Hradec nad Moravicí


Hradec nad Moravicí is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic about south of Opava. It has around 5,500 inhabitants. The town is dominated by a castle complex.

History

The area around Hradec nad Moravicí was first settled approximately between 3000 and 2700 BC. A fort was built in the 8th century, which by the 11th century had a full military garrison. The fort was built up into a Romanesque–Gothic castle under the Přemyslid dynasty. The town suffered during the Thirty Years War and lost its city rights for a short time. In 1778, the castle was purchased by the princes of the house of Lichnovský, who would remain there until 1945.
The town experienced significant industrial growth in 19th century and a railway was connected to the town in 1905. Before World War I, according to the 1910 Austrian census, the town had 329 inhabitants, 314 of whom had permanent residence there. The census asked people for their native language: 169 were German-speaking and 144 were Czech-speaking. The largest religious group was Roman Catholics with 327. In 1938, the town was annexed by Nazi Germany. It was returned to Czechoslovakia in 1945, when the town's German-speaking population was expelled.

Culture

The town features regular concerts and an annual music competition.

Twin towns — sister cities

Hradec nad Moravicí is twinned with: