Hořice


 * Hořice** is a beautiful town in Královéhradecký region. It lies about 25 km north-west from Hradec Králové.



It has a rich cultural life and you can read the news about the town on its webpage horice.org.

It is Hořice tubes, well-known sweets, that comes to mind to most people when you say the name Hořice.



It is said it was Napoleon's cook who gave the recipe to a family in Hořice as a thank-you after they had taken care of them when they were on their way to Slavkov's battlefield. Soon, the recipe for a great sweet spread and today almost every second (if not really every) family has their (secret) way how to prepare it. Of course, the best are those of my grandmother, you know;)



Hořice has been known for high-quality sandstone and several stone quarries produced a material for both builders and sculptors. Therefore, in 1884 a sculptor and stonemason school was established in Hořice. There were for example Quido Kocian, Jan Štursa or Ladislav Šaloun who studied, and later taught here. Ladislav Šaloun is an author of Jan Hus monument that is placed in the Old Town Square in Prague. There is a similar monument in Hořice that served as a study for the one in Prague.



Throughout the town you can find lots of very interesting statues and monuments. Most of them are placed on Gothard Hill.

There is an open air gallery of modern art which is dominated by Rieger's Obelisk. It was made for 1903 Exhibition from one piece of sandstone that was mined in a quarry 10 km far from Hořice. The stone was carried for 14 days and it was necessary to use 24 horses and 8 oxen to be able to move the piece.

On Gothard Hill you can find another masterpiece of both sculptors and stonemasons - The Cemetery Portal built in years 1893 - 1907. There are three doors, symbolizing the Death, Resurrection and Heaven.





At the bottom of Gothard Hill there is Smetana's Park with a famous statue of Krakonoš (the Giant) according to a draft of Ladislav Šaloun. Although children like the fairy-tale atmosphere of the statue, it is said that it originally symbolized a German factory owner and German School Society that forced Czech children to attend German schools.

Apart from Krakonoš, there are twelve other statues and monuments, for example the monument of Bedřich Smetana with Jeníček and Mařenka (characters from his opera Prodaná nevěsta), the monuments of Antonín Dvořák, Miroslav Tyrš and Petr Maixner, statues of Jánošík, Husittes or Little Frogs.



On Chlumy Hills there is Masaryk's Tower of Independence built in honour to the soldiers who died in both world wars. The base stone was laid by president Masaryk in 1926. Originally, it was planned to be 40 meters high but it was only built up to 25 meters. On both sides of the tower there are reliefs of soldiers.



Near Hořice, there is Dachova swimming pool built in Art Nouveau, which is still popular and in use.

Hořice doesn't only mean the tubes and sandstone. Every year in May lovers of motorsport come to the town for the race called "300 Curves of Gustav Havel". The race took place for the first time in 1922. Nowadays, it is 5 150 m long race circuit that goes half through the town. It is the only natural circuit in the middle Europe.

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In April the tourists' club holds a march "O Žižkův štít" that reminds the 1423 battle of the Hussites. Mileta a.s. is a well-known textile-processing company producing high-quality handkerchieves, tablecloths, scarves and so on.

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