Last modified: 2002-03-29 by jarig bakker
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The correct flag of Rychnov nad Kneznou is horizontal white over green
over red (2:1:2).
Jan Zrzavy, 2 May 2001
The district town of Rychnov nad Kněžnou is a regional center of tourism,
culture, and industry. The original settlement of Rychnov nad Kněžnou dates
back to the first millenium B.C., although the present-day town has its
origins in the 11th century. Heřman of Drnholec, owned the settlement between
1258-67, at which time Rychnov was already a small town along the trade
route to Kladsko and Slezsko. In 1488 King Vladislav Jagellonský granted
the quickly growing Czech town an official emblem and the right to host
two annual fairs. In the middle of the 15th century the town and its surroundings
became a retreat for the Unitas Fratrum. Ownership of the domain changed
frequently during the Counter-Reformation. Eventually, on the site of a
former wooden castle, Kryštof of Neyenperk built a monumental late-Gothic
Church of the Holiest Trinity, later completed with a remarkable Baroque
facade by J.B. Santini. After the Thirty Years War, Rychnov came into the
possession of the Libštejnští family of Kolovraty, who built an impressive
Baroque palace with a picture gallery and began construction of a royal
riding school. Until the middle of the 19th century, the town maintained
its medieval character: old wooden houses, butcher shops on the square,
and trade guilds. It wasn't until 1848 that capitalist enterprise began
to take hold. (Info from this
site.)
Jarig Bakker, 4 Jan 2001