Basic information
The Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located in the southeast corner of the Lower Square in Olomouc, is a monastery church of the Capuchin order. Capuchins were brought to Olomouc by Cardinal Franz von Dietrichstein as early as 1615. The monastery church, however, wasn’t built until after the Thirty Years War.
The church was built by an unknown master builder between 1655 and 1661 as a simple single nave church with two side chapels and a rectangular presbytery. It was one of the first religious buildings in the city after the Swedish occupation of Olomouc (1642-1650). Unfortunately, not even the architect, whose work is considered very restrained, is known to us. The church’s layout belongs to typical Capuchin structures of the Mannerism period, built by the Capuchin order mainly in northwestern Europe. The nave has a barrel vault with lunettes, side chapels are vaulted over with cross vaults. The simple smooth main facade of the monastery church with a high triangular gable creates a significant urban landmark of the southern side of the Lower Square. The frontage is decorated with a mosaic above the entrance portal depicting the scene of the Annunciation. The stone entrance portal bears the date of commencement of construction of the church – the year 1655.