Olomouc Residents Identify Their City with the University

People from Olomouc are well aware of the fact that Palacký University plays a significant role in the life of the Haná region’s capital, as shown by a recent survey conducted by the Department of Politics and European Studies at the Faculty of Arts.

In this survey focussed on perceptions of Olomouc, respondents mentioned the sights, the historic town centre, and the university as its three most distinctive features. Olomouc was considered a university town by 78 percent of more than 1,000 respondents, who could choose from ten alternatives, such as its parks, archdiocese, or football team.

University as the symbol of the city

Every year at the end of September, the streets of Olomouc are filled with more than 22,000 Palacký University students, and the huge potential of young people influences both life in the city and its life style.

“For the university, it is great that Olomouc residents acknowledge its importance and regard it as an integral part of the city,” said Tomáš Lebeda, the head of the Department of Politics and European Studies. Together with his colleagues Pavel Šaradín and Michal Kuděla, he subjected respondents’ views to factor analysis.

According to Lebeda, Olomouc is seen as a historic city with a university and many monuments by most of its residents.

The Church has been forgotten

Among the main symbols, there is a significant one missing in the survey—the Catholic Church, even though Olomouc is the seat of one of the two Czech Archbishoprics. The Church was mentioned as an important feature of the city by only 44% of respondents.

“Personally, I find it surprising, because, for me, Olomouc history is closely tied to both the university and the Church. Both of them were shaping the history of Olomouc, and it is interesting to see that people nowadays do not regard the Church in that way,” said Lebeda.

However, the reason for this could be recent political campaigns against Church restitutions, Lebeda admits.

Win-Win situation

The university has always been an integral part of Olomouc—it is its biggest employer and by far the largest institution.

The survey Attitudes of Olomouc Residents 2014 was made on order of the Town Hall. Experts from the Department of Politics and European Studies worked on it for about six months.

---