Hradec Králové

Hradec Králové stands at the meeting of the Elbe and Orlice. Its name, 'the queen's castle', recalls its role from 1306 as a dowry town of Bohemian queens, including Elizabeth Richeza and Elizabeth of Pomerania. Their residence helped make it a regional political and cultural centre. In 1420 the Hussites took the city and made it a military base, destroying the old royal castle three years later.

Opposition to Ferdinand I in 1547 cost the city property and privileges. It recovered late in the century, only to be devastated during the Thirty Years' War and rebuilt in Baroque style. In 1766 Joseph II ordered a great fortress: suburbs were demolished, inhabitants moved, and the courses of both rivers altered. A nearby hill supplied material for the massive defences, completed in 1789.