The story
11th–16th centuries
The first written mention of a castle named Hradec is in Chronica Boemorum written in 1119–1125, when the record of the castle is associated with the year 1091. The document from 1073 that mentioned Hradec is a forgery from the 12th century. The first written mention of the settlement of Hradec is from 1225 and it was already referred to as a city. In 1306, Hradec became a dowry town ruled by Bohemian queens. It was the residence of Elizabeth Richeza of Poland in 1308–1318 or Elizabeth of Pomerania in 1378–1393. In the 14th century, thanks to the presence of the queens, the city became a military and political centre of a region with a high level of education and culture.
Extensive fires in 1290, 1339 and 1407 accelerated the reconstruction of the city. In 1420, during the Hussite Wars, the city was conquered by the Hussites and became their military centre. In 1423, the Hussites completely destroyed the castle where the queens used to live. During the rule of King George of Poděbrady, the city experienced a new period of economic, political and cultural prosperity.
The development ended in 1547, when Hradec Králové joined the campaign against Emperor Ferdinand I, and as a result many of its properties were confiscated and its privileges were taken away. The city did not recover economically until the end of the 16th century. At this time, the houses were rebuilt in the Renaissance style.
17th–18th centuries
Hradec Králové was hit hard by the Thirty Years' War. It was conquered by the Swedish army in 1639 and several more times in the following years. At the end of the war, the city was depopulated and almost destroyed. However, the city recovered and in the 17th and early 18th century acquired a Baroque character. During the War of the Austrian Succession, the city was again involved in the war due to its strategic location.
In 1766, Joseph II decided to build a large modern military fortress in the city. Its construction changed the character of the city and its surroundings, some suburbs were demolished and the inhabitants moved into newly established settlements. A nearby hill was dismantled to build the massive walls and the riverbed of both the Elbe and the Orlice were changed. A complete defense infrastructure was built inside the walls. The fortress was finished in 1789 and occupied 320 hectares (790 acres), but during its existence, it was never used in the war.
19th–20th centuries
In the mid-19th century, the industrialisation began and several industrial enterprises were founded inside the fortifications. 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". Moreover, the battle put an end to the age of fortifications. The fortress was formally abolished in 1884 and gradually demolished between 1893 and 1914. The last remnants were demolished between 1929 and 1930.
In 1884, a then-unique international competition for the city's regulatory plan was announced. In the 1890s, several representative buildings (monastery, synagogue, high school, etc.) were built. Before World War I, the development of the city and its high architectural level were influenced especially by the architect Jan Kotěra. In the 1920s, his pupil, another prominent Czech architect Josef Gočár, became the leading figure in the city's development, and his regulatory plan created in 1926–1928 became the basis for the construction activity in the years to come. The urban development of Hradec Králové in the 1920s and 1930s was also appreciated abroad and the city was nicknamed the "Salon of the Republic".
From Wikipedia’s article on Hradec Králové, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4