Zdík’s Palace in Olomouc

The palace was built as the representative seat of the Olomouc bishops at the order of bishop Jindřich Zdík, a major personality of the 12^th century. In 1306, young Wenceslaus III, king of Bohemia, was murdered within the walls of the Zdík’s Palace, then part of the Olomouc Castle, as the last male of the ruling dynasty. History was made in this place in the following centuries as well. The grandiose palace, with richly embellished masonry, has the signs of advanced West European Romanesque architecture and today you can visit it as part of the tour of the Archdiocesan Museum. The history of the Middle Ages and the reign of the bishops will stare at you from the remains of the Romanesque palace, Gothic cloister with a mural cycle, paradise garden around a water well and Gothic chapel of St. John the Baptist with frescoes.