In the heart of Haná's lowland where merchant routes used to ford the river, a lively market place and seat of local magnates evolved from a modest settlement, to enforce the law and protect domestic settlers and the passing merchants. The place was purchased by Jan II, the Bishop of Olomouc, at the beginning of the l2th century, and became known thanks to Idrisi, the Arab merchant who produced a map in 1154. A century later, the market place and the Bishop's residence were linked by the square, and walls and gates were built which supported Bruno of Šaumburk's successful effort to acquire the freedoms of a city for Kroměříž in 1256. After the Thirty-Year War, Italian architects F. Luchese and G. P. Tencalla were invited to remodel the Gothic castle, former fort ress, into an ostentatious baroque château designed to house the residence of the Bishops of Olomouc which became the centre of their vassal system, and treasury to deposit art collections. The late l7th-century Bishop Karl II of Liechtenstein, during whose era the château and town were further extended, founded the Episcopal Library which has belonged to the country's most valuable print collections ever since. Presentday collections comprise some 86,000 volumes; about 500 manuscripts, some dating back to the 9th century; early prints (218 volumes); a musical archives with mostly baroque music (over 10,000 pieces); the largest collection of medals and coins (over 11,000) which is second important after the Vatican's collection of spiritual coins; graphics (19,000 items) and old drawings (65); last but not least, the world-famous painting collection with works of Italian, Flemish and German masters of the l6th and l7th centuries (Tizian, Cranach, Breughel, van Dyck, and others.) Interiors of the château have been open to public since 1950 and their baroque and rococo furniture have been alluring many film makers and TV teams. The main interest centres on the Large Dining Room, renamed to Congress Room after the constitutional congress of Austria's nations had been held here in 1848 -49, today a hall for concerts, symposiums, conventions. The St Sebastian's Chapel of the château has probably the most eye-touching rococo interior in Moravia and is closely followed on the rank of interest by the Vassals' Hall in which the Vassal Court used to meet and which has been adorned by E A. Maulbertsch's huge fresco depicting the history of the Bishopric of Olomouc since Ferdinand II's times. Two frescos by painter J. Stern of Brno round off the style of the historical furniture of the library which represent the Viennese baroque. Originally designed as main garden entrance, sala terrena is now a suitable scene for small exhibitions. Established to supply fruits and vegetables and remodelled into baroque garden with access to the château, the garden around was extended to a 64 hectare park with romantic sights, lakes, and exotic trees and bushes at the break of the l9th century. Visiting Kroměříž you can't miss the Flower Garden (Květná zahrada), the l7th-century gem of baroque landscaping (F. Lichese, G. P. Tencallo), with a rotunda in the centre and a 233 m long collonnade adorned with classical sculpture. The birth of Kroměříž's churches dates back to Great Moravia even though their present look has evolved from the l8th- century reconstruction. The original Gothic parochial Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was redeveloped in the spirit of baroque in 1724-36. The once modest l2th-century Johanite Maltese hospital church is now the baroque piarist St John the Baptist's Church, richly decorated and part of the complex of the piarist school and campus. Founded by Bishop Bruno, the three-nave Gothic St Maurice's Collegiate Chapter Church was redeveloped in the neoGothic style following the fire in the middle of the l9th century. The Large Square (Velké náměstí) shows many valuable samples of baroque architecture-the l6th-century town hall and its 41 m high tower; the 1680 Plague Post; the baroque fountain and burgher houses. No. 38 on the northern end houses a permanent exhibition of the town's native celebrity Max Švabinský. Several others bear tablets in memory of Czech MPs who took part in the historic congress in 1848-49. Jan Milíč of Kroměříž has a memorial in the corner of the square. Rieger Square is the former Horse Market later renamed to Vegetable Market, the place of the ancient market-place settlement. The square's dominants are the Most Holy Trinity's Plague Post (1724-26), the baroque fountain, and the complex of Emeritus House with St John Sarkander's Chapel and Blessed Virgin Mary's Church's parish (1738). Found adjacent to the château, the only surviving town gate (Mlýnská brána) was part of the l3th-century walls some relics of which are still scattered around the place. The l7th-century Jewish town hall stands out of the old Jewish Ghetto in the Moravcová and Tylová Streets and Olbram Zoubek's plastic sculpture at the Community House in Tovačovský Street commemorates the holocaust. The restored episcopal mint now shows a historical survey of coining at Kroměříž (1600-1760) in Na Sladovnách Street. The town centre has been an urban reserve and national treasure since 1955. The district centre has 30,000 inhabitants. The tradition of education, music and culture gave the town an ever valid attribute of local Athens. Information: Phone: 00420-634-331 473.

Masaryk Square with St John the Baptist's Church and the School of Justice

Archbishop's Château at Kroměříž

St Maurice's Church with archepiscopal grammar school and the Mill Gate

Flower Garden with fountain

Interior of the St John the Baptist's Church