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M a g a z i n e o f P a l a c k ý U n i v e r s i t y , O l o m o u c
2013
The University
Hall of Fame
Cosmic Rays
Investigated
by Cameras
from Olomouc
Fischer’s Children
An Interview with Sylva Fischerová
The Concept
of University
Josef Jařab's View

content
2 2013 The Palacký University Year
4 The Student “Tumult” of 1732
5 The University Hall of Fame
6 The Concept of University
8 Opening New Institutes Brings Olomouc Closer to
Cambridge
10 Cosmic Rays Investigated by Cameras from Olomouc
12 A Scientist? Even a Greenhouse Rock Fan
Olomouc Researchers Involved in Decoding the Banana
Genome
14 Vivat Convictorium!
The Faculty of Science Celebrated its Anniversary
15 Puzzles for the Fortress of Knowledge Are Ready
17 Theological Faculty Celebrates the Arrival of Saints Cyril
and Methodius
18 The Restoration of Darius III and His Family
20 A Mosaic of Stories from Fine Work Experience for Lawyers
22 Czech Dining Halls Run by Smart Application of an
Olomouc Student
23 The Mausoleum: Inspiration for a Prospective Lawyer
24 Graduates Need Work Experience: “You Can Hardly Find
Your Glasses without Your Glasses”
25 “Spondeo ac polliceor”
26 Science in the Café
27 Fischer’s Children
28 Interview: “Father Was a Respected Authority”
30 JLF, or Jelef
32 AFO Festival: The Life Ring of Czech Scientific Films
34 Renovated Dormitory in Neředín
Successful Gaudeamus
Ten Years of Sport
35 Paralympian Medals and Wellingtons at the Rectorate
36 No Casualties During Rafting Races
37 Silver Label for the Olomouc Half Marathon
38 Children at the University? A Brilliant Idea
39 The Dean | New Palacký University Professors
40 Silver and Golden Graduation
6 15 27 32 38
Dear readers,
You are now reading the university journal
you are familiar with, but with a new look. The
traditional Žurnál + has changed its form and
periodicity, so starting this year it becomes
a yearly; an annual almanac summarising all
relevant events as well as anticipating what is
to come, and thus connecting the history and
the future of Palacký University.
This change occurs in a year of anniversaries.
It is the year of the 440th anniversary of
the foundation of university in Olomouc and
of the 60th anniversary of the establishment
of the Faculty of Science, and is also marked
by a remembrance of Rector J. L. Fischer,
who died 40 years ago. The university history,
however, obliges us to shape its future.
Žurnál + will present Palacký University
not only as the second oldest university in
the Czech lands, but also as a modern and
dynamically developing research institution
of European and global importance.
Celebrations during every year ending with
the number “3” will always be special for
Palacký University. Another opportunity
for celebration will arise in ten years. It
will also be an opportunity to evaluate the
achievement of the objectives defined in
this year’s jubilee. I hope that this year will
be very fruitful for you, so that you can look
back in ten years with feelings of fulfilment
and satisfaction, and that this renovated
Žurnál + will be a fine companion to its readers
from now on.
JUDr. Mag. iur. Michal Malacka, Ph.D., MBA
Vice-Rector
Žurnál +
Published annually. Vol. 5
Date of print: May 2013
Published by Palacký University Olomouc
Křížkovského 8, CZ-771 47 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Tax ID: CZ-61989592
Editorial Board
Biskupské náměstí 1, CZ-771 47 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Telephone: +420 585 631 155 | E-mail: zurnal@upol.cz
Chairmanof the Editorial Board: Michal Malacka
Editor-in-Chief: Pavel Konečný
Design: Radim Měsíc | Graphic Editor: Michaela Cyprová
Czech Registration No.: MK ČR E 18731, ISSN 1804-6762
Print
Epava Olomouc, a.s., 1000 copies
Cover: portrait of Josef Jařab, photo: Tereza Darmovzalová

UNIVERSITY
2013
The Palacký University Year
The entire year of 2013 will
be wreathed in the glory of
celebrations of the 440th
anniversary of the foundation
of Palacký University in
Olomouc. The anniversary will
be commemorated by a logo
open to manifold interpretations.
The year-long program me is
exuberant and diverse.
At the time of František Palacký’s birth,
the university had already existed in Olomouc
for 225 years. When the “Father
of the Nation” passed away, the idea of
a university in the middle of Moravia
had become almost extinct. The notional
banner was only held by the Faculty of
Theology, which survived the decision of
Emperor Franz Joseph I to abolish university
teaching in Olomouc.
Originally, only two faculties had
been established in Olomouc—the faculties
of Theology and of Liberal Arts
(Philosophy). The Jesuits taught even
their secular students free of charge,
and founded several foundations for
poor students. The first teachers came
from Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands;
a few Englishmen and Scots were
also present in the academy. The international
spirit is typical for the university
even today, as more than 120 foreigners
are employed as teachers and
600 students from 60 countries choose
to study in Olomouc every year.
Palacký University plays an indispensable
role in the intellectual, cultural,
and sporting life of the municipality and
region of Olomouc. “The university has
not remained entrenched in its ivory
towers during recent times. The number
of foreign students, lecturers, and
researchers that we meet in its lecture
rooms, laboratories, and the halls is on
the increase. Our university is gradually
becoming a truly international one, and
this makes me particularly happy,” says
Rector Miroslav Mašláň.
The date of the founding of the university
in 1573 has not been remembered
adequately. “The fact is, however, that
you could count the number of universities
in Central Europe at that time on one
hand,” says Vice-Rector Ladislav Daniel,
who is in charge of international relations.
“All distinguished universities—
such as Oxford, Bologna, Salamanca, or
Paris-Sorbonne—have always honoured
their famous history. And we can count
ourselves in their number,” says Daniel.
What would Olomouc be without its
university?
A simple and obvious answer is to take a look
during the summertime holiday every year,
when the usually vibrant metropolis changes
into a sleeping beauty. The peace and silence
in the streets comes at the cost of losing
the young element, who are also a symbol
as well as a factual condition for fulfilling
the hope for a good future. Without them,
our metropolis would be transformed into
a beautiful, yet provincial town.
For centuries, Olomouc has been a clerical,
military, and educational centre, and even
though the spiritual dimension and the need
to protect peace and safety will always matter,
the importance of education is one of the characteristics
for which it enjoys respect.
The presence of the university and the correspondingly
high level of education among the
city’s population are the main factor upon which
a meaningful vision of city development can be
built. In terms of strategic plans, Olomouc does
not stand out as a town with a university, but
as a university town. It may be said, without
exaggeration, that Olomouc would not be Olomouc
without its university, that it would lose its
identity, and become merely a lovely backdrop,
without spirit and sparkle of life.
Martin Novotný, Mayor of Olomouc
The university is vital for the region
Inhabitants of the Olomouc region and its
visitors know that the university has been connected
to the local culture and educational
system ever since anyone can remember, yet
not everyone is aware of the fact that in the
year of its foundation in 1573, it was the only
university in the Czech lands—after Charles
University in Prague—with privileges equal
to any other university in Europe.
The fact that Olomouc has been a centre
of education since the Middle Ages has
formed the character of the city and its surroundings
for centuries, and this process is
ongoing. Students of Theology, Natural Sciences,
and the Humanities have always taken
a significant part in founding the tradition of
important institutions, the pride of the region
even in this modern era and the symbols
of its advancement—the archbishopric of
Olomouc, the university hospital, cultural festivals,
science and research projects.
For the Olomouc region, the current eight
faculties and their 23 thousand students
form a great promise of further and very
dynamic development in all areas of human
knowledge.
Jiří Rozbořil
President of the Olomouc Region
What would Olomouc be like without its
university?
It may be appropriate to remember that universities
were an ingenious invention of the
Middle Ages, sometimes foolishly called the
dark ages, and that their prestige originated
from papal authority, which granted rights to
graduates to teach anywhere in the world,
whereas kings allowed them to do so only in
their kingdoms.
Olomouc became the first Czech university
city after Prague due to the endeavour
of Olomouc bishops in the time when the
bishopric in Prague had for some time been
vacant. So the only clerical centre became
a university centre too, one which sustained
its status even after Brno became the administrative
capital of Moravia, as it managed
to defend itself against the Swedes, while
Olomouc was destroyed. As long as our city
shall seek Truth and Wisdom, its future will
be bright.
Jan Graubner
Archbishop of Olomouc
2

text: pavel konečný photo: marek otava
Three 22s
Two dates are significant in the history
of Olomouc university: 22 January 1573,
when Pope Gregory XIII confirmed the
designation of Bishop Vilém Prusinovský
for the Olomouc college of the Society of
Jesus and put the college under the patronage
of the Olomouc diocese—and 22
December 1573, when Emperor Maximilian
II gave promotional rights to the new
Jesuit university in Olomouc.
Yet another date with the number 22
is significant in the history of Palacký
University: 22 March 1581, when Emperor
Rudolph II extended the promotional
rights of Olomouc University to students
of other Jesuit academies, provided they
passed their exams in Olomouc. The emperor
emphasised that degrees awarded
by the Jesuit University in Olomouc had
the same value as those from any comparable
university—studia generalia as they
used to be called—in Germany, Spain, Italy,
France, Poland, or any other nation.
Decline in the
19th century
At the time of the foundation of the university,
Olomouc was the most important
city and capital of Moravia. It was
a centre of political life. “Even nearby
cities such as Brno had to financially
contribute to the functioning of the university,”
adds Daniel.
The turning point came in the nineteenth
century when in 1860 Emperor
Franz Joseph I relocated the university
to Brno, which had been gaining in
importance since the Thirty Years’ War.
Only theology remained to be studied in
Olomouc. The university was fully restored
in 1946; however, the Communist
takeover two years later brought further
complications. This is why Professor
Emeritus and former University Rector
Josef Jařab claimed that 1989 is the date
of the third foundation of the university.
During the era of “developed socialism”
there were 5,000 students studying
at four faculties. Today, Palacký University
consists of eight faculties attended
by 20,000 students. In 1973, when the
school celebrated its 400th anniversary,
Jařab was an assistant professor at the
Philosophical Faculty.
“I was then asked by Comrade
Vice-Rector Zezula to interpret for the
Swedish ambassador. He wanted me
to tell ‘Comrade Ambassador’ that we
would like to welcome him on his arrival
from the Swedish Republic. I was
frozen with horror. I swallowed a few
times and wondered if I should change
the republic into kingdom and perhaps
say His Excellency instead? The ambassador
just winced at me and whispered,
‘I understand, don’t worry.’ He seemed
to have understood the entire situation,”
remembers Jařab. It showed him the level
of the university in those days.
“The fact that the Olomouc university
is the second oldest one was recalled by
Václav Havel when he received a honorary
doctorate in May 1990. We passed
this reminder on to every international
guest,” says Professor and Rector Emeritus
Jařab.
Contour lines, magnetic
field, or agate?
The 440th anniversary celebrations are
accompanied with a memorial logo designed
by Pavel Coufalík. It was created
as a “side product” during the production
of posters promoting science for the Faculty
of Science. The posters were made
in collaboration by twenty students from
the Studio of Graphic Design and Visual
Communication at the Academy of Arts,
Architecture and Design in Prague.
“The logo was supposed to express
a variety of meanings in order to metaphorically
reflect the multitude of aspects
in education,” explains Vice-Rector
Daniel. Coufalík’s design was
selected from two dozen proposals.
“I deliberately focussed on contours
and circular lines. They can be applied
to various branches of science. They reminded
me of a magnetic field, the contour
lines, or a temperature map. It can
symbolise anything,” said Coufalík.
Olomouc Insignia remain
in Innsbruck
The original insignia of Olomouc
University are currently used by Leopold-
Franz University in Innsbruck, Austria.
“We wrote a letter to Austria after the
Velvet Revolution to remind them
that the insignia in Innsbruck
belong to us, because
when Olomouc University
was abolished in 1860, the
insignia were relocated to
Vienna under the condition
that they would be returned
when another university is
established in the Czech
lands,“ said Josef Jařab,
the first Rector after the
changes of November
1989. At the occasion of
establishing a university
in Brno, a request for
their return was made.
“The Austrians won at the
international court, though,
and kept all insignia for
themselves. So after the Velvet
Revolution, we filed another
request to Innsbruck and
asked them to reconsider,
since their existence might
have been a little false with
someone else’s insignia.
I contacted their Rector,
their Ambassador, and after
a few years our wish came
partly true. We did not
receive the originals, but their
exact copies,” remembers
Jařab. The replicas of insignia
arrived to Olomouc in 1998,
to be taken over by Lubomír
Dvořák, Rector at that time.
The replicas are only used at
special occasions. In most
graduation ceremonies and
ceremonial acts, the insignia
designed for the restored
Palacký University in 1946
are used.
3

2013: THE PALACKÝ UNIVERSITY YEAR
(A selection from the programme)
The Student “Tumult” of 1732
In the course of the
eighteenth century, the
Jesuit convictorium in
Olomouc experienced
some notable problems
and difficulties. One of
them was a conflict between
the school and the
fortress command, which
established a gunpowder
magazine in the fortifications
near the school
building. A tension between
the soldiers and
the University (especially
its students, zealously
guarding their academic
judicial independence),
can be demonstrated
in the student “tumult”
of 1732, whose history
was written down by an
unknown Olomouc chronicler
in a fragment of
a German-written chronicle
of the 1730s.
“On May 27th, after 10 in the evening, a certain student by the
name of Richter was escorted by the then reeve of the town,
Master Francis Gregory Wilperth, from Winkler’s house on the
Lower Square to the jail. On the subsequent day, the student
was taken out to be interrogated. On May 28th and 29th in the
evening, students, mostly jurists, gathered on the Lower Square
in front of the aforementioned reeve’s house, wanting to storm it.
At the same time, however, other students were leaving in pairs.
On the 30th of the same month, students gathered on the square
at Baron Miniati’s house and, in a military formation lead by
buglers, marched against the main guard-post. The town garrison,
standing there in full splendour, answered the approaching
armed students with the friendly ‘Who goes there?’ Upon this,
the then commandant Falaize shot from the window with his
pistol, giving the entire garrison the agreed-upon signal to shoot
into the students mercilessly. One logic [a first-year student of the
Faculty of Arts] named Pugil was shot in the head, falling dead to
the ground. Another student was shot in his trunk, being subsequently
carried home, and, thanks to pleadings to the Blessed
Image of Our Lady of Dub [an image of the Virgin Mary in the
pilgrimage church in the town of Dub na Moravou], the bullet was
voided in his stool. One rhetoric [a sixth-year student of the lycée]
named Weigel was fatally wounded and died on the subsequent
day. Item [another] logic named Gasser was wounded in his right
arm; a syntax [fourth-year student of the lycée] named Juřina
was wounded in his leg; and a number of other students were also
wounded, receiving, however, no satisfaction to this day.”
From Jiří Fiala et al., Jezuitský konvikt
[The Jesuit Convictorium], Olomouc, 2002.
27 February–26 April:
Children’s University Olomouc
8 March:
Special session of the Scientific Council of the Faculty
of Science of PU on the 60th anniversary of the faculty
11 April
Faculty of Health Sciences Day
16–22 April
Academia Film Olomouc
7–8 May
Palacký University May Festival (“Majáles”)
9–10 May
Olomouc Days of Law
May
Fascination of Plants Day and BotanGIS Day
June–August
Olomouc Baroque Festival
4–5 June
Ceremonial conference on the importance
of universities, attended by foreign rectors
6–7 June
Czech Rectors Conference
21–22 June
Science and Research Fair, or Science in the Streets
30 June–5 July
Summer School of Chemistry, Physics, Biology and
Mathematics
1–4 July
Olympic Hopes—Visegrad Cup 2013
(Special Olympic Games)
7–14 July
Summer School of Environmental Protection—
GreenCamp
August–September
Baroque 2013
30 September
Annual ceremonial opening of the new academic
year 2013/2014
30 September–4 October
StudentFest – festival of student activities
6 October
Festival of Light—Confucius Academy
mid-October
Days of Jewish Culture
26 October
Czech Radio—day-long broadcasting on Palacký
University Olomouc
October–November
Month of Chinese Culture
6 November
Lecture in Honour of J. L. Fischer
16 November
Culture and Art in the Life of the Church (Velehrad—
conference)
6 December
Saint Nicholas Day at Palacký University
5–8 December
Festival of Film Animation
20 December
Advent meeting with the Palacký University Rector
(The end of the Year of the University 2013)
Full version of the programme at www.440.upol.cz
4

text: Pavel Konečný photo: tereza darmovzalová
EXPOSITION
Vice-Rector Michal Malacka (on
the right) and Olomouc Regional
Museum Director Břetislav Holásek
in the role of curators with an
idealised portrait of Pope Sixtus V.
The painting was made by an
unknown Moravian painter in the
Baroque era. “The connection
is that this pope sanctioned the
establishment of a full university with
four faculties in Olomouc. The idea
was to supplement the faculties of
Theology and Philosophy with the
faculties of Law and Medicine,”
explains Filip Hradil, the head
of the Historical Institute at the
Regional Museum Olomouc. The
intention was confirmed by Emperor
Rudolph II, yet these efforts failed.
The University Hall of Fame
The past and present of university teaching in Olomouc will
meet in the Regional Museum. The new permanent exposition
“The Olomouc University—Universitas Olomucensis” will also
serve as the school’s Hall of Fame.
“This is a result of our long-time endeavour.
This exposition will be further connected to
UPoint, the university information portal,
located in the foyer of the museum,” said
Vice-Rector Michal Malacka.
Museum Director Břetislav Holásek
pointed out other exhibitions related
to the university. “The theme of the
Olomouc university is also present in
our permanent exposition ‘Olomouc:
15 Centuries of the City’ and in the
‘Famous People of the Olomouc Region’.
In addition, our experts closely
collaborate with their university colleagues
on the most important exhibitions
and expositions of the Regional
Museum, appreciated by the lay and
expert public,” explained Holásek.
The main exhibit:
The Rector’s mace
The exposition will combine historical
and interactive exhibits. “The modern
university history will be shown in
projections, too,” added the curator,
Filip Hradil. As expected, whole generations
of students should come to
see the exposition. “Ideally the grandmothers
attending the University of the
Third Age will come together with their
granddaughters studying at Palacký
University,” suggested the Vice-Rector.
He added that although the exposition
deals with history, it should provide an
insight into the modern era and to the
future of the university, and also follow
up the Fortress of Knowledge, which is
under construction.
Hradil expects that the main attraction
will be the Rector’s mace, probably
an endowment by Bishop Stanislav
Pavlovský. “It is an exact replica of the
original, an excellent piece of goldsmith’s
work from the end of the 16th
century. The original remained in Austria,
though,” said Hradil. The exhibition
includes seal matrices, student registers,
historical medical instruments, and
a unique musical instrument—a glass
harmonica made by Professor of Mathematics
Franz Konrad Bartl.
A special meeting point
The historical part of the exposition will
continue, by means of a depicted time line,
in an imaginary Hall of Fame. “It will be
continually modified in order to present the
important scientific achievements or new
professors,” said Vice-Rector Malacka.
The exposition ought to become
a special academic meeting point. “The
small auditorium should host scientific
and popular scientific lectures and programmes,”
pointed out Prof. Fiala, who
also participated in preparations of the
exposition. The auditorium is perfectly
suitable for discussions, receptions for
international guests, or prize awarding.
“It seems to be an ideal place for
bringing together the authors of Palacký
University Press,” noted Malacka. The
exposition can also serve as a contact
point for potential university applicants.
The exposition was in preparation for
more than a year and the costs were equally
shared by Palacký University and the Olomouc
Region under whose authority the
Regional Museum in Olomouc operates.
5

OPINION
The Concept
of University
Universities should participate more in the
development of society and more extensively
influence its thinking; a shift in the
perception of the University’s active role
in society is necessary. Most crucially, the
University should be a paragon of democracy
and self-administration, the spirit of
democracy and its specific applications.
Under the current understanding of the
role of University, the requirements of the
real world make us teach students what
the real world, at the moment, needs. But
these requirements can only reflect what
the world needs today, whereas we should
be able to guess at what it will need in the
future, and train creative and thinking
people, capable of answering the questions
with which they will be confronted tomorrow
or the day after.
The “town and gown” relationship is of
great importance here. The town has to
acknowledge that the University is really
its university. At present, it seems to
me that there are plenty of various formal
declarations about the mutual importance
of the two, without, however, concrete ideas
which might really contribute to a more
fruitful connection. We should not just ask
for money for our activities, but also ask
what we could offer our town and region.
In the 19th century, when universities
were frequently becoming the bearers and
symbols of national sentiments, the intelligentsia
was logically in the front lines
of the national efforts in many countries.
Today, the impulse no longer has to be
patriotism, but humanism—the sense
of mutual solidarity among people, who
have various missions and various levels
of education, with the less or differently
educated being able to rely upon the more
educated, and vice versa.
The stagnation in university education,
as well as the educating of society in
general, is a world-wide phenomenon. It
is partly caused by what is somewhat unhandsomely
called the “massification” of
university education. But also—and perhaps
even more importantly—by the fact
that schools are directed by managers,
for whom education is like a factory product,
a commodity which can be sold and
purchased.
The mission of the University is searching
for answers to the questions which
we should be asking ourselves, questions of
the meaning of our actions, thinking and
being. But we do not ask them, which has
consequences for the entire society.
Our universities need a crucial and global
change. It is, however, not necessary to
change radically the definition of University—on
the contrary, it is essential that
we build in a creative way upon the original
blueprint for an educational, research,
and cultural institution with an almost
thousand year-long tradition. The concepts
of Aristotle, Humboldt, and Newman
are still valid, as well as the message
of Magna Charta Universitatum, signed
by hundreds of universities over the entire
world, ours included. If we should not have
a clear idea where we want to get when
reforming universities, if we should not
have a clear goal, we should not reform at
all. If we should consider savings and cuts
as a goal, we would mistake the means for
an end.
Society’s hope lies in the generations
of students who keep on starting their
university education, some of them even
because they want to learn something.
Our task is to make them understand that
solidarity and collaboration are perhaps
a better motivation than mere rivalry and
competitiveness. But, after all, these motivations
do not necessarily have to be mutually
exclusive.
6

text: josef Jařab photo: marek otava
On 13 June 2012,
Prof. PhDr. Josef Jařab, CSc.,
dr.h.c., was awarded the
František Palacký Prize.
Professor Jařab is
an internationally renowned
expert in American literature,
and a pedagogue and
scholar highly esteemed
among students, colleagues,
and researchers. Josef Jařab
also earned great respect
as a citizen and politician
thanks to his life-long and
brave efforts to search for
and promote the values of
education, humanism, and
democracy. As the first head
of Palacký University after
the fall of communism, he
served in the development
of the Olomouc University, reestablishment
and foundation
of its faculty colleges, and
establishing international
contacts and collaboration.
7

Opening New Institutes
Brings Olomouc Closer to
Cambridge
Due to the new Theoretical Institutes
building and the Institute
of Molecular and Translational
Medicine, research and lecturing
at the Faculty of Medicine and
Dentistry has received a new
dimension. The researchers
and teachers can forget about
their small rooms and outdated
equipment, since modern lecture
rooms, laboratories, and the
latest technologies are available
to them now. Great expectations
are held by the university management
as well as the Olomouc
city and state institution
representatives, who believe that
these scientific centres could
attract new investors.
Both structures grew in the proximity of the
“old” Theoretical Institutes building, which
is of great architectural value but could
not suffice to meet the requirements of the
faculty anymore. For many years, such an
extension had only been debated due to the
lack of finances. The opening of the new
institutes was made possible 65 years after
the first academic year began at the Faculty
of Medicine and Dentistry, thanks to a nearly
€80 million contribution from the Operational
Programme “Research and Development
for Innovation”. “This is a historical
moment, a promise of further development
of medicine in Olomouc,” said Milan Kolář,
the Dean of the Faculty.
Rector Miroslav Mašláň compared
Olomouc to Cambridge in the United
Kingdom. “Twenty-five years ago, Cambridge
with its withering industry was
revitalised due to its ancient university.
Olomouc can similarly develop, building
upon its modern technologies and
academic expertise,” said the rector.
Top-class centre with
top-class conditions
The Institute of Molecular and Translational
Medicine (IMTM) focuses on
the research of tumorous and infectious
diseases and the development of new
diagnostic methods and medicaments.
It is one of the most prominent projects
ever realised in the field of science in
the Czech Republic. The institute has
achieved an important position in the
international context as well. It is a part
of the large European infrastructure
EATRIS, connecting institutions with
unique technologies and knowledge in
the field of translational medicine.
“All kinds of research have been done
here in the past, but the conditions have
now changed dramatically for the better.
We will have more space and the latest
technologies,” said Marián Hajdúch,
IMTM Director, who is a top specialist in
molecular oncology and has participated
in the research and development of several
drugs and biomarkers.
The IMTM also houses the laboratory
of the most cited Czech scientist specialising
in biomedicine—Jiří Bártek. One
of his major achievements was more
fully describing the mechanism for how
cells of one of the most aggressive tumours—glioblastoma—resist
the currently
used treatment for brain cancer.
During the first twenty months of functioning,
IMTM employees have managed
8

text: Martina šARADÍNOVÁ photo: PAVEL KONEČNÝ
TWINS
to initiate over sixty competitive tenders
for unique technologies, an amount totalling
almost €20 million, and have begun
their research. The institute employs
a hundred researchers, attracting new
high-quality experts to the city.
“There have been many applicants for
our jobs. Approximately ten per cent of
our employees come from abroad, such
as neighbouring Poland and Slovakia, but
even from as far as Japan and India. My estimate
is that the number of foreign scientists
should double this year,” said Hajdúch.
More comfortable
institutes
The researchers and teachers of the
Faculty of Medicine have long needed
better conditions for work as they had to
put up with the old building of Theoretical
Institutes until last year. It was built
in 1959, and there were 124 employees
working in the 1960s; last year, however,
their number reached over 450. The
academic community could not wait anymore.
The new building was constructed
in less than two years.
“The research and training laboratories,
classrooms, and libraries in the new building
have significantly expanded the possibilities
of the education of almost 3,000 students.
Approximately 150 employees will
be responsible for research and teaching
there,” announced Vice-Dean Martin
Modrianský, who was in charge of the completion
of the Theoretical Institutes.
The new structure has gradually
housed the Departments of Forensic
Medicine, Anatomy, Histology and
Embryology, Microbiology, Clinical and
Molecular Pathology, and partly also Biology,
Immunology, and Hemato-Oncology.
Other departments remain located
in the old building. Starting with the 2013
spring term, classes have been held in full
swing, as all classrooms, the study room,
and library have been made ready to use.
The laboratories cover more than
3,000 square metres and the lecture rooms
more than 4,000 square metres, while the
libraries occupy 900 square metres. The
building has six storeys above ground,
with a total area of 16,354 square metres.
National park for
biomedicine in Olomouc
During the opening ceremony for the
two new institutes, a memorandum was
signed, confirming the foundation of the
National Biomedical and Biotechnological
Park. Its purpose is the practical application
of research findings. The park
will occupy 75 acres of land next to the
motorway junction in Olomouc-Hněvotín.
The CzechInvest agency, on behalf of the
Ministry of Industry and Commerce, will
aid in finding companies to fit this specific
“industrial zone”.
As the Director General of CzechInvest,
Petr Očko, says, the fields of biomedicine
and biotechnology are one
of the pillars of the competitiveness of
Czech economy. “The common goal of
CzechInvest and the Ministry of Industry
and Commerce is the acquisition and
allocation of highest quality domestic
and foreign investors, who will help to
further develop this promising branch
of science,” declared Očko.
Hajdúch considers CzechInvest to be
the most reliable partner in finding investors
to the Czech Republic. “They have
wide connections and a professional background.
We will work on combining our
talents to attract investors to Olomouc,”
explained Hajdúch. Above all, biomedicinal
and pharmaceutical production
should develop in the new park, thus offering
employment to university graduates.
9

science
Cosmic Rays
Investigated by Cameras
from Olomouc
Eight sites are candidates for
construction of two observatories
for investigating cosmic rays. The
team of scientists from 27 countries
participating in the Cherenkov
Telescope Array (CTA)
project includes experts from
Olomouc—Dušan Mandát and
Miroslav Pech.
10
Miroslav Pech
installs the full-sky
camera system
at the Aar farm
in Namibia
The Czech scientists involved in the CTA
project are in charge of night sky monitoring
and testing the parameters of mirror
samples for optical telescopes. The
automatic full-sky cameras monitoring
cloud cover and background of the night
sky were developed by experts from the
Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies
and Materials (RCPTM), Joint Laboratory
of Optics at Palacký University in
Olomouc, and the Physical Institute of the
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
in Prague. The cameras are located at
several spots in both hemispheres.
Cameras filled
with the night sky
During the past year, the two members
of the creative team, Dušan Mandát and
Miroslav Pech, installed cameras in seven
selected areas. They covered the candidate
locations in Mexico, Namibia, two
places in Arizona, Argentina, and the
Spanish island of Tenerife. The eighth
location in Chile has been left without
a camera system due to lack of time.
The installation of cameras in deserts
requires their personal assistance for
one simple reason: the authors are basically
the only ones with the proper expertise.
“It is a relatively unique system.
It would be quite complicated to write
a simple manual explaining their installation,”
said Mandát. As he pointed out,
it is a utility model, which is the property
of Palacký University.
“The camera pictures, after being analyzed
and calculated, provide information
on the proportional cloud cover and the
degree of brightness at night, which are
the most relevant parameters for an observatory,”
explained Dušan Mandát.
Construction, testing, and calibration
of the cameras take approximately two
months. The system contains an astronomic
CCD camera, an industrial computer,
and a fisheye lens recording night
full-sky pictures with a 180-degree field
of view. Measurements are taken each
night, beginning after the astronomical
sunset and ending at the dawn.
The analysis and evaluation of acquired
data take place at the “mother base” in
Olomouc. “The data usually arrive automatically
directly from individual candidate
locations. If there is no coverage,
a member of the team in the candidate
country downloads the data and sends
them to us,” specified Miroslav Pech. The
analysis results are transmitted to the
central headquarters in Warsaw.
The collected data, along with other
measurements, will allow the selection
committee to choose which two locations
are most suitable for the construction
of the observatories. The final
selection will be made in July 2013. “We
will work hard to collect and analyse the
data until then,” added Miroslav Pech.
The construction of two observatories
in the southern and northern hemispheres
is planned between 2014 and
2018. The overall costs will be close to
€160 million.
Mirrors facing the universe
The other part of the assignment for the
Olomouc team is testing and measuring
selected parameters of mirror samples
for optical telescopes. The final choice
of the manufacturer will be determined
by their findings.
“The mirror segments are ordered
from companies in Japan, Brazil, France,
and other countries. We measure their

text: Velena Mazochová photo: CTA, Pavel Konečný
Dušan Mandát and Miroslav
Pech in the reflection of
ultra-thin mirrors, developed
and constructed by the
Joint Laboratory of Optics
at Palacký University
in Olomouc and the
Physical Institute of the
Academy of Sciences
in Prague.
optical properties and send them for
resistance testing to Durham, England
where they are exposed in their climatic
test chambers to the harsh conditions
typical for all seasons. The samples are
further exposed to sand, simulating the
impact of sand storms in desert regions.
Then we have them sent back in order to
find out to what extent they were affected
by the climatic simulations. This will help
us to compare their parameters and select
the best ones,” said Pech about the journey
of test samples.
The Olomouc laboratory has been
testing, for example, the shape of mirrors,
their spectral reflexivity, dispersive
and mechanical qualities, and other
parameters. “The new observatories
will contain large numbers of optical telescopes
of various sizes in order to create
a vast, mutually synchronised field
for detection of high-energy particles
from the universe,” explained Mandát.
The largest telescopes, composed of
40 mirrors, represent a surface area with
a diameter of 24 meters. “They look like
an oversized, yet classical astronomical
telescope with a mirror in the shape of
a hemisphere. Their size would match
this dormitory,” said Pech looking out of
the window of their Olomouc laboratory.
The telescopes will allow the scientists
to find out the main parameters of the
observed phenomena. They will calculate
the source of the cosmic rays, their energy,
and origin. “Cosmic rays are basically
sequences of high-energy particles
moving through the universe, accidentally
hitting the Earth and flying through its
atmosphere,” explains Pech. “As a result,
something called Cherenkov radiation is
emitted, in the form of visible light. These
flashes can be detected by telescopes
and gave name to the whole project—the
Cherenkov Telescope Array,” he added.
The Olomouc experts were asked to
test the mirror samples by the consortium
of the project, due to their rich experience
in the production of ultra-thin
large-scale mirror segments for a similar
project at the Pierre Auger Observatory.
Searching for the
beginning of universe goes
against the flow of time
The main goal of the CTA Observatory
project is the research of galactic
and extra-galactic gamma ray sources
with energies higher than 10 GeV.
“Physics cannot yet explain the principles
responsible for the acceleration
of particles to such high energies. The
largest particle accelerator in the world
is CERN, whose functioning requires
incredibly sophisticated technologies,
so it will hardly be exceeded any time
soon. And yet, the particles can only be
accelerated to 2,500 times lower energy
than the gamma radiation which will be
detected by the future CTA observatory,”
said Mandát in comparison.
To make things more complex, Pech
reminds us that we are speaking of
the past. “Each particle has been flying
towards us for millions of years, so
theoretically speaking, their original
source—far out there—does not exist
anymore. This physical principle, however,
is valid forever, and its knowledge
can improve our theories on the formation
of universe,” said Pech to clarify the
implications of the cosmic rays research.
A night sky
picture by the
full-sky camera
in Arizona
11

science
Olomouc Researchers
Involved in Decoding
the Banana Genome
Palacký University researchers have
contributed to the decoding of the complete
genetic information of the banana,
a staple crop for hundreds of millions of
people living in the tropics. The findings
of the genome analysis will enable
more effective cultivation of this tropical
plant.
“Our findings will also make revealing
the changes in the genetic information accompanying
the development of the varieties
of the banana possible. Some of the
sequences described by us are suitable as
genetic markers for more detailed study
of chromosomes, as well as eventually the
search for agriculturally relevant genes,”
says Prof. Jaroslav Doležel, Scientific Director
of the Centre of the Haná Region
for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research
at Palacký University.
To date, scientists have managed to
decode 523 million “letters” of the genetic
information coded in the DNA of
11 chromosomes. Subsequently, they
have found almost 37,000 possible
genes in the genome, some of which are
responsible for the plant’s ripening, others
for resilience to fungal diseases.
The banana tree is the fourth most important
plant in the world. It is not only
a staple food for the inhabitants of tropical
countries, but also a significant export
product. Cultivated bananas do not reproduce
by seeds but propagate asexually
from offshoots, which makes their cultivation
complicated. In addition, pests and
diseases—primarily fungal—represent
another threat to their cultivation.
“In order to suppress plant diseases
at large plantations, the multinational
concerns apply massive spraying of
fungicides. Small farmers, however, are
vitally threatened by the spreading of
new diseases. This is why cultivation focusses
on discovering new varieties similar
in taste, colour, and texture to those
at present. The difference being—they
are resilient,” added Doležel.
Olomouc scientists were the first to
determine the size of the genetic information
of the banana. “We have introduced
a method of flow cytometry, which had
been employed in cultivation,” explained
Doležel. The Olomouc Centre is a genotyping
centre with world-wide impact.
A Scientist?
Even a Greenhouse
Rock Fan
Lukáš Spíchal is the head of one
of the groups in the forty-member
team under Prof. Miroslav Strnad.
He made a significant contribution
to the development of the INCYDE
compound increasing crop yields,
which was granted a U.S. patent.
This young father of two children
with the soul of a rocker, however,
had to repeat one year during his
studies at the Faculty of Science.
United States patent No. US 8,222,260 B2
‘Substituted 6-anilinopurine derivatives as
inhibitors of cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase
and preparations containing these derivatives’
was granted on 17 July 2012. The team of
patent authors from the Centre of the Haná
Region consists of Lukáš Spíchal, Markéta
Gemrotová, Marek Zatloukal, Jitka Frébortová,
Petr Galuszka, Tomáš Werner, Thomas
Schmülling, Karel Doležal, and Miroslav Strnad.
“At least I cleaned my mind. Paradoxically,
I sorted things out and even fell in
love with chemistry. Professor Strnad
mesmerised me then. His lectures ended
with students applauding, something
unbelievable,” remembers Strnad.
He wrote his diploma thesis under the
supervision of Prof. Strnad, of course—
on the production of monoclonal antibodies
against cytokinins. “They are
used during analysis,” he explained. His
next steps logically led to the Centre of
the Haná Region for Biotechnological
and Agricultural Research: towards cytokinins.
Research in Olomouc
The development of INCYDE began
in 2004 in the Laboratory of Growth
Regulators. The recently granted U.S.
patent is their major achievement. “It all
began with the study of an enzyme controlling
the level of phytohormones, cytokinins.
It was no accidental discovery
such as penicillin, but a result of longterm
work. However when we began, we
lacked information about its potential
benefits,” said the scientist.
The newly discovered compound belongs
to a wide group of organic substances—derivatives
of important plant
growth hormones called cytokinins.
They occur naturally in plants, supporting
their growth and development. An
increase in their levels in plant tissues is
one of the ways to stimulate the growth
of crops. The Olomouc scientists have
succeeded in the mission by employing
a mechanism which controls the level of
cytokinins in these tissues.
The Olomouc team explored an enzyme
which degrades the hormones in
12

Text: Velena Mazochová, MILADA HRONOVÁ, Pavel Konečný photo: SXC, Pavel Konečný, Reproduction: Žurnál UP
In the mustard
Lukáš Spíchal in the
experimental field
of the Centre of the
Haná Region.
Nothing but green
fodder was in bloom
at the time of the
interview.
plants. “The substances we developed
would block its function, so it would destroy
the cytokinins. As a result, more of
them remained, but we still had no clue
what it would be good for in terms of its
application—whether the enzyme would
be usable at all,” explained Spíchal.
Japanese satori
In 2005, a Japanese study was published
in the journal Science, describing why
a certain rice cultivar had a higher yield
than others. The reason was a mutation
of a gene responsible for the coding of
this particular enzyme. “The Japanese
wanted to reveal why this cultivar yielded
more, so they investigated its genome
and found out it was afflicted by degradation
of cytokinins. We unlocked this
enzyme by applying a substance which
ceased its activity,” described Spíchal.
He also claims that a scientist is no
longer a nerd in a white coat. Dressed
in jeans and a sweatshirt, he inspects
what and how things are growing in his
refrigerators. INCYDE has been tested
in real field conditions for three years.
“The climatic conditions outdoors vary,
one year is dry, another wet, and there
are various microclimates in various
locations. We also pay for commercial
testing,” noted Spíchal.
U.S. patent
The U.S. patent protects the researchers
only partially, and exclusively in the
United States. “We usually have our
patents granted in the Czech Republic
first, then we block copying by filing an
application, and it takes two or three
years before the national negotiations
begin. Some countries are faster. Our
goal is to be protected in the U.S., Brazil,
all of Europe, and China—in countries
with massive agricultural or agrochemical
production,” said Spíchal.
The patents protect mainly those who
will utilize the discovery. A licence to its
utilization needs to be sold, otherwise
the registration is meaningless. This is
not the case with the Centre of the Region
Haná. At present, there are negotiations
concerning INCYDE with an
important agrochemical corporation.
The corporation which signed an option
contract for one year with Palacký
University for testing the preparation in
its own field conditions provides globally
a wide range of fertilisers and other solutions
in the area of cultivation of a variety
of crops such as rape, corn, and maize.
“If they purchase the licence, it will
mean a great financial contribution to
the University, as well as enhancing our
prestige in the area of agrochemical research
and development,” explained Lucie
Szüčová, the head of the Department
of Knowledge Transfer.
After the testing, the corporation will
decide on purchasing the licence. The key
factor is rentability. If the substance from
Olomouc increases yield by more than five
percent, it will pay off. “The magic thing
about our preparation is its target application.
We have found out which stage of the
plant’s growth requires its one and only
application, changing the hormonal balance
in favour of yield,” said Spíchal.
Czech domain
Prof. Strnad’s workplace is an interdisciplinary
one—combining analytical chemistry,
organic synthesis, and biology.
Cytokinins were discovered in the
United States in the 1950s. “Miroslav
Kamínek from the Institute of Experimental
Botany of the Academy of Sciences
once visited professors Skoog and
Miller when he was a young postgraduate
student, and brought their findings to
Europe. Subsequently, Prof. Strnad became
his postgraduate student,” clarified
Spíchal. Cytokinins have been investigated
in Prague, Brno, and Olomouc.
13

Vivat Convictorium!
One structure,
two faculties, five
departments. And ten
years. These numbers
characterise the
anniversary of the
Art Centre of Palacký
University. In November,
the Convictorium
celebrated a decade
of its existence with
a theatre performance,
an exhibition, projections,
and and a concert.
Text: Milada Hronová
photo: Pavel Konečný
“This building has been alive
for ten years,” emphasised
Palacký University Rector Miroslav
Mašáň.
The transformation of the
former Jesuit College into an
art centre could have been initiated
only after November
1989, since the building was
in the possession of the Czech
Army. “It is hard to believe, but
there used to be barracks here,”
said Prof. Hana Myslivečková,
the Head of the Department of
Art Education, in her speech
launching the Inventory exhibition,
as well as the entire celebrations.
“Even today, when I come
to the Centre in the morning,
I still enjoy its extraordinary
beauty,” said Docent Štefanides,
the Head of the Department
of Theatre, Film and Media
Studies.
In 1994, intense negotiations
were made concerning the future
location of the arts departments.
“One of the ideas of that
time was even to move to the
S-Club. When we entered the
Convictorium for the first time
in order to choose our working
space, I spent an hour here,
with a very special feeling. As
if time flew differently in these
halls. Back in the streets, I felt
like I had emerged from another
world,” remembered Štefanides.
The poor condition of the
Baroque edifice has been captured
in film documentaries
from ten years ago: Horká kaše
(Hot Potato) and 04. 11. 2002
aneb O konviktu slavném
dobývání (04. 11. 2002, or The
Glorious Conquering of the
Convictorium).
Today, the Convictorium is
open to a broad range of cultural
activities. “The splendour
and uniqueness of this
building can be envied by many
universities, including those
exclusively oriented to art disciplines,”
said the Dean of the
Faculty of Education, Libuše
Ludíková.
The word ‘convictorium’ was
also used to describe a shared
home with a spiritual programme.
“A public university is
obliged to take care of the heritage
of the past,” said the Dean
of the Philosophical Faculty,
Jiří Lach.
The Convictorium was successfully
transformed into an
art “vocational school”, appreciated
by its students. “Personally,
I am happy here, it is
a great place to study. The University
was very wise to acquire
the Convictorium,” said student
Martin Galia.
Then Myslivečková exclaimed,
“Vivat Convictorium!
And its artistic and creative
spirit!”
The Faculty of
Science Celebrated
its Anniversary
The Faculty of Science has commemorated
the 60th anniversary
of its foundation with a new publication
presenting the study programmes
and noteworthy projects
of its departments. The entire year
will be marked by celebrations and
extraordinary meetings.
“Sixty years may seem like
plenty in the life of a man, but
for a university, these are young
years, full of vigour and vitality.
Even though much work remains
to be done, we are prominent
in many branches of natural
science in our country, and our
experts excel abroad; yet many
tasks are still ahead of us,” said
its dean, Juraj Ševčík.
Students can choose between
disciplines in Chemistry, Physics,
Biology and Ecology, Mathematics
and Information Science,
and also Earth Sciences. Some
of the scientific teams excel even
in the international context, such
as in Quantum Optics, Physical
Chemistry, Ornithology and
some branches of Molecular Biology.
High standards are evident
also in Mathematics, the application
of magnetic nanoparticles in
Biology and Waste Management,
and the development of antitumor
agents. According to last
year’s study by the Czech Academy
of Sciences, the Department
of Optics is the most efficient one
in its field in the Czech Republic.
The faculty has also been successful
in being awarded grants.
In the Operational Programme
“Research and Development for
Innovations”, two projects were
granted, and in 2009, two large
research centres started construction:
the Centre of the Haná
Region for Biotechnological and
Agricultural Research, and the
Regional Centre of Advanced
Technologies and Materials.
Text: martina šaradínová
photo: Marek otava
The buildings of the Jesuit College, after the dissolution of the Order in 1773 and relocation of the
university to Brno, were used for various purposes—as a military hospital, lazaretto, and barracks.
Palacký University regained and restored the dilapidated Convictorium in the 1990s according to the
design of architects Jan Polách and Petr Fabián. Today’s Art Centre includes lecture halls, specialised
classrooms, fine arts studios and workshops, a cinema and a theatre.
The Art Centre of Palacký University houses the departments of:
Art Education | Music Education | Musicology | Art History | Theatre, Film and Media Studies
14

Text: Martina Šaradínová photo: Robert Mročka, Pavel Konečný
Puzzles for the Fortress
of Knowledge Are Ready,
Apart from the Brain and
River Bed
Models exactly fitting the expositions
of the upcoming Fortress
of Knowledge are being made
by craftsmen in the workshops of
the Faculty of Science according
to the requirements of scientists.
Spatial noughts and crosses,
gigantic puzzles, and a two-metre
high pair of scales made of
steel have been finished already.
An interactive science museum
will be opened in the historical
premises of Olomouc’s Crown
Fortress next year.
“Our intention is to build a museum
which will not be just a playroom, but
will introduce new scientific knowledge.
It will offer logical tasks, puzzles,
and modern technologies. The Fortress
should link the scientists, students, and
public. It will enable many activities in
the field of popularisation of science
and become a showcase for the entire
university,” said the project coordinator
Blanka Krausová.
The exhibits for the future museum,
unique in Central Moravia, originate
mostly at the university. Experts from
various branches come with ideas which
are made real thanks to collaboration
with artists as well as technicians. The
purpose is to make the exhibits functional,
interactive and highly entertaining,
yet without losing the spirit of science.
“The exhibits will not be common,
they are all original. We do not expect
that everything will be resolved on the
first try. We expect a few exhibits to be
improved or exchanged,” said the director
of the project, Lubomír Dvořák.
A link to history
Since the museum is being developed on
the premises of a former military fortress,
the artists have linked the construction
of the models with military history. For
instance, 3-D noughts and crosses are
coloured as the coats of armies who met
at Olomouc in 1748. “Unlike in the traditional
version, there is a third dimension,
allowing the vertical arrangement of the
balls as well. One must have good spatial
imagination and anticipate several moves
in advance,” said the author of the model,
artist Ondřej Plachký. And huge and
original chess pieces have been made, in
the colours of Austrian and Prussian uniforms
as well.
So far, the largest exhibit is a special
pair of scales, inspired by an original
piece from the 19th century. The task is
to find out which one of the nine balls has
a different weight. “We have made six
exhibits already, and twenty more are in
construction. We prefer resilient materials
and are treating the historical complex
where they will be located with respect.
This is my dream come true, one I never
knew I had. I love puzzles, and noughts
and crosses were my favourite game
played under the desk at school,” confessed
Plachký. Some ideas came easy,
while other ones took more thought.
“The scientists always specify the
purpose of each item, its meaning and
message to the visitor. Their original
ideas may be sometimes more difficult
to be elaborated entirely, but so far, we
have managed quite well,” added the
author of the projects, who likes to play
out his ideas to the utmost detail.
15

The craftsmen enjoy the construction
of his designs. “I always learn how to assemble
and disassemble the brainteasers
in order to know how they really work. It
allows me to improve them to the tiniest
detail,” said Ladislav Vaverka, one of the
workshop craftsmen.
Olomouc may be
flooded with visitors
Much harder nuts to crack will be the
construction of larger exhibits, including
a planetarium and flow models of
human brain and a river bed.
Visitors can repeatedly increase or
shrink their stature in the model of the
Morava River, and will even be able to
control its flow. “At one point, they will
encounter the noble crayfish, but 5 feet
long, as well as other animals. Further
along the stream, they will see the flood
model of Olomouc, reduced to 4 x 3 metres
in size, so that we could explain how
water behaves in this area. The visitors be
able to flood the city centre and its environs
with a ten-year, fifty-year, or even the
record flood from 1997,” said Krausová in
describing the model in preparation.
The Brain—the symbol
of knowledge
Another unique exposition will be “The
Human Brain”, a symbol of knowledge,
awareness, creativity, and emotions; all
The artillery armoury is a part of a bastion fortress, completed in 1785. The small and large
artillery armouries were built around 1820. “They were used for the storage of artillery materials.
The shape of the buildings is very simple, but with an intricate system of wooden
beams, timber-work, and floors with ramps,“ said Ján Kadlec, a historian. In 1886, it ceased
to function as a fortress, and the premises were used as military storage. Until 1995, the decaying
structure was officially concealed, and then was also damaged by the flood in 1997.
of these should be provided to visitors
by the Fortress of Knowledge.
“It will be an original, overwhelming
attraction. At the same time, this
exposition should appear mysterious,
because we may have learnt a lot about
this organ, yet much still remains unrevealed,”
said the author of its design,
Ivana Fellnerová.
The hollow exhibit will represent
a half of the left hemisphere and copy
its actual form. It will be 8 metres long
and 4–5 metres deep. The Brain has two
entrances and projection screens, where
visitors can observe the cross-sections of
the brain, its vascularisation, and more.
Builders in a rush
The construction of the models is only
one part of the project, which began in
December 2011 and is now one-third
completed. The development of software
for the popularisation portal, the
control system of touch screens, and the
science programmes for schools are in
full swing as well.
The former artillery armoury in the
Baroque fortress itself is swarmed with
builders. The basic construction has been
made; construction work should be completed
in September 2013, after which the
installation of exhibits will take place.
“In April 2014, the pilot phase should
begin, and everything will be tested
with partner schools. The museum
should be opened to the public in all its
glory in the summer of 2014,” added
Krausová. The project is funded from
the Operational Programme “Research
and Development for Innovations”, an
award of nearly €6 million.
16

Text: VELENA MAZOCHOVÁ photo: PAVEL KONEČNÝ
anniversary
The 1150th anniversary celebrations
of the arrival of the Slavic
missionaries in Great Moravia
are largely organised by experts
from Palacký University. The Sts
Cyril and Methodius Faculty of
Theology in Olomouc holds not
only expositions and ecumenical
dialogues, but also provides
professional advisory services to
filmmakers.
Theological Faculty
Celebrates
the Arrival of Saints
Cyril and Methodius
Sts Cyril and Methodius celebrations cannot
be viewed simply as a Catholic, Orthodox,
or a generally Christian occasion. Professor
Miloslav Pojsl emphasised, “This is an important
part of our Slavic roots and national
history concerning absolutely everyone—believers
and atheists alike.” The exposition,
commemorating the 1150th anniversary of
the missionaries’ arrival in Great Moravia is
called “Between East and West”. This exhibition
in the Olomouc Archdiocesan Museum,
subtitled “The Presence of Saints Cyril
and Methodius in Czech History, Culture and
Fine Art” interconnects the missionaries’
anniversary and the 950th anniversary of the
reestablishment of the bishopric of Olomouc.
According to Pojsl, the Olomouc exposition
will cover not only the history of Great
Moravia, but also the development of the tradition
of Sts Cyril and Methodius in fine art
throughout the era of the Reformation, the
Baroque period, and during the 19th century.
“The exposition will present works of
fine art from the Middle Ages to the modern
medals made for the Pope by Ivan
Theimer,” confirmed the guarantor, Simona
Jemelková, from the Archdiocesan
Museum. This museum, along with the
Olomouc Regional Museum and Olomouc
Research Library, will be holding the exhibition
from 25 April 2013. Professor
Pojsl, in collaboration with the Museum of
Moravian Slovakia in Uherské Hradiště, is
also preparing an exposition called “Cyril
and Methodius’s Velehrad” for the spring of
2013, with various exhibits such as engravings,
historic cityscapes, photographs and
Prof. Pavel Ambros, Th.D.
Head of the Department
of Pastoral and Spiritual
Theology
collectors’ items. Pojsl also pointed out that
“this is supposed to be a travelling exhibition,
so it is quite possible that it would be
on for more than six months, as scheduled.”
300 Bibles and the
Shroud of Turin
Prof. PhDr. Miloslav Pojsl
Head of the Department
of Religious History,
Patrology, and Christian Art
The organiser of the exhibition “Vele hrad—
The Crossing Point of European History”,
on behalf of the Sts Cyril and Methodius
Faculty of Theology, is Prof. Pavel Ambros,
the head of the Department of Pastoral and
Spiritual Theology, and his colleagues from
Centro Aletti.
“One of the expositions will show
a unique, complete collection of nearly
three hundred copies of the Bible. The
visitors will have an unrepeatable chance
to see, for example, rare Czech versions
and various other languages, including incunabula,”
said Ambros.
Among the rarest items, there will be
precious facsimiles of papyruses from
Egypt and Palestine dating back to the
first to second century, which were given
to Cardinal Tomáš Špidlík as a gift from
the Pope. Cardinal Špidlík owned another
exceptional expositional item—a faithful
replica of the Shroud of Turin. “This
relic was given to the Velehrad basilica
by our Turin friends to honour Father
Špidlík’s grave and their connections to
Velehrad,” explained Ambros.
Velehrad Dialogues, a platform organised
mainly by students, would like to continue
the Velehrad tradition by covering contemporary
topics. Robert Svatoň, a graduate
student, explained, “We would like to keep
discussing problematic issues that Christian
theology faces in contemporary society.”
The Velehrad Dialogues will pick up the
threads of the first pre-ecumenical initiatives
from Velehrad from the beginning of the previous
century.
Starring Cyril
and Methodius
A film project directed by Petr Nikolaev
called Cyril and Methodius: The Slavic
Apostles tells the life story of both
extraordinary missionaries. Assistant
Professor Walerian Bugel from the Department
of Liturgical Theology participated
as an expert adviser in adapting the
screenplay and shooting scenes.
“My job was to correct potential discrepancies
in the historical and liturgical
contexts. It included, for example, the appearance
of the sacral buildings—which
I consulted with set designers—then liturgical
vestments, period costumes, and also
ceremonies and gestures typical for the given
liturgy,” described Bugel.
He continued, “I found myself in a situation
when I was showing the actors right in
the middle of shooting how Cyril’s diaconal
ordination in the Byzantine Rite actually
looked.” Bugel also participated in creating
explanatory notes and subtitles. The filming
took place in the archeological open-air
museum in Modrá at Velehrad and in the
Czech Television atelier Kavčí Hory.
The ambitious project will be presented
in a TV series as a docudrama and in cinemas
as a feature film. The filmmakers assume
that at least one of the versions will
be finished by July 5, 2013, the anniversary
of Sts Cyril and Methodius’s arrival.
17

history
The Restoration
of Darius III
and His Family
The great conference hall of
Palacký University’s Rectorate
has been closed for practically
the whole year. The reason is
its ceiling fresco’s restoration
and the renovation of the floor.
When it is all finished, the fresco
will look again as the beautiful
original from 1730.
18
František Ferdinand, the Count of Oedt
and Dean of the Olomouc chapter, had
the ceiling of the provost’s house painted
at his own expense. He became the
dean in 1730, however he never moved
into the dean’s residence (today the Olomouc
Museum of Art).
“Every ceremony or celebration was
held in this hall. All the chapter members
were no doubt meeting there,” said
Professor Ladislav Daniel, art historian
and Vice-Rector.
The Rectorate was moved into provost’s
house in 1950. Historian Pavel Urbášek
explains, “After the reopening of the
university, the seat of the Rectorate was
originally in the villa on 14 Třída Spojenců,
which had been built in 1921 by the
Moravian Association of Sugar Processors.
The Rectorate was moved to its current
location on 8 Křížkovského Street after
reconstructions which began in 1948.”
Darius or Coriolanus?
The discussion about what the fresco actually
depicts has been dividing art historians.
Professor Rudolf Chadraba supported
the theory that the fresco portrays
Coriolanus before the gates of Rome. He
was the military commander who led the
Volscian tribes in their conquest of Rome.
In the fresco, he is being approached by
messengers, who are asking him to spare
the city. Which he does.
Prof. Ladislav Daniel clarifies, “This
was the original interpretation, but
Pavel Suchánek from Masaryk University
in Brno and art historian Leoš Mlčák
from Olomouc eventually identified the
fresco as a depiction of the family of
Persian king Darius III before Alexander
the Great. Darius was killed on the run
by his own people after being defeated
in a battle by Alexander, who shows his
munificence and spares the family.”
Why was this motif chosen for the ceiling?
“We do not know. Regarding the historical
context, it may be referring to the
Turkish wars at that time. There are no direct
links and there has been no mention
found in relevant literature,” Daniel says.
“Who else is depicted in the fresco?
There are many courtiers around Alexander.
It is impossible to identify every
figure; there may be the famous physician
Philippos among them or perhaps
other commanders,” suggests Daniel.
During these times, it was also a common
practice to incorporate the donor—
who was funding the art—into the painting.
However, Count Oedt is most likely
not portrayed there—only his coat of arms.
There are also the painter’s initials on one
of the dogs’ collars. The artist was long
unknown until he was identified as Kar-

TEXT: Pavel Konečný photo: Martin Mádl
Alexander the Great
Darius’ mother
Sisigambis
Darius’ wife Stateira
Darius' daughters
Stateira and Drypetis
The coat of arms of
the Count Oedt
Monogram “CFT”
of the painter Karel
František Töpper
el František Antonín Töpper from Velké
Meziříčí, a popular painter in his day.
Töpper painted the fresco when he
was 47 years old. Daniel estimates that
it might have taken him several months
to finish it and he might have received
one year’s wages for the job. Töpper was
also painting in Velehrad, Jihlava and
Jaroměřice.
“It was discovered that the composition
had been adopted from the album
Heroicae virtutis imagines. It was common
in those days to reproduce and alter
older compositions. What Töpper had to
do was to elaborate the idea and use colouring.
He created all the faces and used
his portrayal technique while respecting
the model composition which was a reproduction
of one painting by Pietro da
Cortona,” explains Daniel.
Standard Baroque
There is no written document accompanying
of the existence of this fresco
measuring 12x5 metres. No commission,
no contract, no payment confirmation—nothing.
That is why there was so
much argument about this painting and
why there were so many different explanations
of its origin.
According to Prof. Daniel, the ceiling
fresco in the conference hall is an example
of a standard high quality painting. “A professional
piece of work, it is not the most
excellent representation of Baroque painting
however,” sums up the vice-rector.
Darius’s family and Alexander have
already been renovated twice—first in
the beginning of the 19th century and
then again in 1983.
“The problem thirty years ago was the
firmness of the basecoat. The plaster was
becoming loose from the reed laths and
beams. It was necessary to inject and cement
the plaster back to the ceiling. This
time we are waiting for results of soundings
and other tests which would show
how firm the fresco is today. If it happens
to be loosening, it would have to be secured
again. In any case, the painting will be
cleaned and retouched,” outlines Daniel.
Another surprise for historians may be
hiding behind the whitewashed frescoed
sidewalls. It is possible to notice certain
ornamental patterns; how ever there
might be something even older underneath
them. In any case, when there is
a first meeting in the former ceremo nial
hall next year, the whole room will be
glowing like brand-new.
19

students
A Mosaic
of Stories from Fine
Work Experience
for Lawyers
The Student Legal Advisory Centre at the Olomouc
Faculty of Law is unique in the Czech Republic. No
other law faculty in the country offers the public
a free legal service to such an extent. Interest in the
centre is huge, on both sides.
“This semester we even had a problem choosing amongst students,
because more volunteered than we could use,” stated the
Advisory Centre Director, Zuzana Adameová.
Forty students have found a place in Civil Law, others in Consumer
Law and Judicial Law. “We do not do Criminal nor Commercial
Law. For Financial Law, clients obviously turn to their
own solicitors,” noted Adameová.
All students in the centre are enrolled in Law and Legal Science,
all work in pairs and under supervision. “They work in
pairs so that they can learn to work in a team. Sometimes they
do not know each other at all, nor are they always friends, but
neither in real life may they choose the collective into which they
will enter,” observed their director.
The supervisors are their teachers, solicitors, or solicitor trainees.
“Each one has four to eight students, and once a week they
meet to advise. And individual cases are handed out by the supervisor,
taking into consideration who has already been working on
what,” explained the deputy director, Lucia Valentová.
Complex legal advice must always be approved in advance by
a supervisor. “The Legal Advisory Centre always points out solutions,
possibilities, and consequences. Then each person must decide
for themselves,” stated Marek Zeman, on behalf of the students.
It is magic to watch the difference when a student addresses
their fellow as “Esteemed Colleague”. “We address each other
that way in class, as well—it’s much better than saying ‘Lucy’ for
instance,” says Petra Jonášková.
According to Valentová, the centre is suited for training students.
“Here they are protected and at the same time they come
into contact with all sorts of things. It is better for them to be in the
Student Legal Advisory Centre than to be making coffee in a law
office,” says Valentová. Each student takes five cases per semester.
The Student Legal Advisory Centre in its present form has
been in operation since 2006. Two hundred clients find their way
there annually. Every one of their cases gets a number and goes
into a file of its own. “So far, we haven’t had one complaint. Just
the opposite, we receive thank you letters and sometimes someone
will bring us a small gift of thanks,” said Adameová.
The advisory centre is primarily intended for those who
cannot afford legal aid. A portion of these are referred there by
clerks from social services, the town hall, or the labour office.
20
Pacta sunt servanda
Barbora Hudková
Marek Zeman
both 3rd-year students)
Under pressure, a tenant
signed a different contract
than he wanted.
“A client came to us, first saying
he wanted to sign an addendum
to extend his rental contract, so
that he could continue to receive
his state entitlement,” began
Marek. They were not able to help
this client, for it was not in their
powers to force the landlord to
extend the contract. However,
during the course of these proceedings,
the client changed his
claim, because in the meantime,
he had signed the contract. “The
landlord forced him to sign the
contract under different conditions
than he wanted,” Marek
described. The landlord applied
the damages deposit of five thousand
crowns in the contract. The
reason was for not maintaining
nighttime quiet, that the client
allegedly would return home
drunk, causing the landlord psychological
damage.
This was contradictory to
what was in the contract, and
was not applicable by law. Nevertheless,
interpretations can
be multiple. “It could be viewed
that the damages deposit was
not valid, whereas the rest of the
addendum was valid. Or it could
be viewed from the perspective
of Pacta sunt servanda, i.e., that
the contract must be kept. And
that the client ought to satisfy
those damages.
And so the students presented
him with two possibilities: pay
the damages and what goes with
them; or do not pay, and suffer
what might go with that. “We do
not know what he decided,” says
Marek. According to him, most
clients leave, and then the case,
on his part, is finished.
A Case Coloured
by Feelings
Radka Demjanová
(5th-year student)
A client wanted custody of his
children.
Radka’s client had debts. These
were however a peripheral affair.
“We couldn’t help him with his
financial situation, because he
had to pay his debts himself,”
Radka relayed how it started.
However, she did not resolve the
case on her own, but with a colleague.
Ten years after his divorce,
the client wanted the children to
be in his custody. “The court entrusted
them to the mother, but
he averred that the mother was
an alcoholic and a drug user,
and could not look after them
well on her own. Mainly, he did
not want them to end up in foster
care,” Radka described.
The man did not have his
own flat, and did not have the
financial means to properly care
for his children’s needs. During
the start of the hearings on custody,
Radka found in the proceedings
of the Supreme Court
that lack of financial funds is
not a deciding factor in not
awarding a person custody of
their children.
“They take into consideration
whether he is able to take care of
his children, and how seriously
their care was impacted with
their mother,” Radka shared.
And even if the client has a rented
flat, this does not have to
be an obstacle to prevent the
children from being in his care.
“I advised him of the argumentation
at the court and told him
what he must do,“ she said. She
does not know the result. The
case was a difficult one for her.
“It was not about insolvency; it
was a case coloured by feelings,”
explained Radka.

text/photo: Pavel Konečný
The Blurred Legal Act
Adriana Veverková
(4th-year student)
The renter would not even pay
one crown.
A client of Adriana’s (and her
colleague’s) wanted to extend
her renter’s contract for one
crown, which the landlord did
not agree to, because it bothered
him that he would not even
receive this symbolic payment
from her.
“The rental agreement was
considered as a contract in lieu
of payment. That part was concluded,
but the renter counted
sometimes on the place and
time, so in that case the agreement
was not fulfilled,” explained
Adriana.
Students at the advisory
centre however could not examine
the landlord’s desires.
But the client admitted that she
would not pay the one crown,
and the landlord did not want
that crown. “We came to the
conclusion that this was about
a blurring of the legal act, when
a non-paying agreement blurs
into a loan. Which the client
probably did not realise,” stated
Adriana.
For the client, this meant
that she had lesser legal rights
than she would have had on the
basis of civil law as a renter.
“We advised her to either conclude
a new rental agreement or
a loan agreement where it would
be stated that it is not a rental
agreement,” concluded Adriana.
How to Better
Understand Statutes
Hana Páleníková
(3rd-year student)
From tidying up to an
inspection board.
A curious case was resolved
by Hana and her partner at the
Student Legal Advisory Centre.
“The client—an active senior—
first came to us because it bothered
her when her neighbours
did not tidy up the building
corridors when it was their turn,
and she did not enjoy doing it
for them,” described Hana. The
woman lived in a co-operative
building.
“So we sat down, and we read
the co-op statutes, and we even
went over them with the ministry,
to make sure they were
written properly. We elaborated
a position for her, what she must
do in order to force them to clean
or for her to be compensated
when cleaning for other people.
Only in the end the client
came to us with other questions,
that there was no vote of the
parties in the co-op, nor proper
accounting, as there should
be… Discussions in the advisory
centre became drawn out over
almost two months. “Finally, we
came to the conclusion that the
voting actually was not regular,
and we advised her of the only
possible approach—that she
and the others would create an
inspection board, which would
regularly inspect the voting and
accounting. And the tidying up
as well,” emphasised Hana.
A Payment Order
Is Not Money
Jan Dobeš
(3rd-year student)
It started as a loan, and ended
as seizure.
Fifteen thousand crowns was
the sum for which a married
senior couple turned to the Student
Legal Advisory Centre.
“They loaned the money to
a good friend. Not a large sum,
but a sum nonetheless. They
attempted to collect the money
in good faith, however the good
family friend stopped communicating
with them,” said Jan.
They came to ask the students
whether it was a lost cause, or
whether they had a chance to
get their money back. Luckily,
everything had been conducted
in written form. “We elaborated
several possible resolutions
for them, and tried to persuade
them in the direction of avoiding
court. While we sent a letter
of reminder to the other party
in order to avoid court, they did
not communicate with us. And
so it went to court, and a payment
order was issued, which
came into force,” explained Jan.
The clients thought at this
point that they would get their
money back. “Of course, a payment
order does not mean cash
in hand. So they returned to us
to order to force the issue to a decision,
or seizure,” he added.
He does not know how the
case was resolved. “The case was
handled by another pair of students
in the following semester.”
The Bad Daughter
Petra Jonášková
Lucie Dřevíkovská
(both 5th-year students)
Disinheriting and debt
collecting.
An older woman came to
the legal advisory centre with
a more difficult case, which the
two students had to separate
into two parts. First they resolved
a problem with disinheritance,
and then a problem of
a debt. For transparency’s sake.
“The client had a disagreement
with her daughter, who
owed her money. Because of
this, she wanted to disinherit
her,” said Lucie. She had loaned
quite a large sum of money to
her daughter, but the money was
not paid back and the daughter
did not stay in touch with her.
She even insulted her on the
telephone,” added Lucie.
The students advised her to
write out disinheritance papers,
because the daughter was not
expressing permanent interest.
“We consulted with our supervisor,
and came to the conclusion
that the papers should be
written up by a notary public,”
said Petra. The law precisely
states reasons for disinheritance.
“If these are not satisfied,
than the disinheritance will
quite often be objected to. The
notary knows how to write disinheritance
papers in a way in
which they will be indisputable
and certified,” added Lucie.
The second part of the problem
had to deal with the debts.
The problem there was that
the money had been loaned
ten years before, so there was
a problem with the statute of
limitations. The students wrote
up a lawsuit only for the recoverable
part of the debt, because
the legal time limit for the rest
had expired.
21

Summer school
of slavonic languages
The Summer School of Slavonic
Languages (SSSL) at the Philosophical
Faculty of Palacký University in Olomouc
organizes courses of Czech language
for foreigners and also other courses of
Slavonic languages, Russian language or
Polish language in particular.
The Summer School is designed for
professors, senior lecturers, lectors
and students of Czech language and
literature or Slavonic studies, as well as
for translators, journalists and people
from the general public interested in
Czech language, literature, history, and
culture.
studentS
Czech Dining Halls Run
by Smart Application
of an Olomouc Student
The programme comprises also
courses for beginners. English and
Czech language are used as mediating
(teaching) languages according to the
students’ level. Language classes are
complemented with additional events—
filmclub, theatre workshop, workshop of
folklore dances, two one-day trips and
a weekend trip to Prague, etc.
Application form and contact
Please send a properly completed
application form to the SSSL (see the
address below). The organization team
of the SSSL will confirm your enrolment
and send you the enrolment letter and
provide you with further information. If
you have any special requests please let
the SSSL organizers know before June
30, 2013. Contact them at this address
and phone number:
PhDr. Petr Pořízka, Ph.D. (director)
Bc. Gabriela Benešová (secretary)
Address
LŠSS FF UP
Křížkovského 10
771 80 Olomouc
Česká republika
E-mail: lsss@upol.cz
Mobil: 00420 776 267 676
Tel.: 00420 585 633 156
Fax: 00420 585 633 000
The summer school is primarily intended
for adult participants over 18 years of
age.
More information on the webpage
www.lsss.upol.cz
The diners of the Palacký
University dining hall are the first
ones in the Czech Republic who
can order their meals via their
mobile phones. A fully functional
application for smart phones—
which has meanwhile spread to
other universities—was created
by a student of the Faculty of
Science, Lukáš Novák, as his
Bachelor’s thesis.
The ordering system on the phone is
equivalent to the one on the dining hall
webpage. “The users can select, order,
and cancel their meals. They can check
their account balance or the history of
their orders. The application shows the
menu in all dining halls and canteens
for the current day and one week in advance,”
said Lukáš Novák.
During six months, the free application
has been downloaded by more than
2,000 users, who motivated Lukáš to its
further improvement. “Most recently,
I added the option of adding the order into
the calendar. This is great for forgetful
diners who will be reminded by the application
of their order. The application
also shows now which meals are beyond
the diner’s financial means. It is possible
to view the complete menu, decide upon
meals, and add money before the order.
Another visible change has been the support
for a new user interface for appliances
running on the Android operating system,
version 3.0 and higher,” added Lukáš.
The application now uses the blue/
black Android scheme and fits the system
better. “The application used to lack
stability in some cases and could not be
used with the latest phones. Since the
first version, many mistakes have been
corrected, some of which were reported
by the users themselves, and I appreciate
that,” said Lukáš praisingly.
Text: Ondřej Martínek
photo: Pavel Konečný
Thesis with a practical
impact
Lukáš Novák wrote the application as
his Bachelor’s thesis during two semesters
in collaboration with a company
providing most of the information sys-
22

tems for Czech dining halls. As expected,
his thesis was found excellent by
both his supervisor and opponent.
“It is a great idea: a fast, well-arranged,
and functional application.
I can highly recommend it,” said a user
named Milan in a discussion. The dining
hall management, taking care of approximately
10,000 diners, appreciates
the application as well.
“It definitely increases the user’s comfort
during ordering. We usually have
up to 14 meals on our menu,” said the
Director of Palacký University Accommodation
and Dining Božena Pirklová.
The fact that the application is gradually
spreading to other schools as well proves
its excellence. “It has expanded to Charles
University in Prague and to the Technical
University of Ostrava. I closely collaborate
with the ANETE company; without
them, the application would never have
been made. The reason is that they provide
software, ISIC cards identification,
self-order kiosks, and portal applications
to all the dining halls,” explained Lukáš.
He still focuses on improving the application.
Dozens of reactions from its
users inspire him greatly. “I very much
appreciate the ergonomics of the application
as well as other aspects, such as
the English and German versions for
foreign students, or the choice of appearance.
It works perfectly, you can order
the meal on your phone even 5 seconds
before receiving it in the hall,” said
Matěj Pivokonský, a student of the Faculty
of Philosophy who uses the application
several times a week, along with
hundreds of other students.
Study Plan Architect
Besides improving the existing project,
Lukáš has started working on yet another
one—the Study Plan Architect. It is a tool
for students who like to keep their study
plan in order. Its purpose is to plan the
course of study or overview the achieved
credits, marks, or grade averages.
It is ideal for finding answers to questions
such as: Will my credits be sufficient,
if I fail in this examination?
“After installing, the students choose
their study programmes, and the application
automatically downloads all relevant
courses, structured according to
years and blocks. A selected course can
be marked as completed, when the credits
are acquired or an exam is passed.
This makes up the statistics of acquired
credits in individual years and blocks,
so the users can easily overview their
study,” said Lukáš Novák.
The Mausoleum:
Inspiration
for a Prospective
Lawyer
The efforts for a dignified renovation of
the devastated Yugoslav Mausoleum in the
Bezruč Park have received more realistic
outlines. The Olomouc City Council has
decided to begin the first stage of reconstructions
at the beginning of 2014.
Tomáš Vachutka, a student of the Faculty
of Law who wrote a paper about the alarming
conditions of the mausoleum last year,
appreciates this Council decision. “I tried
to propose a motion for thorough consideration
of the conditions of the mausoleum,”
he said. Vachutka’s paper revealed the discrepancies
between the current state of the
mausoleum and the legislative norm considering
protection of graves and human
remains, and defined the key problem: the
obscurity of property rights.
The dilapidation of the mausoleum began
at the end of the 1930s, and the Nazis
even considered its demolition. After
World War 2, international relationships
were not ideal, and the break-up of Yugoslavia
in the 1990s further complicated the
overall situation. However, the Ambassador
of Slovenia facilitated the consent of
the succession states regarding the transfer
of ownership to the City of Olomouc.
Hopefully, even a memorial plaque with
names of the victims may be made. The
Palacký University Archive Director, Pavel
Urbášek, believes it would help to emphasise
the significance of this, the second
largest military cemetery in the Czech Republic,
in the international context.
“The major part of the existing lists of
the buried allows us to find out more than
just their names, the dates of birth and
death, and military ranks: we can also identify
their countries of origin,” said Urbášek.
The development of the cause inspires Vachutek
to extend the original paper. “I would
like to record the progress of the cause up to
now, and provide a logical conclusion in order
to close the theme,” he stated.
Text: Velena Mazochová
photo: pavel konečný
23

alumni
Graduates Need Work Experience:
“You Can Hardly Find Your Glasses
without Your Glasses”
A physician, Martin; a personnel
clerk, Marie; a copywriter,
Radek; an emergency rescue
worker, Lucie; and a sales agent,
Olga—these are just a few of
more than 5,000 graduates of
Palacký University who take
off towards their first job every
year. Although each of them
was destined to go in a different
direction, they were all
concerned about their first step
in their careers.
Text: Onřej martínek
photo: respondents' archives
24
First step
“When I graduated and started working,
I realised that the outside world is not what
I was used to, because during my studies
we knew each other, helped each other,
lived together, had fun. Suddenly, a new
vast world opens in front of you, and not
everyone out there is nice, tolerates your
accent, nor accepts your foreign origin. Yet
Czech students will face the same change.
The university is a world of its own, reality
is different,” ponders Olga Rybak, a twenty-six
year-old native of Odessa.
Martin Obhlídal had to get used to
the life beyond the lecture halls as well.
“Some look forward to finishing school,
but I miss student life. One of the reasons
is that the medical students live
closely together, you spend five days
a week at school together with the same
people, so you get naturally very close,”
says Martin, today an intern in the
Teaching Hospital in Olomouc.
They were both lucky to find a job in
their professions immediately after graduation.
Olga graduated in Ukrainian
and Russian Philology and was hired by
a company producing pumps as a sales
agent for post-Soviet republics. Martin
decided to specialise in orthopaedics.
They also have in common working
with other people, even though in different
ways. Paradoxically, the amount of
administrative tasks in their professions
is equal. “Sometimes I feel it’s the only
thing we do. I rather feel like a lawyer
sometimes,” he gets heated. It is true,
doctors have to cover themselves and the
hospital. Everything must be in order.
Wooing
During the search for a job, Journalism
student Radek Antl was surprised
by the approach of employers towards
young people without previous work
experience.
“It is like wooing a girl who wants to
know before the first date how many
girls you had before her. You apply for
a copywriting position, send your CV,
prove that you live for writing, and
nothing happens. The reason being,
your previous experience is not extensive
enough. But how could it be otherwise
with such an approach? You can
hardly find your glasses without your
glasses!” says Radek, adding, “The
firms make a big mistake by ignoring an
opportunity to educate an eager young
man who will work for a low salary and
does not hurry home to his family at the
end of the day.”
Marie Váňová, a development manager
in a transnational corporation, is
well familiar with that. She would add,
however, that the most important employee
quality is commitment. “Commitment
involves doing thing in a different,
better way. Helping your boss
so that your teams are more efficient
and their work interconnected,” says
this former Andragogy student.
At present, her priorities involve,
besides leadership development, also
internal communication. Working with
people can be both exhausting and energising.
“Right now, I am busy with
training other employees, and it stimulates
me,” adds Marie.
Olga radiates the same positive
energy; she enjoys the collective and
approach of her colleagues. “I am
glad they are interested in my point of
view. I can feel it especially with the
constructors, who keep in mind the
fact that I did not study at a technical
school,” says Olga in flawless Czech.

“Spondeo ac polliceor”
In December 2012, Professor James F. Sallis from the University of California
in San Diego received the title of Doctor honoris causa at Palacký University.
The honorary doctorate is highest award that the university can grant.
Wedding
Signing a contract, getting an office,
being thrown into the water. This is how
most graduates enter their first jobs.
Everyone deals with it in their own way.
Twenty-five year-old Lucie Balarinová
trusts her instincts.
“You realise that intuition equals survival,
and that you do not need what you do
not have. You find your boundaries to be
where you never expected. And this is true
about your life as well as your job. When
you get really motivated, then you become
efficient, but you need the right impulse
and a few good people around you,” says
Lucie who is a volunteer emergency rescuer,
self-employed person, and a postgraduate
student in General Nursing.
Every profession has its specifics. “You
should not have a huge ego and artistic
ambitions if you work for an advertising
agency. Or you have to be able to suppress
it. Not take it personally. Respect the fact
that a bunch of suits could not see the brilliance
of your idea. Rewrite it for a hundredth
time, if they wish. Because you do
not create for yourself, but for your client
and his money, and he can exercise his
veto. That can be uncomfortable. If you invest
a piece of yourself, someone will come
and smear the piece all over the room,”
says the copywriter, Radek, about his encounter
with reality.
One thing would be unanimously recommended
by them all. “Students should
look for work experiences during their
studies; or anything that would reveal
their profession from the other side.” Or
even outside the profession. “Something
you can show your employer along with
your diploma, because nine out of ten applicants
bring a similar diploma, and you
must be one step ahead,” adds Radek.
“Amazing experience. The whole ceremony,
the medals and robes—it made a very
special day for me. It is an acknowledgement
of our work and research together
with Palacký University,” said Prof. Sallis,
a renowned expert on a healthy lifestyle
and movement activities, with more than
500 citations on the Web of Science. He is
a co-founder of the researchers’ network
IPEN (the International Physical Activity
and the Environment Network).
The beauty of released
endorphins
The honorary doctor, who was first contacted
by the Faculty of Physical Culture
via Josef Hřebíček in 1990, was introduced
by Dean Zbyněk Svozil.
“In 1992, he approached us regarding
collaboration on the SPARK project
(Sport, Play and Recreation for Kids).
He provided us with the know-how—
how to acquire and process the necessary
data, and arranged the delivery of
the first devices mapping physical activity
from the United States. Consequently,
we were able to monitor both ours
and the American population as well.
Today, we are one of six countries in Europe
involved in the global research of
movement activities,” said Svozil.
Sallis’ principles of healthy and successful
education are simple: to ensure
that students have Physical Education
every day and that some physical activity
is being done in every class. He also advocates
active breaks between classes.
“He has dedicated himself for a long
time to the perhaps most serious social
problem since the end of 20th century.
He is one of those who repeatedly challenge
us, saying—find the resolve, try to
move, and learn the beauty of releasing
endorphins. Let us accept this challenge
as our own,” said Rector Miroslav
Mašláň at the ceremony, as he gave consent
to the promotion.
I promise and pledge
The Latin promotion text and ceremonial
promise was read by the promotion
official Jitka Ulrichová. “Spondeo
ac polliceor,” said Sallis, touching the
mace, and became an honorary doctor.
He noted that the collaboration has
been mutually beneficient. “It had an
impact on both my career and scientific
research,” explained Sallis after he
smiled widely and said, “Thank you,” in
lovely Czech.
In his speech, he emphasised how important
it is for an American to receive
a doctorate at a European university,
particularly in Olomouc—whose university
has a long and respected history.
He highlighted the very first meeting
during his first congress in Europe,
when he met a postgraduate student,
Josef Hřebíček, in Sweden, and the consequent
collaboration with Prof. Karel
Fröml’s team.
James F. Sallis became the 43rd Doctor
honoris causa of Palacký University.
Text/photo: Pavel Konečný
25

popularisation
Science in the Café
A series of informal meetings brought students and
the public to the cafés of Olomouc. Apart from
Palacký University experts, the Science Café hosted
also the astronomer Jiří Grygar and American
Professor James F. Sallis. A distinct contribution
was made in October 2012 by a prominent science
populiser, Michael Londesborough.
Boris Cvek:
disulfiram against
cancer
The drug used for treatment
of alcoholism could also be
used in treatment of cancer.
An advocate of the new usage
of Antabuse (disulfiram) and
an assistant professor in the
Department of Cellular Biology
and Genetics at the Faculty
of Science, Boris Cvek,
spoke about the alternatives in
biomedicinal research in the
Science Café. He claims that
the development of new drugs
has come to a cul-de-sac.
“For thirty years, rational
design has been applied in this
field. We believe that we are rational
enough to be able to find
out the cause of a disease and
subsequently also a chemical
that would stop, eliminate, or
control the cause,” said Cvek.
He pointed out that the development
of new drugs takes
many years and their testing is
very expensive. Moreover, their
effect is disputable.
“So far, the dogma has been
that the substance should be
specific and aimed at one target
only. The evidence says,
however, that no substance
has only one target,” commented
Cvek on the research.
Then he introduced an ideal
candidate for cancer therapy –
a drug used in treatment of alcoholism,
disulfiram. “In 1977,
E. F. Lewison described a case
of a woman with extensive
metastases who had begun
drinking. She was treated for
alcoholism and administered
Antabuse. During the following
ten years, all her metastases
disappeared, and she was
oncologically healthy,” said
Cvek about one of the first cases,
later forgotten by scientists.
The antitumorous effects of
disulfiram, or specifically the
copper-diethyldithiocarbamate
complex (CuEt), created
in the body after its application,
were later “discovered”
by other researchers, too. At
present, it is Boris Cvek who
promotes its usage and participates
in testing with his
American colleagues.
“I would almost prefer if
clinical testing proved that
disulfiram did not work, so
that I could close the case. It
is hard to go on knowing that
it may work, while the oncology
clinic is crowded with patients,”
said Cvek.
Transformations of
energy and looking
into the sky
Michael Londesborough,
a Londoner living and working
in the Czech Republic
since 2003, made a fascinating
show at the Faculty of
Science.
“It was a perfect lesson on
popularisation. His lecture
was seemingly simple, but in
order to be able to explain it
and be perfectly understood
by students at the same time,
you need to be an exhibitionist
and a showman. And
Michael meets the criteria,
without doubt,” said the
Head of the Department of
Experimental Physics, Roman
Kubínek.
Jiří Grygar, an astronomer
and astrophysicist, invited
the café guests on a non-traditional
journey to the cosmic
enormity. The title of his lecture,
“Looking into the Sky”,
was borrowed from a book by
a late Czech astronomer Hubert
Slouka. Inspired by this
work, Grygar presented photographs
of the universe in
the highest available quality.
For instance, he showed gi-
gantic hurricanes on Jupiter,
traces of the astronauts on
the Moon, and the total solar
eclipse of August 2008.
The scientists from the
Faculty of Physical Culture
collaborate with many foreign
experts, yet one of them
stands out. Professor James
F. Sallis from the University
of California introduced the
faculty to the international
context in the 1990s.
His lecture would definitely
please all inhabitants of
Olomouc—he had words of
praise for the city, in comparison
to U.S. cities. “The city
is well-structured in terms of
physical activities. People can
walk from one place to another.
In the United States, most
cities look quite differently.
They are not ‘walkable’, so
people have to drive between
city zones,” he explained.
Shortly before Christmas,
the Science Café hosted a religionist
and theologian, Ivan
Odilo Štampach. He demonstrated
one of the problems
in the methodology of religious
studies on the results
of the latest census.
Text/photo: martin višŇA
26

text/photo: Pavel Konečný
Fischer’s Children
The first rector of the renewed Olomouc university, Josef Ludvík Fischer, is
still highly esteemed at our alma mater. Metaphorically we may say that in
a sense we are all his followers. We are all Fischer’s children.
Sylva.
The youngest child of J. L. Fischer.
Now, after the recent death of her
sister Soňa, she is the “senior” in the
Fischer family. Her nephew Mojmír
is five days younger and enjoys the
age difference. On the other side, the
youngest successor is Sylva’s fifteen
year-old son Martin, a student at the
Archbishop’s Grammar School in
Prague.
27

INTERVIEW
“Father Was a Respected
Authority”
She says about her father,
with some hyperbole, that he
experienced the cult of a local
hero in Olomouc. “But in ancient
Rome the local heroes often used
to be worshipped more than the
Olympus gods”, begins Sylva
Fischerová, in an interview about
her father (and herself). We sat in
a cosy café in Prague’s Celetná
Street in the House of the Black
Madonna, which carries many
other implications for her. “The
interior and the whole building
was designed by the architect
Josef Gočár. I studied philosophy
with his granddaughter Klára
in Prague. We were also close
to one another due to the fact
that the regime didn’t like our
families,” said Fischerová.
“Over there at the table while
chatting with an international
company, I realised that I need
to publish a foreign-language
anthology of my father’s work,
all those studies he published
in English or in German. Just to
be able to give them something
next time. And here at this table,”
she points behind her, “I often
sit with Professor Barteček, with
whom we are preparing the third
volume of a selection from the
works of J. L. Fischer.”
28
Was this local hero cult in some way
traumatising for you, when you were
a child?
I felt it strongly. Father was such a strong
personality, that many people referred to
him. He was a respected authority. That
outlook changed when I came to Prague.
Although they knew him here, the world
here wasn’t so stuffed and overcrowded
by his students.
Did it have any disadvantages?
Father was a persona non grata for the
regime. My sister Soňa in the eighth year
of her elementary language school wasn’t
granted a letter of recommendation to
study at a grammar school, even though
she had the best grades, because the headmistress,
nick-named by Soňa The White
Rat, was a mean communist. Yet in the
last year she conceded to give it to her.
Such was their policy: they gave you the
experience of their power and then they
could afford some kindness or concession.
When my sister applied for studying
Psychology in Prague, she—according to
my mum’s sources—had the second best
results from the huge crowds of applicants.
But she wasn’t accepted. Such was life,
such was our growing-up. It was so unfair,
but many others suffered even more.
You already had the pathway cleared
behind your sister, didn’t you?
I used to be a competitive child. What
helped me was that I won a national
Young Historian competition in the
seventh year at primary school. I reckoned
this might beat her. I got to Charles
University by applying to the Philosophy
and Physics study programme that
nobody applied to. This was made-up
by Professor Milan Sobotka, also my
father’s former student. I used to carry
with me a textbook on mathematics
and physics and would calculate the
examples. There were six of us apply-
ing, three mastered the entrance exams
in physics and I was among those three
that were accepted. Sobotka invented
that perfectly.
Why didn’t you choose Palacký University?
I wanted to get out of home like every
young person, but mainly because there
was no choice in the Humanities. You
couldn’t study Philosophy in Olomouc
and because of the meagre offer most of
my friends went on to study Medicine or
English.
And after that time, you didn’t return
home?
Before that I spent one year in Brno, but
I used to travel to Olomouc often, most
every other week.
And now, after your sister died, do you
have someone to visit in Olomouc?
I have a brother-in law and plenty of
friends there, so yes, I still have someone
to go to.
What was your relationship to your
older step-sister, Viola?
I don’t have her in my childhood memories,
because she emigrated when I was
five. But Soňa remembered her. When
she came back after the revolution and
we saw each other for the first time after
all those years, we got drunk and ended
up at my home in Modřany. It was
such a strong experience! I think we had
a strong relationship and interestingly
enough I heard many of the family stories
for the first time from her.
But you knew that she existed?
Yes, certainly. She used to send us delicious
chocolates from Switzerland.
I collected the wrappings and kept them
for years. Or the clothes: I remember
two blouses, dark yellow and blue, I wore

text/photo: Pavel Konečný
them until they were falling apart. And
I still keep her postcard of a rhino from
the Basel Zoo. As we grew older, over
the years, our separation became greater.
But her brother Jiří, my father’s son,
used to visit us regularly on All Souls’
Day and always talked about Jalena.
Jalena?
That was her family nick-name: Jalena,
Jalenka, Jali. I have a theory that it derives
from her name: Viola, Violenka, Fijalenka.
But I actually never asked her about it.
Do you remember your father just in
glimpses?
In my childhood memories, recollections
such as picking mushrooms in Dálov. But
this memory is gradually fading. If something
of it returns in old age, as they say,
it hasn’t returned to me yet. Maybe I still
have something before me... I have occasional
flashbacks of the holidays, of the
seaside. Or of my dad telling fairy-tales—
we had them recorded on tapes but they
vanished somewhere. I remember his
voice, his intonation. In a diary from my
childhood I have a remark that I liked the
fairy-tales that he used to tell us.
What kind of voice did he have, can
you compare it to someone else’s?
No, I couldn’t. But Jiří had a similar voice
and his son Ctirad too. And they say my
daughter and I have. His voice was kind
of husky. And although my father spent
most of his life in Moravia, he still used
South-Bohemian word endings.
What did he enjoy?
Hard to say... My father smoked a lot
and sometimes he went to the pub for
a glass of beer, near where we used to
live, to the Bystřička river, so called
“Bynda” pub. They say he could sip
one glass of beer the whole evening.
In Prague he and my mum sometimes
went for a glass of wine to the Barrandov
Terraces or to the Lesser Quarter to
the Makarská pub. But I remember him
working all the time.
Did you inherit any virtues from your
father?
Well, I think I shouldn’t answer that myself.
But Viola once, after my lecture on
poetry, said: When you spoke, I sometimes
felt you had exactly our dad’s tone
of voice and gestures.
Do you go to Olomouc to visit the annual
Lectures in Honour of J. L. Fischer?
They usually take place on dates when
I cannot come. But I’d like to come to the
next one, the 20th anniversary lecture. And
I would prefer someone from the Humanities
had it this time—for the twentieth.
Sylva Fischerová
Completed her studies at Olomouc-
-Hejčín Grammar School and after
her inaugural studies of Philosophy
and Physics she was graduated
from Classical Philology at Charles
University. She is an Assistant
Professor at the Institute for Greek
and Latin Studies of the Faculty of Arts
at Charles University. Her father died
when she was nine. She writes poems,
short stories, essays and books for
children. She was awarded the Czech
Literary Fund Foundation Prize for her
literary interview with Karel Floss, Bůh
vždycky zatřese stavbou / God Always
Shakes the Building. (Also her stepsister
Viola was a writer). At present,
the singer Monika Načeva is about to
set her poems to music.
29

JLF, or Jelef
A Meditation upon Time
J. L. Fischer
The Time
Back in the days when I was young
It seemed to me—nay, I was sure—
That time was like a tightened string
And firmly so I held the thing
And beheld I also, besides this,
That every inch of that thin thread
Would to the time be e’er my debt
The debt I know I must repay
For prodigal I was a son:
My bow I’ll have to draw with might
And accurate my arrows send
Towards the ring of fulfilment
Thus fulfilled shall be my life’s reel
And settle shall I my time’s bill
And you, my string, shall then rest still
XIX
And still I shall be reconciled
At the time which shall mark my last breath:
The time my string’ll be cut by death.
He was the first philosopher I have ever
met, wrote Václav Havel in a brochure
entitled Josef Ludvík Fischer. The Havels
had all his books at home, and Fischer
often visited Václav Havel’s father.
Havel added a short reminiscence
from the time when he was fourteen. He
had a meeting with Fischer in the Slavia
Café, and Fischer brought him a thick
book, Windelband’s A History of Philosophy,
and told him, “This is the best
book on the history of philosophy, you
need to read this soon.” Havel looked
at the book, leafed through it, and said,
“But it’s written in German!”
“So what? Learn German!” Havel described
Fischer as a very lively and vigorous
personality, a thinker full of energy.
Forty years without
Fischer
In addition to Havel, Fischer’s children
and students reminisce on Fischer in
the brochure. The editor and publisher,
Prof. Jiří Musil, wrote the chapters
about Fischer’s stay in the Netherlands
where he hid during the war. He was on
the Gestapo’s black list and had to leave
before the German Protectorate was established.
The thin brochure had to be published
at Musil’s own expense. He actually had
to invest twice. “The typographer made
a mistake in the date of death. It was
a faux pas, but it could have been solved
by adding the list of errata,” speculates
Prof. Musil.
The correct date of Fischer’s death is
the 17th, not the 16th February 1973.
Musil has about 200 defective copies
and tries to sell them wherever he can,
for example in the emergency department
in the hospital. However, he does
not expect his money to return, and his
goal was to honour the memory of the
great J. L. F. He is also the founder of the
Fischerian Society, with 80 members.
Several dozen are from the Netherlands,
so Musil writes about them as well. He
spent some time in the Netherlands
within a research fellowship to follow
Fischer’s legacy.
What was he like?
Fischer’s children like to remember their
father. “Writing about our father J. L. F.,
Lecture in Honour of the First Palacký University Rector,
J. L. Fischer
A world-famous immunologist, Prof. Blanka Říhová from Charles University,
delivered the annual lecture in honour of J. L. Fischer in front of the crowded
auditorium hall of the Faculty of Science. “It was exceptional for me in the sense
that I could honour the first Rector. However, the style was not exceptional,
I lecture many times a year,“ said Říhová. She has lectured in the U.S.A.,
throughout Europe, and even in China and Dubai. She adjusted her Olomouc
speech for a non-immunological audience. “Immunologists would not be allowed
to see the parts containing the answers,“ she explained.
The honorary guests included a grandson of the first rector of the reopened
university, Ctirad Fischer, a graduate of the University of Technology in Brno. “I am
lucky to have known my grandfather when he was alive and I respect greatly what
he achieved. I am a renegade—the only technically educated member of the
Fischer family. I was graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,“ he
said. An excursion to the world of the humanities was a nice change for him.
30

text/photo: Pavel Konečný reproduction: žurnál up
however, necessarily means taking into
account his whole personality,” says his
son Jiří in the prologue to his memories;
his father always approached him in
a way as his audience. He also systematically
selected his reading.
“I once happened to extol a current
bestseller called The Marvels and Mysteries
of Radio Waves, and my father
told me how to obtain it. He gave me
a pen and paper, told me to sit down and
write a request to the Orbis publishing
house, to Mr. Halas,” remembers Jiří
Fischer.
His father could apparently divine
his son’s secret wishes and was able to
fulfill them much sooner than little Jiří
could express them.
His daughter Viola could not wait for
her father to come back from exile. She
remembers weaving her way through
the crowd, running towards him, and
jumping around his neck, crying, “Daddy!”
“The following half-hour, when we
walked from Královo Pole to Řečkovice
in the middle of the night, was one of the
happiest moments of my life. I carried
the briefcase my father entrusted me
with,” recalls Viola in her chapter.
She remembers him playing cards
with forest workers in the pub in Třeboň
and how they brought him mushrooms
even in the driest year. “Dad talked to
them as one of their peers, always much
interested in what they do,” she wrote.
“I can still see the morning, I was
9 years old and it was Saturday, because
I woke up in my Mom’s bed, which was
an honour, yet I do not know how I deserved
it then. (...) Mom came to tell me
she did not like how Jelef—as she called
Professor
Jiří Musil and
his publications
on Fischer
him sometimes, although she directly
addressed him Joe—looked.” These
were Sylva’s words about the last day of
her father…
Fischer’s structuralism
For the rest, Fischer was primarily a philosopher,
rector, and professor. His ideas
and philosophy were described by his
students. “In the Bory prison, we were
allowed 30 minutes of broadcasting
a day. And this was how I learned about
J. L. F.’s death. My imprisonment became
even harder,” concluded Zdeněk Vašíček,
in his chapter. Vašíček appreciated Fischer’s
aporetic thinking, his ability to
discuss and analyse problems without
solutions and without guidance.
Karel Floss recalls Fischer’s fatal
proclamation of 2 March 1948, when he
said that his cooperation with the new
Communist regime would be possible
only under the condition of sustained
democracy and, above all, unhinged
freedom in scientific work.
Floss also quotes Fischer’s speech
from the structuralist convention in
1968. “I have been anxiously careful not
to exchange the birthright of the truth
I have learnt for a hodgepodge of any
secondary rights, no matter what price
I have been bound to pay.”
Musil’s book is supplemented by poems
written by Fischer’s daughters Sylva
and Viola, photographs, and newspaper
clippings. It is a three-dimensional
portrait of Fischer; and the university
whose reopening he facilitated should
be proud of his legacy.
Ten years with Fischer’s texts
Work on texts by J. L. Fischer
has occupied the editors of
Fischer’s works for more than
a decade. The renewed interest has
brought together the academic
community and interested
publishing houses. When TORST
published Fischer’s Notes on the
Others and on Myself in 2005,
continuation was anticipated.
Two years later, in a collaboration
of Academia Praha and Palacký
University Press, the first volume
of Selected Works of J. L. Fischer has
been released.
“Václav Havel was one of his
diligent readers, among others. We
could paraphrase a simplification
by another reader: if Prague had
Jan Patočka, Moravia had Fischer.
That could explain the expectations,
fulfilled later by the printing of
the second volume of his selected
works in 2009,” said Prof. Ivo
Barteček, one of the guarantors of
Fischer’s publication.
Volumes II and III were published
by Palacký University Press in
collaboration with editors and
Fischer’s heirs. “The introduction
of Fischer’s legacy has always
been an extraordinary social event
for both the academic and the
non-academic community. The
expected third volume includes
primarily Fischer’s philosophical
and sociological texts in
chronological order. The volume
intends to present Fischer not only
as a scholar, but also a thinker
reflecting social affairs,” said
Barteček.
This publishing project has been
supported by all Palacký University
rectors in office. The third volume is
dated 2013 and after Notes on the
Others and on Myself completes
a second imaginative chapter
introducing Fischer’s legacy; it will
be presented to the public on the
occasion of the 440th anniversary
of the foundation of university
teaching in Olomouc. Concurrently,
it will represent the achievements
of the University at the international
fair Book World Prague 2013.
31

AFO 48
16–21 April 2013
Main theme: Mathematics
Programme blocks:
Pseudoscience: Genuine Knowledge
vs. Myth
Third Gender: A Neglected Theme,
Explored in Detail for the First Time
Politics, Truth and Global Warming
Video Games: Cordial Greetings from
Scientists
Main Prize:
Andrew Cohen, Head of the BBC
Science Unit
Mathematical Association of America
Guests:
Richard Saunders, President of the
Australian Skeptics, a mathematician
and origamist; Pavel Hobza, the most
cited Czech scientist; Will Roscoe, an
American scientist and documentary
filmmaker; Jan Pretel, a climatologist.
Films:
Horizon: Fermat’s Last Theorem; An
Inconvenient Truth; The Great Global
Warming Swindle; Science Under
Attack.
Make your own paper
airplane
“The theme of mathematics can
be grasped from many various
angles, yet we did not want to make
the theme visible at first sight.
We wanted to keep a provocative
tone, so we abandoned the idea
of mathematics and made a paper
airplane out of a paper with
mathematical symbols,” said Klára
Kvízová from ReDesign Studio,
commenting on the new AFO visual
design.
festival
AFO Festival:
The Life Ring of Czech
Scientific Films
The main novelty of the 48th
year of Academia Film Olomouc
(AFO) is the Industry Meeting, an
activity for professionals, people
from the TV and film industry, and
popular science authors.
“We hoped to stimulate film production
in the area of popular scientific film.
Czechoslovakia used to be a prominent
country in this genre, but after the revolution
in 1989, educational films seem to
have ceased to exist in the Czech context,”
said the festival Director, Jakub
Korda.
AFO’s intention has been to show
that the popular science is still an effective
genre, having a large audience, and
to remind the scientific community and
popular science writers that film and television
are great instruments in informing
about science.
“It has always been the purpose of
AFO, but in the last few years, every visitor
could see the difference in quality
between Czech and foreign productions.
Czech popular science films do not exist
in fact, our documentaries only touch
science very lightly. Science is a universal,
international theme, and I’m afraid
that Czech documentary somehow got
stuck in the local themes,” said Korda.
Trick or treat
The AFO Director assumes that popular
science films are more difficult to make
than social documentaries. One of the reasons
is financial. While a social documentary
costs dozens of thousands of euros,
scientific films can go into the millions.
“There are many special effects, computer
animations, and post-production
processes, all financially more demanding.
The investment must be considerable
in order to make it look right,” explained
Korda. And Czech film does lack
such resources.
Another question is the exigency of
production in terms of the inventiveness,
creativity, and quality of the documentarists.
“Communication with
scientists is demanding, and to grasp
a theme and to capture its attractive
aspects is even more demanding. The
32

text/photo: Pavel Konečný reproduction: žurnál up
JAKUB KORDA (b. 1977)
He comes from Jičín, located
in the protected area
“Bohemian Paradise“. He
graduated in Theatre, Film
and Media Studies and in
Social Work. He has worked
for AFO since 2007, becoming
its Director in 2011.
His grandfather Karel
Znamenáček, one of the
Czech Republic’s foremost
paediatricians, was an
amateur film enthusiast, who
wrote for film magazines in
the 1930s under the acronym
kazna.
documentarists tend to evade this somewhat,”
claims Korda.
There is no ideal length for a scientific
film, and the contrast between television
and film becomes apparent. “Television
is bound by its rules, its slots, and
that affects our programme, too. We
often work with the television format
of 50 minutes, yet many documentaries
have the ambition to reach the silver
screen. And I do think that science films
have the potential to be launched in the
cinemas,” said Korda.
Olomouc attracts
audiences with science
The AFO projections take place in six
locations, and all are crowded. At any
one moment, a total of 1200 people are
watching the films. Furthermore, there
is a public projection on Olomouc Upper
Square and also DOC.port, a video
archive with hundreds of films, made
available continuously.
The only and ever-present complaint
regarding the festival concerns the lack
of capacity. Olomouc becomes the destination
of one-day enthusiasts as well as
backpackers who arrive on their vacation
for several days. The festival does
not “belong” to Olomouc only.
“We keep expanding. However, we
wish to keep the festival traditionally in
one spot and in the town centre,” said
Korda. This cannot be said about similar
festivals in Europe: this year, the curtain
has fallen on Milan and Athens.
The year of mathematics
Every year, one theme is highlighted, and
AFO 2013 was dedicated to mathematics.
“Our intention was to show the close
connection between mathematics and
various branches of science, or its importance
in the market economy. Mathematics
is an extremely interesting field,
allowing to portray typical scientists—
these extraordinary enthusiasts, ardently
devoted to their goals. As a matter of
fact, the suicide rate among mathematicians
is very high. This field is open
to unexpected and attractive perspectives,”
said the AFO Director.
Another theme for 2013 was global
warming, still a very topical issue.
“We wanted to present it in various
views. Experts on global warming are
under public supervision, receive letter
bombs, are being threatened… It
is highly unusual for a science field to
face such pressure because of the scientists’
opinions. We tried to conceive this
theme in all dimensions, and under the
patronage of a renowned climatologist,
Jan Pretel,” said Korda.
AFO also dealt with the theme of
pseudoscience, scientific fallacies, and
current impasses in science—or the
theme of vaccination, which can particularly
demonstrate how the scientific
and pseudoscientific arguments work in
the explanation of pros and cons.
The AFO Play section offered game
oldies. “Computer games were invented
by scientists, they are strongly linked
to science. And scientists are playful
people. They also like to fold origami,”
pointed out Korda.
The main AFO guest was Richard
Saunders, the president of the Australian
skeptical movement, a mathematician
and professional origamist, who also led
an origami workshop in Olomouc. Korda
considers origami to be an aesthetic object
built upon mathematical principles.
The AFO Festival is always being prepared
one year in advance. The main
theme for 2014 seems to be even more
attractive, since the focus will be directed
on astrophysics, and its icon Carl Sagan.
AFO will embrace the whole universe.
Second place at SCIAP
Due to the second place at the
SCIAP Competition Show 2011,
AFO festival became one of
the most successful projects
popularising science.
“Our section contained perhaps
seventy projects. The selection
was made by a committee
comprised of representatives from
various scientific institutions. My
attitude to awards has always
been rather reserved. It does
enhance our prestige, but there is
no need to overestimate it. It was
mainly an opportunity for us to
get in touch with other institutes
and initiate future collaboration,”
commented AFO Director Jakub
Korda on the award.
33

ACCOMMODATION TRADE FAIR ACTIVITIES
Renovated Dormitory
in Neředín
Last summer, Neředín I Dormitory was
restored for €500,000.
“The contractor managed to provide
adaptation, restoration, and renovation
in 70 days,” said Palacký University
Accommodation and Dining Director
Božena Pirklová. She noted that dormitories
in Neředín are quite popular.
The project engineer, Jiří Tomeček
from Atelier A, admitted inspiration
in his own experience. “The project is
not just lines on paper. I used to live in
a dormitory in Brno, so I know about the
specifics of student life, and I am well
aware what should be resistant, and in
what ways,” said Tomeček.
Students were provided with completely
new sets of blankets, new bathrooms,
toilettes, and even luxurious
kitchens equipped with glass-ceramic
stoves, microwave ovens, and dishwashers.
There is a shared kitchen on each
storey. “Yet the price of the housing has
stayed the same,” pointed out Pirklová.
Demand for dormitories began to
stagnate two years ago, but it is on the
increase again. The dormitories of Olomouc
offer 5,200 beds in total. This
year, the number of applications for
accommodation increased, as 300 more
students have applied than last year.
Text/photo:
velena mazochová, PAVEL KONEČNý
Successful Gaudeamus
The Palacký University stand won a silver
medal in the exposition contest at
the Gaudeamus 2012 trade fair in Brno.
The stand was supposed to help students
with orientation in their choice
of university. The Olomouc University
stand was visited by 30,000 visitors.
“Our clerks addressed 7000 possible
applicants during four days,” said Ondřej
Martínek on behalf of the exposition team.
The student office clerks were aided by
current students. “The exposition hosted
seventy speakers,” added Martínek.
One of the interested visitors was
eighteen-year-old Patrik from Liberec.
“I would like to study Law, and the faculty
in Olomouc seems quite attractive.
I saw the presentation of your university
and liked the Legal Clinic and the accommodation
stipend. Information on
free time activities was handy,” said the
secondary school graduate.
The university stand was conceived as
a presentation of science and research
in various disciplines throughout the
university, as a part of the PopUP project.
The design of the awarded stand
was made by the Virtualis company and
inspired by the slogan “8 faculties = infinite
employment”.
“The number eight and the infinity
sign are reflected in the shape of
the placard above the stand and in the
graphic elements on the walls,” said
Pavel Gottfried on behalf of Virtualis.
The stand premises divide the exposition
into two areas. The front area, with
counters belonging to individual faculties,
serves for communication with potential
applicants, whereas the rear area
is intended for presentations.
The exposition and presentations of
ninety exhibitors were voted on by the
students themselves.
Ten Years of Sport
The Academic Sport Centre celebrated
its tenth anniversary. Originally, it was
established as an organisation that had
to support itself financially. Every year,
as many as 1400 students apply for the
basic ASC programme.
The former Academic Centre Department
at the Faculty of Physical Culture was
transferred to the general university structure,
so a subsidised department became
a service organisation and the teachers
turned into managers. The transformation
took place at the turn of the millenia, as the
policy of savings dictated to get rid of “useless”
workplaces. “Ten years ago, the crucial
question was how to survive,” remembered
the head of the centre, Jiří Vaculík.
The Academic Sport Centre has
proved its viability, offering three dozen
various sporting activities to PU
students and employees, and regularly
updating its services. The Centre utilises
the Sports Hall, gymnasiums, swimming
complex, and fitness centre with
a sauna and tanning salon.
ASC offers sporting activities including
aerobics, archery, and climbing.
“One-time sport courses are popular
among students. The most attractive
ones are ski trips to the Alps, windsurfing,
cycling, and mountain climbing,”
summed up Vaculík. The University
Football League is one of its major
achievements; the finals take place traditionally
on the PU Sports Day.
In the examination period and during
the summer holiday, students make room
for families with children. The Olomouc
Summer of Children is an activity envied
by other cities. Parents’ interest in their
children applying for the summer programme
still increases; the original one
hundred applicants have grown into almost
two thousand applicants.
34

SPORT
Paralympian
Medals and
Wellingtons
at the
Rectorate
The Paralympians
and the Rector.
The coach wears
the famous Czech
Olympic Team
wellingtons.
Successful Paralympians and
students of the Faculty of
Physical Culture, silver medallist
Tereza Diepoldová and bronze
medallist Veronika Vadovičová,
visited Palacký University Rector
Miroslav Mašáň. They were
accompanied by their coach,
Iva Machová.
Text/phOTO: Martin Višňa
The blue Olympic and then also
Paralympic wellingtons have become the
centre of attention once again. “I wanted
to bring something special from London,
so here we are,” smiled Machová
before entering the Rector’s door,
dressed in the Olympic dress and famous
wellingtons. The Slovak national team
member Veronika Vadovičová showed
her bronze medal in rifle shooting.
Above all, both ladies brought plenty of
various experiences and memories from
London, where the Paralympic Games
took place not long ago. “The atmosphere
was fantastic, the spectators seemed to be
having picnics on the stands,” they said.
Sharpshooter Vadovičová recalled
a curious situation. “I happened to carry
my cartridges into the Olympic village,
but not on purpose, I only realised it after
being already in. When we tried to carry
some wine through the check point the
next time, we failed though,” she said.
Training and competition tactics were
also discussed. The cyclist Diepoldová
made a surprising statement. “I have no
tactics, I am not capable of such thinking.
Either I know before the start that
my performance will be good, and it
will be, or I feel it will not be okay, and
indeed, it is not,” claims the sportswoman,
who had her right leg amputated
when she was a child.
Diepoldová is considered by many experts
to be the discovery number one in
Czech Paralympic sport at the moment.
“I will hardly become a professional.
There is only one handicapped professional
in the country, Jiří Ježek, also
a cyclist,” she hinted at one of the problems
of handicapped athletes.
The meeting with Paralympians was
held in a friendly and relaxed spirit. The
Rector congratulated both sportswomen
on their achievements and gave them
bouquets.
35

No Casualties During
Rafting Races
Both are employees of Palacký University.
Both entered the water world via the university
sports club SK UP. Both are members
of the Olomouc Canoeing Club and
the rafting club TR Prostějov. But mainly:
both are world champions.
Michaela Kratochvílová (b.1975)
A science and research officer of the Faculty of Science, she has six
gold medals from world championships. This year, she will defend
her last year’s world title from Costa Rica in New Zealand.
She began water slalom skiing in the age of twelve and
switched to rafting fifteen years ago. “Slalom water skiing was
not compatible with my employment and motherhood,” explained
the twofold mother. In addition, the European Championship
introduced the women’s category in that time.
The first world championship took place in 2001 in the United
States, and the Czech rafting team with Kratochvílová won. “There
were fewer opponents and the water in the river was released from
a dam. Today, competition is higher than ever,” she said.
Her top position in the world rankings is proven by the fact
she competes in world championships regularly. They always
have to win the national qualification first, because each country
can qualify only one team. “Costa Rica was wild. We had to walk
for an hour to the river, down a steep hill, in the rain season. It
took us two hours to get back, sinking in the ever-present mud,”
she said about the last championship.
She felt on the verge of drowning a few times. “My father was
always telling me, ‘There have never been any casualties during
a race, never!’ I always remember his words whenever I’m choking
with water, thinking, nothing can happen to me,” said Kratochvílová.
She was enthralled with the Zambezi, the river of rivers, as
she says. Her main training, however, has taken place on the Mill
Race in Olomouc, which has a flow rate of eight cubic metres per
second, whereas races have rates around one hundred.
Jiří Vrba (b. 1966)
This employee of the PU Communication Department won his
first world title in Summer 2012. The gold medal went to his
four-member rafting crew in the old-timer category, and the race
took place on the Devil’s Streams below the Lipno Dam. His raft
won all disciplines as well as total points.
“We always failed to qualify for the world rafting championship
by a narrow margin, ending in second place usually. Once
we were really close to nomination, but broke a paddle in the finish,”
recalled Vrba.
The world championship takes place every two years. “Whenever
we tried to qualify for the world cup, we failed, but then we
always qualified for the European championship the next year. It
has happened three times,” he added.
His crew only managed to qualify after they reached forty.
And they won. “The medals from South Bohemia were made
square on purpose. The story goes that a legendary water slalom
skier and kayaker, Ludmila Polesná, was once astonished
by receiving square medals instead of round ones after a race
abroad,” commented Vrba.
He has been rafting since 1996, but the beginnings of his canoeing
are shrouded in mystery. “My father used to teach at the
university, so he knew the physical education teachers and probably
brought me to the canoe club when I was ten; he remembers
neither. He was disappointed, since he played and trained tennis,
but I was never any good in ball games,“ said Vrba, who, nonetheless,
became a multiple European champion and also a world
champion. “My father’s first reaction was, ‘Too bad, it didn’t
come earlier.’”
photo: jan homolka
photo: jan homolka
36

TEXT: milada hronová photo: run czech
Silver Label
for the
Olomouc
Half
Marathon
The race Mattoni 1 Marathon
Olomouc has been granted
special recognition. After three
years of its existence, it was
awarded the IAAF Silver Road
Race Label, a designation of
quality by the International
Association of Athletics
Federation, for the year of 2013.
Olomouc became the smallest city in the
world granted Silver Label status. On
22 June 2013, Olomouc is going to welcome
5,000 runners on the starting line.
Novelties of the fourth year
“The start and goal will be located on
the Upper Square (Horní náměstí). The
track will take the opposite direction
than last year, though. We changed the
track due to the increased number of
runners. It will avoid Masaryk Street and
17th November Street, yet it will remain
in the city centre with a fantastic passage
through Smetana Park,” said Ondřej
Brouček on behalf of the organisers.
The specification of the Silver Label
status required the cancellation of the
popular 10 kilometres race. The sports
enthusiasts, however, are allowed to run
the half marathon in couples. One person
runs for the first ten kilometres and then
passes their chip to the other person, who
covers the remaining 11.097 kilometres.
“We have decided to extend the start list
to 5,000 runners,” said Ondřej Brouček.
I am going to train
and run again
The half marathon gained in popularity
already during its first years. According
to an internet poll, this event has become
the best running competition in the
Czech Republic. One of its devoted participants
is the Palacký University Rector,
Miroslav Mašláň, as well as many of
his employees.
Josef Kaštil, a future lawyer, recreologist,
and now an academic Senator for
the Faculty of Physical Culture, has appeared
twice on the start line.
Last year, he hoped to improve his
running time of 1:27 from the year before.
He admitted that his failure had
much to do with his underestimation of
the preparations. “I found it quite hard
to drink from the cup while running.
I spilt most of the water over my face
and outfit, and when I managed to take
a gulp, I choked,” said Kaštil about his
experience with refreshment.
The last four kilometres before the finish
line, he began to suffer from extreme
exhaustion and thirst, and a few dozen
metres before the finish line, after more
than 21 kilometres of running, he collapsed,
totally dehydrated. The sporting
senator remembers vaguely being taken
on a stretcher, getting an infusion, and
being loaded into an ambulance car. “I’m
going to run this year again. Definitely.
I only need to train more and learn to
drink while running,” commented Kaštil
on his new challenge.
Great results in 2012
The third year hosted 3,700 runners.
Nicholas Kipkemboi from Kenya won in the
category of men, while Yeberqual Melese
from Ethiopia was the best amongst women.
Czech runner Petra Kamínková had an
outstanding performance, the seventh fastest
woman, with a time of 1:21:27.
Palacký University has been an annual
partner of this running event, and
many of its employees and students have
achieved great results. Students also
participate in the organisation of the half
marathon as volunteers.
37

popularisation
Let the raising dance using
baking soda and vinegar, touch
a bull’s heart, search for a treasure
with a pirate, or bake a CD
in a microwave oven. A regular
student of Palacký University can
hardly experience such activities
within one semester and can
only envy the students attending
the Children’s University.
Children at
the University?
A Brilliant Idea
The pupils of elementary schools up to
the age of twelve years have been welcome
at Olomouc university for the
sixth time. The idea originated at the
Faculty of Science, but in 2012, all eight
faculties joined this educational project
carrying the title “Palacký University –
A Science Centre for Everyone”.
“Children’s University has great potential
and it has been a challenge for both
the kids and the teachers. The remaining
faculties seemed disinterested at first, but
they changed their minds after the winter
term. The faculties almost fought for the
privilege to have more than one lecture,”
said the “small university” coordinator
Iveta Elišková. They all needed to learn
how to captivate the attention of such
small listeners, she says. “The reactions
of their parents suggest we have succeeded.
The number of applications for summer
term is enormous,” added Elišková.
Eager Jan
During the autumn, the youngest university
students learned how physically
challenged individuals compete in sports
or found out what was necessary in order
to buy a castle; while in the summer
term, the faculties organise an excursion
into the text of the Bible, the foundation
of their own country, or a simulation of
a military hospital in the outdoor area at
the Table Hill bastion in the campus of
the Olomouc Teaching Hospital.
The children appreciate the mere fact
that they attend a university, as confirmed
by the words of Jan Kremzer, who
comes to the lectures from Nový Jičín
and was enchanted by the matriculation
ceremony. “I liked the music, the robes
of the professors, or the mace that we
touched when saying the pledge. The
lecture on the heart was the best one,”
he said during the last afternoon classes.
A week later, he made his graduation
pledge on the stage of the Moravian Theatre
and received a diploma from the hands
of the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine,
Eliška Sovová, confirming his first
graduation. Then other representatives of
the faculties, led by the Palacký University
Rector Miroslav Mašláň, expressed to
him and his small colleagues their congratulations
and best wishes for future
studies and other achievements in life.
42 votes for experiments
The moment of truth came during the
graduation – the children submitted their
pictures of lectures which they liked best.
The majority of pictures – 42 altogether
– depicted the chemical experiments,
prepared by a postgraduate
student, Veronika Švandová from the
Faculty of Science. The top three lectures
also include the pirate’s treasure
quest showing an excerpt from a children’s
ballet about Tarzan, and a lecture
on the heart as a world record breaker.
“The kids love it when they can
take part. So I connected my lecture
to a practical part, and the kids could
conduct a few safe experiments on their
own. I also tried to impress them with
fancy demonstrations such as The Pharaoh’s
Serpent and The Fireproof Handkerchief.
Kids love experiments with
fire,” commented Švandová on the success
of her lecture Mysteries of Chemistry
Revealed.
“I enjoyed my teaching experience very
much, and the kids enjoyed themselves –
it made things easier. It has always been
my dream to teach in such a way, and
I hope it will come true,” added Švandová,
a student of Didactics of Chemistry.
She finds the project allowing children
to study at the university to be a fantastic
idea. “Their interest in science can awaken,
even those who have never met a good
teacher may find a passion for science forever,”
said Švandová.
In the winter term 2012/2013, almost
120 children have attended the Children’s
University, and an additional one
hundred have applied for the next term.
Text/phOTO: Martin Višňa
38

TEXT: Pavel konečný photo: tereza darmovzalová, pavel konečný
The Dean
Seven senators voted for him perhaps
due to the fact that he introduced himself
as a candidate with academic, pedagogic,
and management experience.
He is also schooled in economics. “No
matter how attractive the vision is, it
needs to be fulfilled, otherwise it comes
to naught. I will do my best to fulfil the
vision of mine,” said Vomáčka.
Fifty-seven-year-old Vomáčka used
to be the director of the Teaching Hosdoc.
MUDr. Jaroslav Vomáčka, Ph.D., MBA
The nine-member Academic Senate appointed Docent Vomáčka to be the
Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences. He received seven votes in the secret
ballot, while the other candidate, Věra Vránová, had two votes.
pital Olomouc. He is the head of the
Department of Radiological Methods,
and a member of the municipal and regional
council. He defined his goal to be
the complementation of experts at the
faculty and closer cooperation with the
Teaching Hospital.
The Faculty of Health Sciences was
established in 2008, when it separated
from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.
It is attended by 700 students.
New Palacký University Professors
Ludmila Stěpanova
Philosophical Faculty
Comparative Slavonic Philology
She was born in Kamensk in the south of the
Russian Federation in the Rostov District. At
the age of seventeen, she went to study Czech
in St Petersburg. “My grandmother was Polish,
and I decided, having a knack for Polish,
to apply for another Slavonic language. And
Czech seemed most interesting,“ she said. She
has never regretted her decision.
She started teaching Czech at the Saint
Petersburg State University. The local department
maintained long-term friendly contacts
with Palacký University and organised
numerous fellowship programmes for both
teachers and students. “In 1991, the head of
the Department of Slavonic Studies, Professor
Kostřica, called me out of the blue one
night and asked if I wanted to teach Russian
in Olomouc,” remembers Stěpanova. The
department wanted to employ a Russian lecturer
who spoke Czech. She started teaching
in September 1992 and later on, her son and
husband moved to Olomouc as well.
She represents the Czech Republic in the
International Committee of Slavists. “Slavonic
Studies have a great future. The English
language cannot take over entirely,” claimed
Stěpanova.
Michal Otyepka
Faculty of Science
Physical Chemistry
He published his first scientific work in 2000
and became Professor after submitting a collection
of works published in impact journals.
He has been the author or co-author in
75 cases.
His journey towards chemistry began at an
early age. “Mr. Krejčiřík, my Chemistry teacher
at elementary school, inspired me, and
I fell in love with Chemistry. The love went on
at the grammar school in Šternberk, where
I commuted, since I did not get accepted at
the grammar schools in Olomouc. Hence my
interest in Physical Chemistry,” he described
his beginnings.
He graduated at the Faculty of Science with
a red diploma, summa cum laude. “I never had
C’s during my studies, only two B’s. In Nuclear
Chemistry and Crystal Structure, taught by
Prof. Kameníček.”
He defended his doctoral thesis in Brno in
the Laboratory of Structure and Dynamics of
Biomolecules. “This is where I learned what
I do today – the prediction of molecules and
biomolecules; that is, enzymes and nucleic
acids.”
Petr Planý
Faculty of Education
Music
He received the professorship on the proposal
of the Arts Council of the Janáček Academy
of Music and Performing Arts in Brno. This
teacher of harmony and counterpoint, and an
excellent organist himself, was recommended
by the Arts Council, an analogy to the Scientific
Council, because Palacký University is
not a school of arts which could appoint its
own professor.
One of the recommendations for his professorship
came from Prof. James Kibbie from
the University of Michigan. “Without doubt,
his achievements as a teacher, active artist,
and academic would be highly and indisputably
sufficient in the United States, as regards
his professorship,” wrote Kibbie to Brno.
Planý’s journey from Třinec to Olomouc
began in the sixth grade, when he was accepted
to the experimental first year of the academy
in Ostrava, thanks to his talent. He has
been teaching at the Faculty of Education in
Olomouc since 1986. In the 1990s, he gave
master classes in France and Italy, followed by
concerts in Europe, the United States, Russia,
and Japan.
39

Silver and Golden Graduation
The Faculty of Science of
Palacký University held the
third silver graduation in October
2012. One of the graduates
was an analytical chemist
and the faculty Dean, Juraj
Ševčík. He was also examined
in front of the full house, the
only one of the honorabiles.
Dagmar Zlámalová from
the Dean’s Office said that
the graduation had involved
about 240 graduates. “A record
number of graduates
attended – 125.”
The halls were quite busy
before the two-hour ceremony.
“Our graduation in 1987
was held in the building of the
former Paedagogical Faculty,
on Žerotín Square, where
Theology is located today.
That used to be the only auditorium
hall of the university,”
recalled a Mathematics and
Physics teacher, Rostislav Kohut
from Polička. “My speech
was said to be the most beautiful,
since I did not thank the
Party and the government,”
added his former schoolmate
Šárka Michalcová. Programmer
Jitka Slaná managed to
come to the graduation twenty-five
years ago at the very
last moment. “They just threw
the robe on me, and I sweated
in it terribly,” she said.
The final speech was delivered
by Rector Miroslav
Mašláň. “Life has proven our
decisions to become a mathematician,
biologist, or physicist.
Time flies: we have
the first twenty-five years
of work already behind us,”
he said, and then the group
pledge could begin.
For the first time in the history,
the faculty organised
several golden graduations
at once. More than ten dozen
graduates of the former
Philosophical Faculty and
University of Paedagogy from
the years 1947–1962 graduated
again in October 2012.
A number of them have been
active at the university to this
day. The list of the graduates
included many distinct personalities
active in the academic
world and in the life of
the city. “I feel splendid, because
during my golden graduation,
I will not be subdued
to any examinations with
highly uncertain results,“ said
the first Mayor of Olomouc after
1989, Milan Hořínek.
A historian, Prof. Miloš
Trapl, enjoyed the ceremony
as well. “I am a Class of 1957
graduate, and I am glad for
the meeting. I had the opportunity
to meet many of my
old friends,” said Trapl.
Marta Ševčíková studied at
the Faculty of Social Sciences
at the former University
of Paedagogy. “I graduated
in 1959. Because I studied in
the 1950s, I remember even
the less positive experiences
such as the events in Hungary
in 1956. I recall the first
May festival of the same year,
though. I stood in the Olomouc
Town Hall, as a page,
and the atmosphere felt free
for a while,” said the former
Czech and History teacher
at the Business Academy in
Ostrava. The very first female
graduate of Palacký University
graduated in 1951.
Text: Milada Hronová
photo: Michal Hančovský
Text/phOTO: Pavel Konečný
40

Palacký University
Infocentre
Reception of The Regional Museum Olomouc
5 Republic Square (nám. Republiky)
CZ-77173 Olomouc, Czech Republic
• information on offered study programmes, forthcoming events,
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Monika Beková: A Hand
from the cycle Body Parts
130 x 160 cm, combined technique on paper (wash drawing, charcoal, pencil), 2007
The author is a postgraduate student at the Department of Art Education of Palacký University.