Hradec Králové, Czech Repubic - Pozdrav a Vzpominka - postcard, stamps 1946

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Hradec Králové (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɦradɛts ˈkraːlovɛː] ( listen); German: Königgrätz) 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, electronics manufacture and IT. Traditional industries include musical instrument manufacturing – the best known being PETROF pianos. The University of Hradec Králové is located in the city, the University of Defense has its only medical faculty in Hradec Králové and Charles University in Prague also has its Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové^[1] and Faculty of Pharmacy ^[2] there.

The city lies at the confluence of the Elbe and the Orlice river close to Krkonoše (Giant Mountains), the highest Czech mountains, with its peak, Sněžka (Snowhill), of 1602m.

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 towns of Elisabeth Richeza of Poland (1286–1335), who lived there 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 dowry town until 1620.

Hradec Králové was the first town to declare for the national cause during the Hussite Wars in the first half of the 15th century. 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 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. This battle also showed the age of the fortifications and they were finally destroyed in 1884.

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 of the Holy Spirit 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 thanks to decisions made by the heads of the city to develop a modern city, which included razing the fortress and opening the town for expansion. During this era many buildings of modern architecture were built and Hradec Králové became known as the Salon of the Republic. This nickname was given to the city by its citizens who were enamoured by the architectures of Josef Gočár and Jan Kotěra.

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