"Podiebrad" redirects here. For the castle of this name, see Schloss Podiebrad. For the family of this name, see Podiebrad family

Podiebrad family

The Bohemian Poděbrady family was a noble family in Bohemia, arising from the Lords of Kunštát. After Boček of Kunštát had acquired the Lordship of Poděbrady by marriage, he called himself "Boček of Kunštát and Poděbrady". The best known member of the family was George of Poděbrady, who was...

.

Poděbrady (ˈpoɟɛbradɪ; ) is a historical spa town in the Central Bohemian Region

Central Bohemian Region

Central Bohemian Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative center is placed in the Czech capital Prague , which lies in the center of the region...

, Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

. It lies on the river Labe

Elbe

The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...

 50 km east of Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 on the D11 highway. A historic milestone in the life of the town was the year 1905, when it was visited by the German estate owner Prince von Bülow

Bülow

Bülow may refer to:*Bülow, Germany, a municipality in the district of Parchim, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, GermanyThe von Bülow family are a German / Danish noble family, with the titles Baron or Prince...

. This well-known water diviner found in the inner courtyard signs of a strong spring, which was later bored to a depth of 97.6 metres. The discovery of carbonic mineral water resulted in the opening of the first spa in 1908. After World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 Poděbrady rapidly changed into a spa town which from 1926 specialized in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, rapidly gaining renown not only in the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

, but also abroad.

The history of Poděbrady reaches back to medieval times. A long-distance trade route running from Prague to eastern Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

 and then on to Silesia

Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...

 and Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 passed through the then forested landscape interwoven with a dense network of river branches. This important communication intersected the River Labe to the west of the present town, at a place called Na Vinici.

An ancient community and a small fortress originated near the ford. It is most likely that the position of this community is reflected in the present name of the town: Poděbrady – "pode brody" = below the ford.

Points of interests

• Near Podebrady, there is a longwave transmitter used for transmitting meteorological reports. It uses a T-antenna mounted on two 150 m-tall guyed masts. The local golf course is located on the site of the transmitter.

• The mineral water that was found in the early 1900s is better known as Poděbradka. The water contains iron deposits; if left over the course of a few days a rust-like deposit will settle at the bottom and will stain plastic bottles. There are four free public taps where people are able to obtain Poděbradka. There is also a refined version of Poděbradka that is not as heavy with the iron deposits that can be purchased from most stores in the Czech Republic.

People connected with Poděbrady

• George of Podebrady
  George of Podebrady
  George of Kunštát and Poděbrady , also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad , was King of Bohemia...
  
  , King of Bohemia
• Hans Janowitz
  Hans Janowitz
  Hans Janowitz was a Bohemian-born German author.Janowitz was an officer in World War I, but returned from it as a pacifist. Shortly after the war ended, he met the similarly minded Carl Mayer in Berlin, who suggested he work as an author. Together they wrote the script to The Cabinet of Dr...
  
  , author
• Miloš Forman
  Miloš Forman
  Jan Tomáš Forman , better known as Miloš Forman , is a Czech-American director, screenwriter, professor, and an emigrant from Czechoslovakia. Two of his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, are among the most celebrated in the history of film, both gaining him the Academy Award for...
  
  , filmmaker
• the Mašín
  Mašín
  Mašín is a Czech family name, most often associated with Josef Mašín and his sons, Ctirad Mašín and Josef Mašín jr.The former was a hero of Czech anti-Nazi resistance, the latter - often called the Mašín-Brothers - started armed anti-Communist resistance after the war...
  
   brothers
• Marta Kubišová
  Marta Kubišová
  Marta Kubišová is a Czech singer of iconic significance. By the time of the Prague Spring of 1968, with her song "Modlitba pro Martu" , she was one of the most popular female singers in Czechoslovakia.In 1967 she won Zlatý slavík award...
  
  , singer and signatory to Charter 77
  Charter 77
  Charter 77 was an informal civic initiative in communist Czechoslovakia from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Václav Havel, Jan Patočka, Zdeněk Mlynář, Jiří Hájek, and Pavel Kohout. Spreading the text of the document was...
  
  

Twin towns — Sister cities

Poděbrady is twinned

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with: Piešťany

Pieštany

Piešťany is a town in Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the country within the Trnava Region and is the seat of its own district. It is the biggest and best known spa town in Slovakia and has around 30,000 inhabitants.-History:...

, Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

External links

• Official Web site