Königgrätz

Hradec Králové
City
Market square
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname: The Salon of the Republic
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Hradec Králové
District	Hradec Králové
Rivers	Elbe, Orlice
Elevation	235 m (771 ft)
Coordinates	50°12′34″N 15°50′00″E / 50.20944°N 15.83333°E / 50.20944; 15.83333Coordinates: 50°12′34″N 15°50′00″E / 50.20944°N 15.83333°E / 50.20944; 15.83333
Area	105.61 km2 (40.78 sq mi)
Population	92,808 (As of 2015[update])
Founded	1225
Mayor	Zdeněk Fink
Postal code	500 00
Location in the Czech Republic
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.hradeckralove.org

Hradec Králové (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɦradɛt͡s ˈkraːlovɛː]; 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 Kralove and Charles University in Prague also has its Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove and Faculty of Pharmacy 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 dower 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.