Let yourself be enchanted by Christmas Olomouc

The smell of punch and cinnamon, carols, stalls with Christmas decorations and also an open-air ice rink or a sightseeing bike. This is just a fraction of what you can experience in Olomouc during Advent. Don’t miss the festive atmosphere of the city and visit the Olomouc Christmas Market. You have the opportunity every day from 19 November to 23 December.

More than a hundred stalls decorate the Upper and Lower Squares in Olomouc as well as the area near the market hall in the run-up to Christmas, where you will not only find inspiration for gifts, but also buy regional food and handicrafts. Punches are a part of the Advent mood. In the centre of Olomouc you can try several of them before Christmas. The Punch Trail guide will tell you where to go and where you can find punch stands everywhere.

The open-air ice skating rink, which has returned to the Olomouc Christmas market after four years, also promises joyful experiences. In addition to free ice skating for the public, it also attracts entertainment in the form of various themed discos.

A tour of the town hall and the Red Church

You can also immerse yourself in the Christmas atmosphere on various Advent tours, where you can learn a lot of interesting things about Olomouc. “The guide will take visitors through the Town Hall, where they will see exhibitions about the history of the town, the Town Hall and the astronomical clock. Before climbing the tower, they will visit the Chapel of St. Jerome and in the courtyard they can see a photographic exhibition of Olomouc cribs. It will be open every weekday throughout Advent and outside the tours of the town hall,” says Jitka Lučanová, head of the Olomouc Information Centre, adding that a ticket for the Advent tour of the town hall is also a voucher for one free punch at a designated stand.
However, Olomouc City Hall is not the only one that will be open to the public in the run-up to Christmas. As in previous years, the Archbishop’s Palace is preparing Advent tours, and you can also take a look inside the reconstructed Red Church. It has only been open to the public since May this year and during Advent it offers guided tours, which will include a Christmas-themed musical performance by Ondřej Mucha on the harmonium.

A rich cultural programme

Deputy Mayor Viktor Tichák also believes that this year’s novelties of the Christmas markets, as well as the traditional programme, which Olomouc’s citizens and tourists regularly return to the centre of Olomouc to see, will attract many people again. “Christmas markets in Olomouc have been the flagship of the city for years, attracting visitors not only from the immediate surroundings, and everything already suggests that this year will be no different. The Upper and Lower Squares, as well as the market hall, will once again become meeting places in the pre-Christmas atmosphere. And for a few days in December, people will also be able to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere around the river, on the Olomouc Embankment, where another organiser is preparing a smaller market, also with a cultural programme.”
Entertainment will be provided in the town throughout the entire duration of the market. Visitors young and old can look forward to the traditional Christmas tree lighting, concerts and culinary shows. Of course, there will also be the popular St. Nicholas’ gift, Santa’s post office, bell ringing, carousel and workshops for children. And the Krampuses will also visit the waterfront.

Christmas Olomouc as in the palm of your hand

You should definitely not miss the opportunity to see the city from a bird’s eye view. There is a small lookout point on the Upper Square right next to the Town Hall, which offers a beautiful view of the Christmas decorated Upper Square and its dominant feature, the Holy Trinity Column. From the observation wheel by the market hall, you can see Olomouc in the palm of your hand, and from the 75-metre-high town hall tower you can see the whole of the Christmas-decorated city centre.

Olomouc nativity scenes

But Christmas is not just about festively decorated squares. Let yourself be enchanted by the quiet beauty of the nativity scenes in Olomouc’s churches. The largest one can be found in the Church of the Annunciation in Kapucínská Street. An almost 100-year-old nativity scene can be seen in the Church of St. Michael, and in the Church of St. Moritz there are nativity scenes carved from olive wood. Children in particular will be interested in the mechanical nativity scene in St. Wenceslas Cathedral.
The Olomouc Nativity Scenes brochure, which will be available in December at the Olomouc Information Centre in the arcade of the town hall, will tell you where you can see the nativity scenes in Olomouc and until when they are on display.

Tour Olomouc on your own with the TourStories app

If you have time left over, we recommend downloading the TourStories app and taking a guided tour of the city on your mobile phone. A total of 28 stops await you, including churches, palaces, chapels and many other important sights. With the help of GPS navigation, on your own axis and at your own pace, you will get to know the fascinating history of the second largest monument reserve in the Czech Republic and you will also get a glimpse into the normally inaccessible interiors.