Městec Králové

(the royal city since the beginning of the 14th century)

2,900 inhabitants
Central Bohemia Region, Nymburk District

Historical milestones

2nd half of the 13th century: The market village of Lány (Königsfeld), mentioned in 1300, existed on the territory of the later town.

Beginning of the 14th century: The village was elevated to the status of a royal town, at the latest, during the reign of King John of Luxembourg.

1357: Městec Králové is first mentioned in writing as a royal town with fortifications and two gates. At that time, it was called just Městec or Königstädtel. Emperor Charles IV granted it a number of privileges.

1544 At that time, it was called the town of Odraný.

1587: The town was sold to the Wallensteins to the Dymokury estate and lost its status as a royal town, but also its privileges and became poor.

1680: The town burned down in a fire and its buildings degraded.

1746: Another fire destroyed most of the town, including the town archives with all the historical documents.

1792: The town suffered a catastrophic fire in two phases, causing virtually all of it to burn. Two years later, during the general reconstruction, the town’s fortifications were demolished and a new town hall was built. The town survived on donations from neighbouring towns and villages, mainly Nový Bydžov, Kolín and Poděbrady.

Interesting facts about the town
According to legend, the most famous Czech ruler known as the King of Iron and Gold Přemysl Otakar II was born in Městec Králové. It was supposed to have happened in 1233, when his mother was travelling from Hradec Králové to Prague and was in labour. This great native later presented the town with a coat of arms with a Czech lion.
Although the town’s name includes the attribute „Králové“, it was never a royal dowry town, and its use is thus a mystery.

The biggest tourist magnets
The main attraction in the town is the elongated, funnel-shaped Republic Square, in the centre of which stands the Art Nouveau town hall, which was built here in the late Baroque style after the great fire of the town in 1799.
The oldest building in the town is the parish church of St. Margaret, which stood here in the time of the market village, before the founding of the royal town. Its Gothic appearance was, however, covered by Baroque renovations after the fire of 1792 and a major Neo-Romanesque reconstruction in 1846 by the architect Alois Turek, who gave it its present appearance with a newly built square tower.
The town’s buildings are interestingly interspersed with rural baroque farmhouses with distinctive entrance gates that were built here during the 18th century, such as No. 25 or 50. The facade of the baroque Old Post Office from the beginning of the 18th century is decorated with two statues of dwarfs from the workshop of the famous artist of his time – Matthias Bernard Braun.

Famous natives of the town
Přemysl Otakar II, King of Bohemia (*1233)
Eva Štěpánková, entrepreneur and founder of the cosmetics company Ryor (*1945)
Ivan Hašek, national football player, coach of the national football team (*1963)
Ladislav Hruška, TV presenter (*1978)