We are celebrating 450 years since the foundation of the university in Olomouc. We look back to the past, witness the present, and make plans for the future. And that is exactly what our special issue of UP Žurnál is about: we present the university to the general public as an inspiring place worth getting to know and seeing for yourself.
For those who come to the university every day to study or work, the sight of the amazing historical scenery may have lost its novelty. However, for any new visitor, a tour of the Convictorium, the Armoury Library, and other places is a spectacular experience. And there are quite a few such places worth seeing that are open to the public, and that’s why they are presented in our journal. The transformations of our alma mater are captured in photographs. Human memory is short, but a picture is worth a thousand words.
We also show how we work with the legacy of the most ancient past. In the interview with artist Jaro Varga, you will learn how he drew inspiration from the Jesuits and why and how he “returned” them to the university. By the way, we are using his fusion of the past and the present on the cover.
Speaking of the Jesuit College, we cannot leave out our modern university, named after František Palacký. How do we work with his legacy (and even his profile) in the jubilee year? Find out in the Žurnál’s special issue.
What would the university be without people? They make university what it is. And so we have dedicated several pages to articles on interesting alumni and honorary doctors, including two series of interviews with students and staff who share with our readers what Palacký University means to them.
In this special issue, we have tried to show the public the less common face of this impressive and respectable institution – so that visitors and casual passers-by will know what it has been through and what it is UP to. And that even if they don’t study or work there, it can still be a meeting place for them. Simply said, we, the university and its people, are worth getting to know. As Rector Martin Procházka says in his interview, “The university is full of smart, hardworking, talented people. Many of them recognised authorities in their fields, active in various areas of social life. I’m proud that they attach the name of Palacký University to their own.”
Read the electronic version of the magazine.