Králíky

For other places with the same name, see Králíky (disambiguation).
Králíky
Town
Town square
Town square
Flag of Králíky
Flag
Coat of arms of Králíky
Coat of arms
Králíky is located in Czech Republic
Králíky
Králíky
Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°5′2″N 16°45′38″E / 50.08389°N 16.76056°E / 50.08389; 16.76056
Country Czech Republic
RegionPardubice
DistrictÚstí nad Orlicí
First mentioned1568
Government
 • MayorVáclav Kubín
Area
 • Total52.78 km2 (20.38 sq mi)
Elevation
550 m (1,800 ft)
Population
 (2023-01-01)[1]
 • Total4,143
 • Density78/km2 (200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
561 69
Websitewww.kraliky.eu

Králíky (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkraːliːkɪ]; German: Grulich) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,100 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts

Villages of Červený Potok, Dolní Boříkovice, Dolní Hedeč, Dolní Lipka, Heřmanice, Horní Boříkovice, Horní Hedeč, Horní Lipka, Kopeček and Prostřední Lipka are administrative parts of Králíky.

Etymology

The similarity of the town's name with the modern Czech word králík (i.e. "rabbit") is accidental. The oldest German name of the locality was derived from the personal German name Greulich, dialectally pronounced as Kralych. The Czech name was derived from this form.[2]

Geography

View from the southeast

Králíky is located about 28 kilometres (17 mi) northeast of Ústí nad Orlicí and 70 kilometres (43 mi) east of Pardubice, on the border with Poland. The Tichá Orlice river flows through the western part of the municipal territory. Králický Pond is located south of the town.

Králíky lies on the border between the Hanušovice Highlands and Kłodzko Valley. The northernmost tip of the territory lies in the Snieznik Mountains. The highest point is the mountain Jelení vrch with an altitude of 936 metres (3,071 ft).

History

Old Baroque town hall

14th–17th centuries

The first written mention of the area is from 1367. It is a record preserved in the country's tables of law, by which Charles IV presented the castle of Žampach and the mountains belonging to it to Čeněk of Potštejn. However, this record concerns only some unspecified mines.[3]

The town was founded as late as in the 16th century and the first written mention is from 1568. In 1577, the town and ten neighbouring villages were bought by Zdeněk of Waldstein. He chose the town of Králíky as the residence of his new manor and began to develop it. Except the manor house, vicarage and Protestant oratory (today's Church of Saint Michael the Archangel), he had the square built into today's shape and on his request Emperor Rudolf II granted the town a privilege to hold three annual fairs. In the surroundings iron ore was probably mined and perhaps silver, and at that time the town was supposed to get two crossed mining hammers with a sword into its heraldry. There was an attempt to revive mining in the 17th century but it is believed to have been unsuccessful. The industry has never been restarted.[3]

18th–20th centuries

Near the curative springs above the town, Bishop Tobias Johannes Becker, a local native, had a monumental pilgrimage complex built in 1696–1710. A lot of visitors came to this pilgrimage place and poor inhabitants of the Králíky region made a living from these pilgrimages. Production and sale of souvenirs boomed. Wood carving began to develop, and Christmas cribs and wooden characters that have found their way all over the world are reminders of this. Organ building and weaving also developed. Many cathedrals and churches all over Bohemia feature organs from the organ masters of Králíky, one of the greatest being in Prague's Loreta. Weaving played an important role in the originating of a textile tradition, and Králíky canvas was successfully sold all over the country.[3]

In the 18th century the town suffered from fires, plague and wars. Though no major battles took place in the region, the town suffered from the crossings of armies. Fights, plunderings and bribery took place here, as well as in other parts of the country. During the biggest fires in 1708 and 1767 a major part of the town burned down, including the most important buildings. The original wooden houses were replaced by stone ones. After Kłodzko Land was surrendered to Prussia, many of its inhabitants moved to Králíky and the town began to grow. In 1899, the railway was built.[3]

As part of Bohemia, from 1804 the town was part of the Austrian Empire and then of Austria-Hungary. Following World War I, in 1918, the Czechs regained independence, and the town became part of Czechoslovakia.

From 1938 to 1945, it was occupied by Nazi Germany and administered as part of Reichsgau Sudetenland. In 1944–1945, the Germans operated a subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, whose prisoners were mostly Poles and Russians.[4] The German speaking population was expelled in 1945 in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement and replaced by Czechs.[3]

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
18697,840—    
18807,780−0.8%
18907,670−1.4%
19007,829+2.1%
19107,863+0.4%
YearPop.±%
19216,865−12.7%
19307,201+4.9%
19504,261−40.8%
19614,457+4.6%
19704,814+8.0%
YearPop.±%
19805,067+5.3%
19914,890−3.5%
20014,826−1.3%
20114,327−10.3%
20213,876−10.4%
Source: Censuses[5][6]

Transport

There is the Dolní Lipka / Boboszów road border crossing with Poland.

Králíky lies on the railway line heading from Ústí nad Orlicí to Červená Voda.

Sights

The pilgrimage complex

The Hora Matky Boží Monastery pilgrimage complex is formed by the monastery, the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and the Memorial to the Victims of Internment in 1948–1961. The monastery includes Chapel of the Holy Stairs with cloisters, a crypt, and a pilgrimage house. The way from the town to the complex is lined with Stations of the Cross.[7] The pilgrimage complex with the church is protected as a national cultural monument.[8]

The historic centre of Králíky contains preserved burgher houses and the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel.[9] The church was originally a late Renaissance Protestant oratory from around 1577, which was damaged by fires and rebuilt in the Baroque style in the 17th and 18th centuries.[10]

The area of Králíky and Prostřední Lipka is known for the Military Museum and many remains of Czechoslovak fortification system from 1935–1938 open to the public, including Hůrka artillery fortress or U Cihelny infantry cabin.[9][11]

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic

Králíky is twinned with:[12]

References

  1. ^ "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2023". Czech Statistical Office. 2023-05-23.
  2. ^ "Králíky, Litomyšl, Litice. Majitelé, po kterých se jmenují, byli pořádní kruťáci" (in Czech). Czech Radio. 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Historie" (in Czech). Město Králíky. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  4. ^ "Subcamps of KL Gross- Rosen". Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoźnica. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011 – Okres Ústí nad Orlicí" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2015-12-21. pp. 5–6.
  6. ^ "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". Public Database. Czech Statistical Office. 2021-03-27.
  7. ^ "Návštěva kostela, poutního areálu, Památníku internace a klášterního obchodu" (in Czech). Hora Matky Boží Králíky. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  8. ^ "Klášter servitů s poutním chrámem Nanebevzetí Panny Marie" (in Czech). National Heritage Institute. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  9. ^ a b "Králíky" (in Czech). CzechTourism. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  10. ^ "Kostel archanděla Michaelae" (in Czech). National Heritage Institute. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  11. ^ "Králická pevnostní oblast" (in Czech). Králická pevnostní oblast. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  12. ^ "Home Page: Partnerská města" (in Czech). Město Králíky. Retrieved 2021-10-11.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Králíky.