Prague, Czech Republic

Hradec Králové

Hradec Králové) is a city of the Czech Republic, in the Hradec Králové Region of Bohemia. The city's economy is based on food-processing technology, photochemical, and electronics manufacture. Traditional industries include musical instrument manufacturing - the best known being PETROF pianos. There is the University of Hradec Králové and Charles University in Prague has a medical school and a pharmaceutical department in the city.

The city is situated in the centre of a very fertile region called the Golden Road on the confluence of Elbe and Orlice and contains many buildings of historical and architectural interest. The cathedral was founded in 1303 by Elizabeth, and the church of St. John, built in 1710, stands on the ruins of the old castle. During 1920s and 1930s the city grew rapidly and due to many buildings of modern architecture Hradec Králové became known as the Salon of the Republic. This was a nickname given to it by citizens who were spellbound by the unique architecture of Josef Gočár.

Ústí nad Labem

Ústí nad Labem (German: Aussig) is a city of the Czech Republic. The city is the 9th-most populous in the country. It is the birthplace of the painter Anton Raphael Mengs.

Ústí nad Labem was mentioned as a trading centre as early as 993. The city was founded by King Otakar II of Bohemia in the latter part of the 13th century. During the 19th century the city became heavily industrialized and due to the large-scale immigration the number of inhabitants grew from 2,000 to over 40,000 making Ústí one of the biggest cities in Bohemia. From April 17 to April 19, 1945 the city was bombed by the Allied Forces and over 500 people lost their lives. In 1945 and 1946, over 53,000 ethtic Germans were expelled from the area. Emigrants from the Soviet Union, Slovakia, and Romania settled in the city, among them many Roma and Sinti. After the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia in the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the city's heavy industry suffered economic troubles.

Prague, Czech Republic

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