Pardubice is a statutory city in East Bohemia and the seat of the Pardubice Region.[5][2] It lies at the confluence of the Elbe (Labe) and the Chrudimka, about 104 km from Prague. It is a railway hub and has an international airport.[2] According to the Czech Statistical Office, Pardubice had 92,713 inhabitants on 1 January 2026.[4]*
Origins
The first surviving mention of Pardubice dates from 1295, when Pope Boniface VIII took the Church of St Bartholomew with the knightly Order of the Cyriacs under his protection.[1] The town's coat of arms, the front half of a white horse with a golden bridle on a red field, was taken over from the lords of Pardubice. It is linked to a legend about the knight Ješek of Pardubice, who took part in the siege of Milan in 1158.[1] The first documented owner of Pardubice, at the beginning of the 14th century, was the provincial judge Půta of Dubá. In 1340 the town was inherited by Arnošt of Pardubice, later the first Archbishop of Prague and adviser to Charles IV.[1]
The Pernštejn era
In 1491 Pardubice was bought by Vilém of Pernštejn, High Steward of the Kingdom of Bohemia, who made it the centre of his estate.[1] On the site of a small castle he built a late Gothic four-wing residence around a courtyard. His sons Vojtěch and Jan added a storey to the chateau and decorated it in the Renaissance style.[3] Vilém expanded the town to the extent of today's Old Town and built an extensive system of ponds and canals on his estate.[3] The lavish construction gave rise to the saying "it shines like Pardubice".[1] The late Gothic houses later received Renaissance façades. Vojtěch of Pernštejn is buried in the chancel of St Bartholomew's Church.[3] In 1560 the indebted estate was sold to Emperor Ferdinand I. The historic core with its Renaissance square has been an urban heritage reserve since 1964.[1]
Later history
In 1645 the town withstood a siege by the Swedish general Torstensson.[1] In 1845 the first train passed through Pardubice on the Prague–Olomouc line. The town became a railway hub, and food, engineering and chemical industries developed.[1] In 1874 the Great Pardubice Steeplechase was run for the first time.[1] In 1910 Jan Kašpar, a native of Pardubice, became the first Czech to fly, in a Blériot aircraft, and a year later flew it from Pardubice to Prague.[1] In 1919 the Telegrafia electrical works was founded, and a year later the Explosia Semtín explosives factory near the town.[1] After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, 194 people were executed at the Zámeček execution site between 3 June and 9 July 1942 in connection with the activities of the Silver A parachute group. In December 1942, 563 Jews were deported from Pardubice to concentration camps.[1] Three air raids on the refinery and airport in 1944 killed more than 250 people.[1]
Education, culture and sport
Teaching at the College of Chemistry began in 1950, and in 1994 it became the University of Pardubice. The international civil airport has operated since 1995.[1] The city is home to the East Bohemian Museum, the East Bohemian Gallery, the Chamber Philharmonic and the East Bohemian Theatre.[2] Besides the Great Pardubice, the city hosts the Golden Helmet speedway race, a junior tennis championship and the Czech Open chess tournament.[2]