Rychnov nad Kněžnou


Rychnov nad Kněžnou is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 11,000 inhabitants.
This is a small town, with a sprinkling of other small towns in the vicinity. The nearest big city is Hradec Králové which is about 32 km to the west.

History

The town was founded during the colonization of the Orlické Mountains, when Heřman z Drnholce obtained a strip of land around Rychnov from Ottokar II of Bohemia. The first known written note about Rychnov is attributed to Heřman z Drnholce, in a document dated from the 1st of February 1258 in Vienna.
Rychnov was located at an important trading route.
Until 1918, the town was part of the Austrian monarchy, and head of the REICHENAU district, one of the 94 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Bohemia. The 1878 cancellation under Franz-Joseph I ruling is an early use of German and Czechoslovakian languages.

Twin towns — sister cities

Rychnov nad Kněžnou is twinned with: