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Chrudim () is a town in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest town of the region. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.


Administrative parts

Chrudim is made up of town parts of Chrudim I–IV and villages of Medlešice, Topol, Vestec and Vlčnov.


Geography

Chrudim is located about south of
Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monu ...
. It lies mostly in the Svitavy Uplands. The highest point is the hill Podhůra at . The hill is situated in the southern tip of the municipal territory, which extends into the
Iron Mountains The Iron Mountains are a mountain range, subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These mountains are located around the common meeting point of Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina. A portion of the Appalachian Trail runs the crest of the Iron ...
and the eponymous protected landscape area. The
Chrudimka Chrudimka is a river in the Pardubice Region in the Czech Republic. It is a left tributary of Labe, beginning near Hlinsko and flowing mostly northward to the city of Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It ...
River flows through the town.


History

The oldest archeological findings which provide first signs of the settlement in this area date back to the 5th millennium BC. Various cultures succeeded one on another in the territory of today's town of Chrudim and its vicinity. Since the 7th–8th century, the area is inhabited by
Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
. The first written mention of Chrudim is from 1055, when Duke Bretislav I died here according to '' Chronica Boemorum''. The royal town of Chrudim was founded in 1276 by King Ottokar II of Bohemia for its location on a route from Prague to Moravia. From 1307, it became a
dowry town Dowry town ( cs, věnné město) was a town that had been devoted by a Bohemian king to his wife – the queen consort. This was sometimes indicated by the name of the town, as in the case of Hradec Králové (''Castle of the Queen''), Dvůr Krá ...
administered by Bohemian Queens. At the beginning of the
Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...
, Chrudim sided with the anti-Catholic side and the German-speaking population left the town. Since then, Chrudim has been an almost exclusively Czech territory by nationality. The town was in opposition to the ruling Habsburgs during the failed Estates Revolt in 1547 and Bohemian Revolt in 1618–1620, which always had serious consequences for it. Chrudim was also severely affected by the Thirty Years' War, during which the evangelical population left as a result of re-Catholicization. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Chrudim lost partly lost its economical and administrative importance, but it has become important educational and cultural centre, which led to its gain of the nickname "Athens of Eastern Bohemia". In 1871, the railway was built and the town regained economic significance. Until 1918, the town was part of the Austrian monarchy (Austria side after the
compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...
), head of the
Chrudim District Chrudim District ( cs, okres Chrudim) is a district ('' okres'') within Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Chrudim. Overview The district has mostly flat terrain with slopes of Iron Mountains appearing on the sout ...
, one of the 94 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
.


Demographics


Economy

There are no major industrial companies in Chrudim. A middle-sized company based in the town is BASF Stavební hmoty Česká republika, part of the BASF conglomerate producing building materials.


Culture

Chrudim is known for the Loutkářská Chrudim Festival. The festival was established in 1951 and is the oldest continuous festival of
puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a perform ...
in the world.


Sights

The main landmark of Chrudim is the Church of Assumption of the Virgin Mary on the town square. The originally Gothic building was founded before 1349 on the site of a castle. After it was damaged by several fires, it was reconstructed to its current Neo-Gothic form in 1857. Another notable churches with Gothic bases are Church of Saint Catherine, Church of Saint Michael, and Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Resselovo Square is the main square of the historic centre. It is lined with preserved burgher houses and includes the originally Renaissance town hall with Baroque façade. In the middle of the square there is the Baroque richly decorated sculptural column of the Transfiguration. One of the architectural symbols of the town is the Renaissance Mydlářovský House, typical with arcades and oriental-looking triple tower. Today it houses the Museum of Puppetry Culture. A significant sight is also the Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque building of the Regional Museum. The historic centre was delimited by the town walls. Most of the walls, including several bastions, have been preserved.


Notable people

* Bretislav I (1002/1005–1055), Bohemian duke; died here *
Viktorin Kornel of Všehrdy Viktorin Kornel ze Všehrd (of Všehrdy) or simply Všehrd (1460-1520), was a Czech humanist and lawyer, working towards the end of the 15th century as Vice-scribe at the Land Court in the Prague Castle. He is famous for the most penetrating analy ...
(c. 1460–1520), humanist, lawyer and writer * Johann Andreas Kauchlitz Colizzi (c. 1742–1808), musician *
Jan Nepomuk Štěpánek Jan Nepomuk Štěpánek ( 1783 – 12 ) was a Czech playwright, director, actor and theatre manager. Early life Jan Nepomuk Štěpánek was born in Chrudim to a soapmaker's family. He studied at Litomyšl gymnasium and then philosophy and the ...
(1783–1844), actor and theatre director * Josef Ressel (1793–1857), inventor *
Adrienne von Pötting Countess Adrienne Gräfin von Pötting (1856–1909) was an Austrian painter. Biography Pötting was born in Chrudim, Bohemia in 1856 to Count Norbert von Pötting and Countess Cajetana Chorinsky von Ledske from Prague. She had one brother, No ...
(1856–1909), Austrian painter *
Kurt Freund Kurt Freund (17 January 1914 – 23 October 1996) was a Czech-Canadian physician and sexologist best known for developing the penile plethysmograph (a measurement of sexual arousal in males), research studies in pedophilia, and for the "courtsh ...
(1914–1996), Czech-Canadian physician and sexologist *
Miloslav Výborný Miloslav Výborný (born 1952) is a Czech politician of KDU-ČSL. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1990 to after the 2002 elections, serving as defense minister from 1996. He served as a justice on the Constitutional Court of the Cz ...
(born 1952), politician * Dagmar Pecková (born 1961), operatic mezzo-soprano *
Dušan Salfický Dušan Salfický (born 28 March 1972 in Chrudim, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted 132nd overall by the National Hockey League's New York Islanders in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft but only played 4 g ...
(born 1972), ice hockey player * Michal Bobek (born 1977), judge *
Jiří Magál Jiří Magál (; born 11 April 1977 in Chrudim) is a Czech cross-country skier. Magál has appeared in four Winter Olympics and at every World Championship since 1999. Career World Championship finishes Magál's highest finish in the World Cha ...
(born 1977), cross-country skier *
Petr Průcha Petr Průcha (born September 14, 1982) is a Czech former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers and the Phoenix Coyotes. Playing career Průcha led the Czech Republic Junior Leagu ...
(born 1982), ice hockey player *
Jakub Pešek Jakub Pešek (born 24 June 1993) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a winger for Sparta Prague and the Czech Republic national team. Career Pešek made his professional debut for Sparta Prague in the Czech First League on 9 No ...
(born 1993), footballer


Twin towns – sister cities

Chrudim is twinned with: *
Motovun Motovun (, it, Montona or ''Montona d'Istria'') is a village and a municipality in central Istria, Croatia. In ancient times, both Celts and Illyrians built their fortresses at the location of present-day Motovun. The name of the village is also ...
, Croatia * Oleśnica, Poland * Svidník, Slovakia * Znojmo, Czech Republic


References


External links

*
Virtual show
{{authority control Populated places in Chrudim District Cities and towns in the Czech Republic