The city of Jaroměř was established in the early Middle Ages, on the confluence of the Elbe, Úpa, and Metuje rivers. A few centuries later, specifically at the end of the 17th century, the baroque fortification city of Josefov was built nearby. This was one of the last fortress cities to be built in the Bohemian territories. In the 19th century, the nature of warfare changed, and fortresses were no longer relevant. Both cities grew and are today merged into one. Together, they offer a wide range of tourist points of interest.
Each of these East Bohemian cities near Hradec Králové, Jaroměř and Josefov, are vastly different from one another. A clear depiction of this fact is presented in Jaroměř's Městké muzeum (Municipal Museum), housed in the former shopping centre designed by modernist architect Josef Gočár. A tour of Josefov, on the other hand, will take you straight to the heart of its baroque fortress, built 1780-1787, which was named after the reigning Austrian emperor, Joseph II. You can walk through underground corridors as well as along the above-ground sections of the fortress. You can also visit a lapidarium with original Baroque statues by Matthias Bernard Braun, as well as the fortress city itself.
The Josefov bastion fortress is a unique defensive complex built in the spirit of cutting-edge knowledge of fortifications of its time. It is said that when Joseph II saw the fortress once it was completed, he allegedly tapped the wall, surprised that, for the price that it cost to build, the bricks were not made of gold. On your tour of the fortress, you will walk approximately one kilometre, however, at the time of its foundation, in 1780, these corridors represented the largest underground complex in Europe. They were almost 45 kilometres long. The fortress concealed many surprises for uninvited guests. Everywhere you went, were ways to kill someone who is chasing you, to lock them up, circle around through a different route, and appear at their back.
A gothic cathedral
The most significant monument in Jaroměř is the gothic Church of St Nicholas cathedral; the earliest mention of the church dates back to the 14th century, and construction of what became the cathedral as we see it today began in the early 15th century. Because of the wars that were being waged as well as sluggish development, completion of construction on the cathedral took several centuries. The cathedral took on its current appearance during reconstructions in the early 20th century. Thanks to this fact, however, you can admire the artistry of almost all of the architectural style periods at the cathedral.Josefov Fortress
The fortress city of Josefov (now a part of Jaroměř) and its massive fortifications will transport you back to ages long passed. The underground corridors of the fortress, which housed a prisoner of war camp during World War I, were a part of its defence system, and remain the greatest tourist attraction here to this day.The Josefov bastion fortress is a unique defensive complex built in the spirit of cutting-edge knowledge of fortifications of its time. It is said that when Joseph II saw the fortress once it was completed, he allegedly tapped the wall, surprised that, for the price that it cost to build, the bricks were not made of gold. On your tour of the fortress, you will walk approximately one kilometre, however, at the time of its foundation, in 1780, these corridors represented the largest underground complex in Europe. They were almost 45 kilometres long. The fortress concealed many surprises for uninvited guests. Everywhere you went, were ways to kill someone who is chasing you, to lock them up, circle around through a different route, and appear at their back.
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