Soldiers and walls belong to Olomouc for a thousand years Armed men, warriors and soldiers have belonged to Olomouc for as long as this ancient city has existed. In the 2nd century, Roman legionaries built a fortified camp here. Olomouc is one of the oldest cities in the Czech lands. For most of its existence it was the capital of Moravia and, from the 17th and especially the 18th century, the main stronghold of the Habsburgs in the north of their empire. The city usually had a very solid system of fortifications and also a solid and numerous military garrison. Thanks to the military tradition, today Olomouc's sights include a large number of monuments of military construction or fortifications. Here we can find fortifications from the times of the Romanesque defenders of the Premyslid princely castle, Gothic Luxembourg walls, Renaissance fortifications and Baroque bastions from the 18th century and more modern forts from the 19th century. Although the fortress was officially abolished in the 1880s, the soldiers did not leave. Even in the 20th century, barracks were built in the town and Olomouc used to be an important garrison town. It is now the headquarters of all ground forces of the Czech Army. Part of the oldest romanesque stone wall has been preserved on the edge of the Dome Hill (Dómské návrší), just a short distance from St. Wenceslas Cathedral. If you go down, you can admire the Gothic walls. Among them are the walls built during the reign of Charles IV. There are others in the Bezručovy sady park, including several preserved forts - fortified towers from which the defenders of the city could unexpectedly rush out against the besiegers. The basic line of the walls around the historic core of the town changed little over the following centuries. The only major innovation was the incorporation of the Bělidla quarter into the city in the 16th century, when Renaissance walls, bastions and gates were built. Some can still be seen in Sokolská, Koželužská and Studentská streets. Otherwise, the fortification lines did not change much and it is to this that the centre of Olomouc owes its coherent appearance. It has been almost unchanged since the 13th century. It was not until Maria Theresa chose Olomouc as the imperial-royal main border fortress. Baroque bastion fortifications began to be built around the line of medieval walls. For fear of an aggressive Prussia. The city was gripped by a rugged and solid shell of baroque bastion fortifications, which forced the inhabitants of dozens of suburban villages to move further away from the walls of Olomouc. The fortress, which thanks to its favourable location and ingenious landscaping could also count on protection by moats, was truly awe-inspiring in the 18th century. But as fortification technology changed, so did the tactics of the attackers and the technology of warfare. By the 19th century, bastions were obsolete. Given the much greater range of artillery, it was necessary to move the line of battle further away from the walls. Therefore, a plan for outposts or forts was drawn up. Between 1831 and 1885, dozens of forts, powder houses, warehouses and other military buildings were built. Only a short time later, in 1886, Emperor Franz Joseph complied with many years of pressure from the Olomouc citizens and, knowing that further rapid development of firearms would make the Olomouc walls useless anyway, abolished the fortress. This was followed by the dismantling of the walls and the rapid development of the city. What battles did Olomouc's city walls, bastions, gates and bastions experience? The most famous successful battles took place in 1253, when Moravia was sacked by the fierce Cumans in the service of the King of Hungary. Further successes were recorded in the troubled 15th century, when none of the Hussite field armies conquered the Olomouc walls and, on the contrary, the Olomouc military units gave the Hussites a bad time in Central Moravia. However, the greatest fame of the Olomouc fortress came in 1758. Then it managed to resist the Prussian siege for more than a month. The feared and otherwise successful warlord and Prussian king Friedrich II did not overcome the walls of Olomouc even after firing more than 130,000 shells and bombs from cannons and mortars, and left with nothing. The sad year of 1642 is the opposite case. The dilapidated walls, the weak garrison of the imperial army and the failure to fulfill the promise to send auxiliary troops meant that after just three days Olomouc surrendered to the Swedish general Torstenson's army, followed by eight cruel years of occupation, devastation and decline of the city. To this day, Olomouc is full of memories of the various chapters of its long military history. Just walk through the city parks around the walls, climb the stairs of one of the forays to the Theresian Armoury or the spectacular Theresian Gate, take another foray back down below the walls and visit the amazing bastioned Crown Fortress, or get on a bike and ride to the preserved forts around the city. The distant echo of clanking guns, gunshots and military commands can be heard in every wall stone or bastion brick. Olomouc's military history is sure to captivate you! www.olomouc.eu