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Chrudim () is a town in the
Pardubice Region Pardubice Region () is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located mainly in the eastern part of its historical region of Bohemia, with a small part in northwestern Moravia. It is named after its capital Pardubice. As an administrat ...
of the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest town of the region. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone.


Administrative division

Chrudim consists of eight municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Chrudim I (693) *Chrudim II (5,200) *Chrudim III (6,571) *Chrudim IV (9,304) *Medlešice (601) *Topol (222) *Vestec (110) *Vlčnov (172)


Etymology

The name was derived from the personal name Chrudim, meaning "Chrudim's (castle)".


Geography

Chrudim is located about south of
Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 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 monument (Czech Repub ...
. It lies mostly in the
Svitavy Uplands The Svitavy Uplands or Svitavy Hills () are uplands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Pardubice Region and it belongs to the largest mesoregions in the country. Geomorphology The Svitavy Uplands is a ...
. The highest point is the hill Podhůra at above sea level. This hill is situated in the southern tip of the municipal territory, which extends into the
Iron Mountains The Iron Mountains are a 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 Mountains ab ...
and the eponymous protected landscape area. The Chrudimka 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 The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...
. The first written mention of Chrudim is from 1055, when Duke
Bretislav I Bretislav I (; 1002/1005 – 10 January 1055), known as the "Bohemian Achilles", of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1034 until his death in 1055. Youth Bretislav was the son of Duke Oldřich and his low-born concubine Božena. ...
died here according to '' Chronica Boemorum''. The royal town of Chrudim was founded in 1276 by King Ottokar II for its location on a route from
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
to
Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...
. From 1307, it became a dowry town, 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 Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...
, 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 The Bohemian Revolt (; ; 1618–1620) was an uprising of the Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemian Estates of the realm, estates against the rule of the Habsburg dynasty that began the Thirty Years' War. It was caused by both religious and power dispu ...
in 1618–1620, which always had serious consequences for it. Chrudim was also severely affected by the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
, 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
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, head of the Chrudim District, one of the 94 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
.


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 BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...
conglomerate producing building materials. The largest employer with its headquarters in Chrudim is Arriva autobusy a.s. with more than 1,000 employees, focused on urban and suburban passenger transport.


Transport

The town is situated at the crossroads of two main roads: the I/17 (connecting
Čáslav Čáslav (; ) is a town in Kutná Hora District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division ...
with the D35 motorway) and the I/37 (connecting
Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...
and
Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 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 monument (Czech Repub ...
with
Žďár nad Sázavou Žďár nad Sázavou (; ) is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The town is an industrial and tourist centre. It is known for the Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk, which is a UNESCO Wor ...
the D1 motorway). Chrudim is located on the railway lines Pardubice–
Havlíčkův Brod Havlíčkův Brod (, until 1945 Německý Brod; ) is a town in Havlíčkův Brod District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban mon ...
and Chrudim– Moravany. There are four train stations in the town's territory: ''Chrudim'', ''Chrudim město'', ''Chrudim zastávka'' and ''Medlešice''. South of the town is a public domestic airport. it was founded in 1937


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 – wikt:inanimate, inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. S ...
in the world.


Sport

Chrudim is home to the professional football club MFK Chrudim. Since 2018, it plays in the
Czech National Football League The Czech National Football League (, ''FNL''), known as Chance Národní Liga due to sponsorship reasons, is the second level professional association football league in the Czech Republic. Before 2013 it was known as 2. liga or Druhá liga. The ...
. Until 1970, there was a
motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
track in the town. The site hosted a final round of the Czechoslovak Individual Speedway Championship in 1954, 1955 and 1961.


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 Chrudim Regional Museum. The historic centre was delimited by the town walls. Most of the walls, including several bastions, have been preserved.


Notable people

* Viktorin Kornel of Všehrdy (–1520), humanist, lawyer and writer * Jan Mydlář (–1664), executioner * Johann Andreas Kauchlitz Colizzi (–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 th ...
(1783–1844), actor and theatre director * Josef Ressel (1793–1857), inventor * Adrienne von Pötting (1856–1909), Austrian painter * Kurt Freund (1914–1996), Czech-Canadian physician and sexologist * Miloslav Výborný (born 1952), politician * Dagmar Pecková (born 1961), operatic mezzo-soprano * Dušan Salfický (born 1972), ice hockey player * Michal Bobek (born 1977), judge * Jiří Magál (born 1977), cross-country skier * Petr Průcha (born 1982), ice hockey player * Jakub Pešek (born 1993), footballer


Twin towns – sister cities

Chrudim is twinned with: * Motovun, Croatia * Oleśnica, Poland *
Svidník Svidník (, , , ) is a town in eastern Slovakia, the capital of the Svidník District in the Prešov Region. It has a population of around 11,000. There is a monumental Soviet Army Memorial in the city, in memory of Battle of the Dukla Pass. Geog ...
, Slovakia *
Znojmo Znojmo (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian Region. The hi ...
, Czech Republic


References


External links

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