Kostelec nad Orlicí (; german: Adlerkosteletz) is a town in

Rychnov nad Kněžnou District Rychnov nad Kněžnou District ( cs, okres Rychnov nad Kněžnou) is a district (''okres'') within Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative center is the town of Rychnov nad Kněžnou. List of municipalities Albrechtice ...

in the

Hradec Králové Region Hradec Králové Region ( cs, Královéhradecký kraj, ; pl, Kraj hradecki) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic located in the north-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Hradec K ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It has about 6,100 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

Villages of Koryta, Kostelecká Lhota and Kozodry are administrative parts of Kostelec nad Orlicí.

Etymology

The name Kostelec means "fortified church". In 1568, the attribute ''nad Orlicí'' ("upon the orlice river") was added to distinguish it from other places with the same name.

Geography

Kostelec nad Orlicí is located about southwest of

Rychnov nad Kněžnou Rychnov nad Kněžnou (; german: Reichenau an der Knieschna) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Adm ...

and southeast 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 ...

. It lies in the Orlice Table. The town is situated on the Divoká Orlice river.

History

The first written mention of Kostelec nad Orlicí is from 1316, when there was a fortified church. In 1341, it was referred to as a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

for the first time. Until the 17th century, it was part of the Potštejn estate and shared its destinies and owners. In 1454, the estate was bought by King

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

, who gave the town its coat of arms. The next owners were the Pernštejn family, and from 1558, the Hrzán of Harasov family. During their rule, Kostelec na Orlicí acquired many privileges. In 1629, the Potštejn estate was sold to the Belgian family of Gramb. Kašpar of Gramb bequeathed all his properties to the Jesuit college in Prague, but in 1667 Kostelec was acquired by Václav Záruba of Hustířany (the husband of Františka of Gramb), who won the court case. From 1746, Kostelec and Potštejn ceased to have the same owners. In 1796, Kostelec was bought by Josef

Kinsky The House of Kinsky (formerly Vchynští, sg. ''Vchynský'' in Czech; later (in modern Czech) Kinští, sg. ''Kinský''; german: Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau) is a prominent Czech noble family originating from the Kingdom of Bohemia. During th ...

, and his family were the last owners of the town until it gained self-government.

Demographics

Sights

The principal landmark of the town is the New Kostelec nad Orlicí Castle. It was built in the

Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...

in 1829–1833 for the

family. Following its return to the ownership of the Kinsky family in 1992, it was restored and opened to the public. The building houses the Kinsky Gallery and an exhibition of the history of the town. The castle complex includes a large park, which is protected as a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. The Old Castle was originally a Renaissance fortress built before 1620 and reconstructed in 1668 and 1770. After the New Castle was built, it was transformed into a manor house and served the needs of officials. Existence of the Church of

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

is first documented in 1323. In 1769–1773, the Gothic church was replaced by the current late Baroque building.

Notable people

František Tůma František Ignác Antonín Tůma (2 October 1704, in Kostelec nad Orlicí, Bohemia – 3 February 1774, in Vienna) was a Czech composer of the Baroque era. He lived the greater part of his life in Vienna, first as director of music for Franz J ...

(1704–1774), Baroque composer * Egon Ledeč (1889–1944), violinist and composer

Twin towns – sister cities

Kostelec nad Orlicí is twinned with: *

Bielawa Bielawa (german: Langenbielau; szl, Bielawa) is a town in southwestern Poland. Since 1999, it has been situated in Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of the Wałbrzych Voivodeship. As of December 2 ...

, Poland * Myjava, Slovakia *

Zeulenroda-Triebes Zeulenroda-Triebes is a German town in the district of Greiz in the state of Thuringia. Zeulenroda-Triebes is situated in the south of Greiz in the mountains of the Thuringian Slate Mountains (Thüringer Schiefergebirge), on the border with Saxon ...

, Germany

Gallery

Kostelec nad Orlicí, stará radnice Dm470586-2308 IMG 6706 2018-08-05 13.07.jpg, Town hall Kostelec nad Orlicí-starý zámek1.jpg, Old Castle Kostelec_nad_Orlicí_-_Marian_Plaque_Column.jpg, Marian column Kostelec_nad_Orlicí_-_St._George's_Church.jpg, Church of Saint George

References

External links

*
Official tourist portalNew Kostelec nad Orlicí Castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostelec nad Orlici Populated places in Rychnov nad Kněžnou District Cities and towns in the Czech Republic