3 Best Sights in Moravia, Czech Republic

Nothing is left of the original Church of St. Maurice that stood just north of Horní náměstí in 1257. This is a new church started in 1412 on the same site and remodeled many times. Its current fierce, gray exterior dates to the middle of the 16th century. A sculpture of Christ on the Mount of Olives dates to the 15th century. The baroque organ inside, the largest in the Czech Republic, originally contained 2,311 pipes until it was expanded in the 1960s to more than 10,000 pipes. An international organ festival takes place in the church every September. The tower is sometimes open to the public, depending on the weather. A large renovation was finished in 2021.

Formerly part of the Capuchin Monastery, the Church of the Holy Cross combines a baroque form with a rather stark façade. Enter the krypta (crypt) in the basement, and the mummified remains of some 200 nobles and monks from the late 17th and 18th centuries are displayed, ingeniously preserved by a natural system of air circulating through vents and chimneys. The best-known mummy is Col. František Trenck, commander of the brutal Pandour regiment of the Austrian army, who, at least in legend, spent several years in the dungeons of Spielberg Castle before finding his final rest here in 1749. A note of caution about the crypt: the graphic displays can be frightening to children (and even some adults), so ask at the admission desk for a small brochure with pictures that preview what's to come, or look at the postcards for sale. Locals refer to the building simply as the Capuchin Church.

The interior of this triple-domed church casts a dramatic spell. The frescoes, the high and airy central dome, and the shades of rose, beige, and gray trompe-l'oeil marble on walls and arches work in concert to present a harmonious whole. The decoration followed a fire in 1709, only 30 years after the original construction. Another renovation took place in the 1890s. The architect and builder are not known, but it's surmised they are the same team that put up the Church of the Annunciation on Svatý Kopeček (Holy Hill), a popular Catholic pilgrimage site just outside Olomouc.