Hradec Králové
Encyclopedia
Hradec Králové (ˈɦradɛts ˈkraːlovɛː; ) is a city of the Czech Republic
, in the Hradec Králové Region
of Bohemia
. The city's economy is based on food-processing technology, photochemical, and electronics manufacture. Traditional industries include musical instrument manufacturing – the best known being PETROF
pianos. The University of Hradec Králové
is located in the city, and Charles University in Prague has a medical school
and a pharmaceutical department there.
s of Elisabeth Richeza of Poland
(1286–1335), who lived here for thirty years having been the second wife of two Bohemian Kings, Wenceslaus II and then Rudolph I of Habsburg. In Latin, the Castle of the Queen was called Grecz Reginae, the original German Königingrätz was shortened to Königgrätz by 1800. It remained a dower town till 1620.
Hradec Králové was the first of the towns to declare for the national cause during the Hussite Wars
. After the Battle of White Mountain
(1620) a large part of the Protestant population left the place. In 1639 the town was occupied for eight months by the Swedes. Several churches and convents were pulled down to make way for the fortifications erected under Joseph II
. The fortress was finally dismantled in 1884. The Battle of Königgrätz
, the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War
took place, on 3 July 1866 near Hradec Králové. This event is commemorated in the famous Königgrätzer Marsch
.
The city is situated in the centre of a very fertile region called the Golden Road on the confluence of Elbe
and Orlice
and contains many buildings of historical and architectural interest. The cathedral was founded in 1303 by Elizabeth, and the church of St. John, built in 1710, stands on the ruins of the old castle. During the 1920s and 1930s the city grew rapidly and due to many buildings of modern architecture Hradec Králové became known as the Salon of the Republic. This was a nickname given to it by citizens who were spellbound by the unique architecture of Josef Gočár
.
is held for both the general public and Air Ambulance
personnel.
Every June the Theatre of European regions, an international theatre festival, takes place.
, one of the biggest European hip hop
festivals, has been held every year in August.
"Jazz goes to town", an international jazz festival, is held in Hradec Králové every October.
The city's museum currently holds one of the oldest surviving collections of Czech Renaissance polyphony
, the Codex Speciálník
manuscript.
, Italy Arnhem
, Netherlands Banská Bystrica
, Slovakia Gießen
, Germany
Jagodina
, Serbia Chernihiv
, Ukraine Izmir
, Turkey
Kaštela
, Croatia Metz
, France Wałbrzych, Poland Wrocław, Poland
There are two cooperating towns: Montana
, Bulgaria Carovigno
, Italy
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, in the Hradec Králové Region
Hradec Králové Region
Hradec Králové Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Hradec Králové....
of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. The city's economy is based on food-processing technology, photochemical, and electronics manufacture. Traditional industries include musical instrument manufacturing – the best known being PETROF
Petrof
Petrof is a Czech piano maker. The company was founded in 1864 in Hradec Králové by Antonín Petrof who had studied piano making in Vienna.-History of PETROF:...
pianos. The University of Hradec Králové
University of Hradec Králové
University of Hradec Králové was founded on June 21, 2000 by renaming the University College of Education , which itself traces its roots back to 1959...
is located in the city, and Charles University in Prague has a medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
and a pharmaceutical department there.
History
The original name of one of the oldest settlements in the Czech Republic was Hradec (the Castle); Králové (of the queen) was affixed when it became one of the dowry townDowry town
Dowry town is the name for a town that has been devoted by Bohemian king to his wife - the queen consort.This was sometimes indicated by the name of the town, as in the case of Hradec Králové , Dvůr Králové nad Labem or Městec Králové...
s of Elisabeth Richeza of Poland
Elisabeth Richeza of Poland
Elisabeth Richenza of Poland was a daughter and the only surviving child of Przemysl II of Poland and his second wife Richenza of Sweden, herself a daughter of Valdemar I of Sweden and Sofia of Denmark.Her name at birth was Richeza; she adopted the name Elisabeth after her first marriage...
(1286–1335), who lived here for thirty years having been the second wife of two Bohemian Kings, Wenceslaus II and then Rudolph I of Habsburg. In Latin, the Castle of the Queen was called Grecz Reginae, the original German Königingrätz was shortened to Königgrätz by 1800. It remained a dower town till 1620.
Hradec Králové was the first of the towns to declare for the national cause during the Hussite Wars
Hussite Wars
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars involved the military actions against and amongst the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia in the period 1419 to circa 1434. The Hussite Wars were notable for the extensive use of early hand-held gunpowder weapons such as hand cannons...
. After the Battle of White Mountain
Battle of White Mountain
The Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620 was an early battle in the Thirty Years' War in which an army of 30,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt were routed by 27,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor under Charles Bonaventure de Longueval,...
(1620) a large part of the Protestant population left the place. In 1639 the town was occupied for eight months by the Swedes. Several churches and convents were pulled down to make way for the fortifications erected under Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
. The fortress was finally dismantled in 1884. The Battle of Königgrätz
Battle of Königgrätz
The Battle of Königgrätz , also known as the Battle of Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové, was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire...
, the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
took place, on 3 July 1866 near Hradec Králové. This event is commemorated in the famous Königgrätzer Marsch
Königgrätzer Marsch
The Königgrätzer Marsch is a famous German military march composed by Johann Gottfried Piefke after the Battle of Königgrätz, 1866, the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire.It was one of Adolf Hitler's favorite marches and was...
.
The city is situated in the centre of a very fertile region called the Golden Road on the confluence of Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
and Orlice
Orlice
Orlice is a river in the Czech Republic. Part of the river acts as the international boundary between the Czech Republic and Poland. It is tributary of the Labe river, to which it enters in Hradec Králové. Its main tributaries are Divoká Orlice and Tichá Orlice....
and contains many buildings of historical and architectural interest. The cathedral was founded in 1303 by Elizabeth, and the church of St. John, built in 1710, stands on the ruins of the old castle. During the 1920s and 1930s the city grew rapidly and due to many buildings of modern architecture Hradec Králové became known as the Salon of the Republic. This was a nickname given to it by citizens who were spellbound by the unique architecture of Josef Gočár
Josef Gocár
Josef Gočár , was a Czech architect, one of the founders of modern architecture in Czechoslovakia....
.
Theatre
Every May, an Air Ambulance ShowAir Ambulance Show
Air Ambulance Show is the international fair of integrated emergency systems for professionals and general public. The fair takes place every year in May in Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic....
is held for both the general public and Air Ambulance
Air ambulance
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....
personnel.
Every June the Theatre of European regions, an international theatre festival, takes place.
Music
Since 2004, Hip Hop KempHip Hop Kemp
Hip Hop Kemp is an international hip hop festival held every August in eastern Bohemia, Czech Republic. It is one of the biggest hip-hop festivals in Europe, with an audience of almost 20,000...
, one of the biggest European hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
festivals, has been held every year in August.
"Jazz goes to town", an international jazz festival, is held in Hradec Králové every October.
The city's museum currently holds one of the oldest surviving collections of Czech Renaissance polyphony
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
, the Codex Speciálník
Codex Speciálník
The Codex Speciálník is a 15th-century speciálník originating from a monastery in the region of Praha . Its eclectic mix of Medieval and Renaissance a cappella sacred music is matched only by its brilliant juxtapositions of well-known and obscure pieces and composers...
manuscript.
Famous people
- Markéta BělonoháMarketa BelonohaMarkéta Bělonohá is a Czech glamour model and actress. She was the Czech Playboy Playmate of the Month for November 2008....
, Czech model. - Josef ČapekJosef CapekJosef Čapek was a Czech artist who was best known as a painter, but who was also noted as a writer and a poet. He invented the word robot, which was introduced into literature by his brother, Karel Čapek.- Biography :...
, painter, writer and poet. - Avigdor DaganAvigdor DaganAvigdor Dagan was an Israeli writer, a playwright and literary translator; a diplomat...
, Israeli diplomat - Josef GočárJosef GocárJosef Gočár , was a Czech architect, one of the founders of modern architecture in Czechoslovakia....
, architect. - Jiří HorákJirí HorákJiří Horák was a Czechoslovak politician. He was the first chairman of the Czech Social Democratic Party after the Velvet Revolution in 1989....
, 1st Chairman of Czech Social Democratic PartyCzech Social Democratic PartyThe Czech Social Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in the Czech Republic.-History:The Social Democratic Czechoslavonic party in Austria was founded on 7 April 1878 in Austria-Hungary representing the Kingdom of Bohemia in the Austrian parliament... - Jiří PetrJirí PetrJiří Petr, Prof., DrSc. Dr.h.c. is a Czech Agroscientist, University Professor and Emeritus Chancellor of the Czech University of Agriculture Prague.-Biography:Petr was born on May 13, 1931 Hradec Králové, Czechoslovakia...
, Rector Emeritus Czech University of Agriculture, Prague. - Otakar Vávra, film director
- Baron Carl von Rokitansky, doctor
- Jan ŠindelJan ŠindelJan Šindel was a professor at Charles University and became the rector of the University in 1410. He lectured on mathematics and astronomy....
, mathematician
Twin cities
AlessandriaAlessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
, Italy Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
, Netherlands Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica is a key city in central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. With 81,281 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia...
, Slovakia Gießen
Gießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...
, Germany
Jagodina
Jagodina
Jagodina is a city and municipality located in central Serbia, 136 km south of Belgrade, on the banks of Belica River. Its name stems from the word for strawberry in Serbian. It is the administrative centre of the Pomoravlje District of Serbia...
, Serbia Chernihiv
Chernihiv
Chernihiv or Chernigov is a historic city in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernihiv Oblast , as well as of the surrounding Chernihivskyi Raion within the oblast...
, Ukraine Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, Turkey
Kaštela
Kaštela
Kaštela is a series of seven towns in central Dalmatia, located northwest of Split, west of Solin and east of Trogir, in Croatia. They are part of the Split-Dalmatia county and are treated as a single city with a population of 38,474 , although they are individually between 3,000 and 7,000...
, Croatia Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, France Wałbrzych, Poland Wrocław, Poland
There are two cooperating towns: Montana
Montana, Bulgaria
- Elite High Scools :*Foreign Language HS "Petar Bogdan". Emphasis on English and German language proficiency. Recognized and praised for its scholars' academic accomplishments worldwide. http://gpchemont.com/sitegpche/...
, Bulgaria Carovigno
Carovigno
Carovigno is a town and comune in the province of Brindisi, Puglia, Italy. Its area, part of Upper Salento, is renowned for the production of high quality olive oil.-International relations:Carovigno is twinned with: Corfu, Greece- External links :*...
, Italy