Picture Gallery

The Olomouc Archbishopric owns an exceptionally high quality collection of old paintings, which, for over more than three centuries, was assembled by local bishops and archbishops. The two halls feature a selection of the most important works of European painting from the Middle Ages to the Baroque.

The beginnings of the collections of Olomouc bishops fall into the second half of the 17th century. The true collector's tradition was founded by bishop Karl II von Lichtenstein-Castelcorno, a prominent patron and lover of art. When he died in 1695, his gallery had a total of 962 items. Over the next 150 years, none of his followers carried on his example, and the collection experienced slow devastation starting with a fire in the summer residence of the bishops - the castle in nearby Kroměříž. The fatal blow came in 1830 when Archbishop Rudolph Jan, who was not very interested in fine arts, organized an auction of so-called "unnecessary items". Within a few days, Olomouc lost virtually its whole collection of drawings and many other high quality works - such as paintings by Hans Holbein and Antonello da Messina.

A change for the better happened only at the end of the 19th century and in the following century.