Olomouc was founded as a royal town near the river Morava in the early 13th century. The history of settlements here is much older. In the mid-11th century is mentioned here a Przemyslid castle and the Moravian bishopric was founded here at that time. There are numerous sacral monuments, such as the Bishop’s Cathedral of St. Wenceslas, surrounded with residential buildings with the former castle and canonry houses. The Bishop’s palace is an outstanding sight with complicated design of windows. In the building of the capitulary dean the last Przemyslid King Wenceslas III was murdered in 1306. The second significant part of the town is the western colonization part with the Upper and the Lower Squares. The remarkable rectory Church of St. Maurice and the extensive Town Hall with a bay chapel and a modern horologe are dated from the Gothic period. Renaissance is represented by some town palaces or the merchants´ houses, called “Pod bohatými krámy”(Under the rich shops). After the Thirty Years War the town was magnificently rebuilt in the Baroque style. Besides the buildings of the Jesuit order, the Archbishop’s Palace or the nearby pilgrimage place called “Svatý kopeček” (Holy Hill), a unique complex of Baroque fountains (6) and plaque columns has preserved. On the place of a large Baroque fort a green zone of parks and orchards was founded in the 19th century. The town is the seat of the district executive of the Olomouc region.