Nové Hrady (Ústí nad Orlicí District)

Nové Hrady (German: Neuschloss) is a municipality and village in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 300 inhabitants.

Nové Hrady
Municipality
View towards the Nové Hrady Castle
Flag Coat of arms
Nové Hrady Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°51′6″N 16°8′38″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Pardubice
District	Ústí nad Orlicí
First mentioned	1293
Area
• Total	6.73 km2 (2.60 sq mi)
Elevation	384 m (1,260 ft)
Population  (2024-01-01)[1]
• Total	308
• Density	46/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	539 45
Website	www.obecnovehrady.cz

Administrative division

Nové Hrady consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):^[2]

• Nové Hrady (230)
• Mokrá Lhota (67)
• Rybníček (7)

Etymology

Nové Hrady Castle

After the settlement was founded, it was called Boží Dům (i.e. "God's house") after the first church built in the area. When the old castle was replaced by a new one, the village was renamed Nové Hrady (literally "new castles").^[3]

Geography

Nové Hrady is located about 22 kilometres (14 mi) southwest of ústí nad Orlicí and 32 km (20 mi) southeast of Pardubice. It lies in the Svitavy Uplands. The highest point is at 470 m (1,540 ft) above sea level. The Novohradka River flows through the southern and western parts of the municipal territory. A system of fishponds supplied by the brook Hradecký potok is located in the village proper.

History

The first written mention of Nové Hrady is from 1293.^[4] At that time, the village belonged to the Litomyšl estate and shared its owner. A late Gothic castle was built on the site of an old castle in 1442–1468 by the then-owner of Litomyšl, Zdeněk Kostka of Postupice, and the Nové Hrady estate was established. The Gothic castle was rebuilt into a Renaissance residence in the 15th century, but during the Thirty Years' War, it was looted and destroyed by Swedish army.^[3][5]

Nové Hrady saw its rise in the 18th century. In 1750, the French aristocratic Harbuval de Chamarè family bought the estate and had built the Nové Hrady Castle. The family gradually became poorer, so at the beginning of the 20th century, they sold the estate.^[5]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 1,062 —     1880 1,132 +6.6% 1890 1,037 −8.4% 1900 985 −5.0% 1910 1,021 +3.7%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 923 −9.6% 1930 797 −13.7% 1950 575 −27.9% 1961 581 +1.0% 1970 511 −12.0%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 408 −20.2% 1991 318 −22.1% 2001 284 −10.7% 2011 284 +0.0% 2021 304 +7.0%
Source: Censuses[6][7]

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.

Sights

Church of Saint James the Great

Nové Hrady is known for Nové Hrady Castle. It was built in the Rococo style in 1773–1777, in the style of French summer residence. The castle is nicknamed "Czech Versailles" and "Little Schönbrunn". The building is unique within the country for the style in which it was built and because it was never rebuilt. It is privately owned, but it is open to the public and offers sightseeing tours. The castle is surrounded by several gardens and with and English-style park, in which a hill with ruins of the former Gothic castle is located.^[8]

Other sights include the Church of Saint James the Great, built in the Baroque style in 1724, and the Stations of the Cross in the English park from 1767.^[3]