History of cathedral 

In the same place, where this three-aisled Gothic cathedral now exists, there was built a three-aisled Romanesque basilica in the first half of the 12^th century. The church, devoted to St. Wenceslas, was consecrated in 1131. At this time Bishop Jindřich Zdík transferred his bishop’s seat from St. Peter’s church, which has died out, to St. Wenceslas Cathedral. The cathedral has undergone many reconstructions and additional buildings were built. During the fires in the 13^th and 14^th century the cathedral was rebuilt in Gothic style. In years 1582 to 1591 bishop Stanislas 2^nd Pavlovský let built Renaissance chapel of St. Stanislas. Between years 1582 to 1591 the remarkable new Early-Baroque (Mannerist) presbytery was constructed by Bishop Franz Cardinal von Dietrichstein.  It is the greatest of its kind in the Czech Republic and also one of the oldest Baroque buildings in the country. Bellow the presbytery there is a two-storeyed crypt. In the 60s of the 18^th century the Baroque Loretta Chapel was completed

Gustav Merett, under the patronage of Archbishop Bedřich Fürstenberg, rebuilt the cathedral in nowadays Neo-Gothic appearance in years 1883 to 1892. In this period two 68m high front towers on the western side and the southern monumental tower, which contributes to the panorama of the town and which with its 101m is the second highest church tower in the Czech Republic, were built. Beneath the tower, there was built the chapel of St. John the Baptist, and the Neo-gothic chapel of Ss. Cyril and Methodius was added to the northern part of the presbytery. The whole cathedral’s interior, the nave and the presbytery were rebuilt in the Gothic style. Till nowadays, the oldest part of the cathedral – the original peripheral masonry of the temple’s nave, partly the basements of smaller towers at the entrance side and Romanesque crypt from the first half of the 12^th century, have been preserved.

Cathedral’s  proportions: The cathedral is almost 80m long, its width is 17.5m. The three-aisled basilica is 17m tall and the height of the presbytery is 23m. The crypt’s basement proportions are 25 to 15m. The cathedral with its added parts has an extent of 2700 square meters and can seat 5000 worshipers.

There are other numerous buildings in its proximate surrounding connected to the cathedral: the gothic cloister from the 14^th century, the original chapel of St. John the Baptist from the 13^th century, chapel of St. Barbara, which is placed in the second floor of Romanesque round tower, Romanesque bishop’s palace (so called Zdík’s palace), whose remnants were discovered in 1867 and were proclaimed a national cultural monument of the first rank. The bishop’s palace is considered as one of the most significant and artistically most valuable buildings of the Romanic period in Europe. The above mentioned building objects are approachable from the adjacent archbishop museum. Other buildings in the cathedral’s vicinity are: vicar’s sacristy, which originally served as the capitular hall of the Romanesque cathedral (in the first half of the 12^th century), cannons’ sacristy from the 18^th century and rector’s church of St. Ann (originally a gothic chapel, which was rebuilt at the beginning of the 17^th century in Early-Baroque style) – these objects are not open to visitors.

Since the beginning, together with the cathedral, there have existed many significant institutions: the metropolitan canonry (originally with 12 canons), cathedral’s school, scriptorium (which was considered in the 12^th century as one of the best in Europe), capitular library and archive.

The cathedral has got a long musical history. In the cathedral there performed choir directors and composers such as: Jakub Gallus Handl-Petelin (1579-1585) or Pavel Jan Vejvanovský (1690-1693). In canonry’s principality in the cathedral’s neighbourhood, W. A. Mozart composed his F-major symphony in 1767. Ludwig van Beethoven composed his Missa solemnis for the cathedral.

Sight-seen Tour through the Cathedral 

The Southern aisle (on the right to the main entrance)

On the second pillar, on the right, there is an altar consecrated to Ss. Peter and Paul with a replica of Gothic Pieta from years 1410 to 1420, whose original is placed in Archdiocesan museum.

Chapel of the Virgin Mary Loretto – originally a gothic chapel of Ss. Cyril and Methodius from the 14^th century was in the Baroque period devoted to Virgin Mary. There are frescoes by significant Moravian Baroque painter Jan Kryštof Handke.

Blessed Johann Sarkander Altar with a tomb containing relicts of this Moravian martyr, who was together with Zdislava z Lemberka, proclaimed for the saint by the pope John Paul the Second in Olomouc in 1995.

St. Stanislas Chapel – originally a Renaissance chapel with a unique bronze grille from the end of the 16^th century, later on it was changed in Baroque style with rich stucco, sculptural and pictorial decoration.

On both sides by the entrance into St. Stanislas chapel there are placed memorial reliefs: on the left, there is a bronze Relief of the bishop Mark Kuen (who died in 1565), the first bishop native born in Olomouc. To the right there is a marble Baroque tombstone of Svatopluk and Wenceslas, Olomouc princess who were at the birth of the cathedral.

The Chancel (presbytery) 

The chancel is separated from the nave by an artistic grille from the end of the 19^th century made by the locksmith’s workshop of Olomouc master Johann Lefenda.

The main altar is made from Cararra marble in Neo-gothic style, is decorated with statues of four Eastern Fathers made by Renaissance sculptor Mino da Fiesole from the 2^nd half of the 15^th century. These statues were originally placed on the main altar of Roman basilica Santa Maria Maggiore from which they were bought in the 19^th century by cardinal Fűrstenberg. 

On the left to the altar, over the archbishops cathedra there is a statue of St. Wenceslas and on the opposite wall is a statue of St. Ludmila, his grandmother. 

Neo-gothic stained glass panes in presbytery were made by Mayer Company from Munich. The central window displays the kneeling cardinal Fűrstenberg under St. Virgin Mary and St. Wenceslas, to whom the cardinal gives a votive donation – the model of the Neo-Gothic Dome of St. Wenceslas. 

Choir pews which are situated at the sides of the presbytery are decorated with valuable wood-carvings from the 17. century. 

Small organ situated on the right side of the entry to the presbytery was made in Krnov in 1977. 

On the right side on the first floor there is an archbishop oratory. Under the oratory is the entry to the baptism and funeral chapel of St. John Baptist (also called the Chapel Under The Steeple). Olomouc archbishops from the 19. and 20. century are burried here. 

On the opposite there is a chapel of Ss. Cyril and Methodius or Choir chapel. There is a valuable late Gothic relief of Virgin Mary the Guardian from the end of the 15^th century, which serves as an altar and was transferred from cancelled church of Virgin Mary in the Outer Ward. On both sides of the altar there are statues of St. Peter and Paul from the 15^th century. 

Large cabinets near chapels’ entrances contain a part of the cathedral treasures – special display cabinets with relics of saints.   

Leaving the presbytery we can notice a chorus above the main cathedral entrance, on which there is a pipe organ from 1885, made by Rieger Company in Krnov (opus 145, that means a seriate number of the product of Pipe Organ Company Rieger, three manuals, 50 registers, 1320 pipes). 

The crypt 

There is a two-storeyed Baroque crypt, whose upper floor is approachable to visitors. It serves in summer months as an exhibition space with expositions of the cathedral treasures, liturgical vestments and objects. In the lower crypt there are buried some Olomouc (arch)bishops from the 17^th and 19^th century. In the Western frontage of the crypt there is a marble box with the heart of Olomouc archbishop Rudolf Jan (1819-1831), Archduke of Austria from Habsburg’s family, whose body is put in the family tomb in the Capuchin Monastery in Vienna.

            In the crypt we can buy souvenirs, postcards and publications about history of the cathedral completed with current and historical photographs.

The northern aisle (on the left to the main entrance gate): 

Next to the entrance into the crypt there is an altar of St. Joseph. 

The pulpit is made in neo-gothic style from Italian marble, is decorated by reliefs of four Evangelists, tablets of the Ten Commandments and the coat of arms of the donor and the capitular deacon Robert Lichnovský. 

Stations of the cross were made in 1976 by Karel Stádník and František Radvan at the occasion of 200th anniversary of the elevation of the Olomouc bishopric to an archbishopric (1777-1977). 

On one of the pillars there is placed an altar of the Czech saint St. John Nepomucky.  

Under the Choir by the main entrance gate, there are marble desks with names of Moravian bishops from the time of the Great Moravian Empire and 57 bishops after the reestablishment of bishopric in Olomouc (1063) and 13 archbishops (from the year 1777). The current archbishop is Mons. Jan Graubner.  

The facade of the cathedral 

The front of the cathedral is decorated with the statues of the patron saints of Moravia and the arch-diocese: St. Wenceslas, Ss. Cyril and Methodius, who are also co-patron saints of Europe. Above the rosette there is a bust of the designer of the neo-gothical reconstructions Gustav Merett. At the frontage there are also placed statues of four Evangelists – Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. Above the entrance gate there is a relief of the Holy Trinity, above the right gate the Lord’s nativity is depicted and above the left gate there is the Annunciation the Virgin Mary.  

Steeples and bells 

On the left front steeple there was in year 1985 on the occasion of the 1100^th anniversary of St. Methodius’ death installed a carillon with 15 bells with a total weight of 1276 kilograms. On the right front steeple are bells of St. John Nepomucky together with the bell of Saints Cyril and Method. On the highest steeple there is hanged the bell of St. Wenceslas and Holy Trinity, which is the third biggest bell in the Czech Republic (its weight is 8 tons and its diameter is 2,41 meters). Another bell on the steeple is the bell of Saints Peter and Paul.

On the day of St. Wenceslas on 28 September in 2008 other two new bells were consecrated – the bell of John Paul the Second and the bell of Virgin Mary Svatohostýnská. For gaining those bells there is a collection and whoever can contribute by a financial gift.