Two Warsaw surrendered to the invading German army after enduring three days and nights of constant bombardment. Join 1000's of paid subscribers who read more than just the headlines. You can search the archives AND read the news too. The Flowering of Kromeriz By Jeffrey Brown The Old Town of Kromeriz, a national historical heritage site, embodies the changes the town has seen through many centuries of Moravia s history. The cobbled streets and the Baroque architecture found around nearly every corner gracefully link the present with the past.
Many structures are refreshingly well-preserved, while others bear witness to the neglect of time.
Kromeriz, lying on the River Morava between Olomouc and Zlin in the Czech Republic, became one of Moravia s power centers as the seat of the bishops and archbishops of Olomouc from 12th century until the 19th century. During the Thirty Years War Kromeriz was almost completely destroyed by the Swedes. The oval nave and side chapels harbor a fine array of paintings, sculptures and frescoes, and the bulky church dominates the town s western skyline, looming like a strayed Prague or Viennese masterwork. Heading away from St. John, the long, narrow Reigrovo namesti, a former vegetable market that now resembles a boulevard, is split in half by the Baroque fountain ensemble called the Holy Trinity. Another monumental Baroque edifice, the brilliant-yellow Church of the Assumption, with its attached clock tower, stands as both the square s eastern closure and the gateway to the Jewish quarter, its facade blends in with remnants of the wall that once separated the ghetto from the rest of the Old Town.