the local music festival and competition “Dvořák’s Lipník” are held in the respective cities. Gustav Mahler An Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation, is among others famed for his work inspired by Czech folk music. For a few months he even lived in Olomouc at the Upper Square in today’s Café Destiny, as it was close to Moravské divadlo, where he performed. Both places – the house he lived in and the theatre he performed at – are adorned with a memorial plaque and a bust to honor his stay in the city. S. Freud Central Moravia A. Dvořák G. Mahler Personality Lafayette W. A. Mozart