Trutnov


Trutnov is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has a population of more than 30,000 and lies in the Krkonoše in the valley of the Úpa River.

History

Trutnov is located on a 12th-century Slavic settlement named after the Úpa River; the first written mention of this settlement is from 1260. In order to develop the countryside, King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia granted German settlers the right to establish a town at the pre-existing settlement. The first mention of the German name Trautenau, from which the modern name Trutnov is derived, is from a document of King Wenceslaus II in 1301. Since the end of the 14th century, Trutnov was a dowry town for the Bohemian queen. Its stout defenses repelled all enemies except for a capture by Jan Žižka during the Hussite Wars in 1421 and sieges by the Swedes during the Thirty Years' War in 1642 and 1647. It also was the site of the Battle of Trautenau in 1866 during the Austro-Prussian War.
In 1974, Václav Havel, the future president of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, worked for nine months at the Krakonoš brewery.

Economy

For centuries, Trutnov relied on farming for its economy, but it began to be industrialized during the 19th century. In 1823, Johannes Faltis constructed a linen manufactury and a cotton weaving mill. Textiles remain an important part of the city's economy. Germans were the ethnic majority in the town until their expulsion in 1945.

Sport

Ice hockey team HC Trutnov is based in the town.

Culture

Trutnov has hosted the Trutnov Open Air Music Festival since 1990 and, since 1999, has hosted Obscene Extreme.

Twin towns — sister cities

Trutnov is twinned with: