Dowry town ( cs, věnné město) was a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

that had been devoted by a

Bohemian king The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in Golden Bull of Sicily, 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was p ...

to his wife – the queen consort. This was sometimes indicated by the name of the town, as in the case of

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; german: Königgrätz) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...

(''Castle of the Queen''),

Dvůr Králové nad Labem Dvůr Králové nad Labem (, german: Königinhof an der Elbe) is a town in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It lies in the Elbe river valley. Dvůr Králové nad Labem is kno ...

(''Court of the Queen on the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

'') or Městec Králové (''Townlet of the Queen''). Other well-known Czech dowry towns are:

Mělník Mělník (; german: Melnik) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Mělník lies in one of the most im ...

Chrudim 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. Admi ...

Jaroměř Jaroměř (; german: Jermer) is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. It is known for the Josefov Fortress. Josefov is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban ...

Nový Bydžov Nový Bydžov (; german: Neubidschow) is a town in Hradec Králové District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone ...

Polička Polička (; german: Politschka) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,700 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrat ...

Trutnov Trutnov (; german: Trautenau) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 29,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts Trutnov is ...

and

Vysoké Mýto Vysoké Mýto (; german: Hohenmaut, also ''Hohenmauth'') is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Its town square is the largest example of its type in the country. T ...

History

Location of dowry towns in the Czech Republic

All these towns had been bequeathed by Bohemian kings to their wives since the beginning of the 14th century. Most of them are located in eastern Bohemia. *

and

were given to Elizabeth Richeza by

Wenceslaus II Wenceslaus II Přemyslid ( cs, Václav II.; pl, Wacław II Czeski; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1 ...

, later Charles IV donated them to

Elizabeth of Pomerania Elizabeth of Pomerania ( pl, Elżbieta pomorska, cs, Eliška Pomořanská; – 15 April 1393) was the fourth and final wife of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia. Life Elizabeth was the daughter of Bogislaw V, Duk ...

. * Other towns were donated later, the last one being

in 1569. * Since 1603 they were administered separately from other royal towns. * After

Battle of the White Mountain ), near Prague, Bohemian Confederation(present-day Czech Republic) , coordinates = , territory = , result = Imperial-Spanish victory , status = , combatants_header = , combatant1 = Catholic L ...

(1621) their importance started to vanish. * In 1918 all legal forms of dowry towns finally ceased to exist. Historical centres of the towns are well preserved until today. From time to time cultural or sport events are organised together.

Royal towns

Towns owned and directly administered by the king were titled royal towns. 16th century Bohemia had around forty royal and dowry towns. These towns were the eternal property of the monarch and couldn't be sold or used as guarantee of a debt although it happened quite often. These towns and their inhabitants had many economic and social privileges. For example, after

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 ...

such cities formed the

Third estate The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and ...

External links

Royal dowry towns
Kingdom of Bohemia Types of towns