Hradec Králové is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The city is situated in a flat landscape, at the confluence of the Elbe and Orlice rivers.

From 1306, Hradec Králové was a dowry town ruled by Bohemian queens, which helped further development of the city. In the second half of the 18th century, a large military fortress was built in the city, which changed its character. In the first third of the 20th century, after the fortress was abolished, the city was rebuilt again and became appreciated for its high architectural level.

Hradec Králové is a regional centre of culture and education, known for the Klicpera Theatre and University of Hradec Králové. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument reservation, and the wider centre is protected as an urban monument zone. The most important monument of Hradec Králové is the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

The city was originally named Hradec, which is a diminutive of hrad (i.e. 'castle'). Later, when it was owned by Bohemian queens, the Králové suffix (genitive of králová, 'queen' in Old Czech) was added. So the name Hradec Králové literally means "queen's castle".

The historic city centre is located around the square Velké námestí, where all the most valuable historic buildings are located. The face of the modern city dates from the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, when many monumental representative buildings in the Art Nouveau and Functionalism styles were built here.

The main landmark of Hradec Králové and the most important monument is the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. The Church of the Holy Spirit was founded by Elizabeth Richeza in 1307, the two massive towers were added in 1360. It was promoted to a cathedral by Pope Alexander VII in 1664. It is the only Gothic church, which survived the construction of the fortress in the 18th century.

The second landmark and the tallest building in the city with 72 metres (236 ft) is the White Tower. The originally Renaissance bell tower was built in 1574-1580 and completed in 1589. It includes the third biggest bell in Bohemia. Today the tower serves as a lookout tower and space for exhibitions.

The Church of Saint John of Nepomuk was built on the site of the former castle in 1710-1729. The interior contains valuable paintings from 1887, created in the Beuron Art School style.

The Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové was founded in 1880. The large museum building was designed by architect Jan Kotera and built in 1909-1912. The museum has approximately 3,000,000 items in archeological, scientific and historical collections. One of the most valuable exhibits is the oldest surviving collections of Czech Renaissance polyphony, the Codex Speciálník manuscript.