- Kuks
Geobox | Settlement
name = Kuks
other_name =
category = Village
image_caption = Kuks Castle
symbol =
etymology =
official_name =
motto =
nickname =
country = Czech Republic
country_
state =
region = Hradec Králové
region_type = Region
district = Trutnov
district_type = District
municipality = Dvůr Králové nad Labem
municipality_type = Little District
part =
river =
location =
elevation = 283
lat_d = 50
lat_m = 24
lat_s = 03
lat_NS = N
long_d = 15
long_m = 53
long_s = 26
long_EW = E
highest =
highest_elevation =
highest_lat_d =
highest_long_d =
lowest =
lowest_elevation =
lowest_lat_d =
lowest_long_d =
area = 4.81
area_round = 2
population = 235
population_date = 2005
population_density = auto
established = 1692
established_type = First mentioned
mayor = Jiří Beran
timezone =
map_background = Czechia - background map.png
map_caption = Location in the Czech Republic
map_locator = Czechia
commons = Kuks
statistics =
website = [http://www.kuks.cz/ www.kuks.cz]
footnotes =Kuks (German: Kukus) is a village in the
Czech Republic ,Hradec Králové Region ,Trutnov District. Its main feature is a baroquespa building with famoussculpture s byMatthias Braun .History
On the slope of the
Elbe in Kuks, there used to be mineral springs. In1692 -1696 ,František Antonín Špork , the owner of the county, directed three of them at one place and built a simple spa. When the healing effects of the water were proven byprofessor s ofCharles University and experts fromBaden-Baden , Špork enlarged the spa in1707 -1722 with an octagonal Church of Holy Trinity, aHospital ,theatre and other buildings in theBaroque style. The interiors and exteriors were decorated withBaroque sculpture s byMatthias Braun , the most famous of which are theVirtue s andVice s.Špork died in
1738 and his heirs were not interested in maintaining the spa. Aflood in1740 destroyed most of the infrastructure and put the spa out of business. TheHospital (now called Kuks Castle), Church,Pharmacy with historical furniture andMatthias Braun 's statues in a park have however survived to the present day and are considered a masterpiece of European Baroque style.After the
Munich Agreement , until the end ofWorld War II , the territory of Kuks became a border area of NaziGermany . The railroadPardubice -Jaroměř-Turnov , which goes through Kuks, crossed the border four times within about 40 km. A scanned image of the relevant page from the1944 German railtimetable can be viewed [http://pkjs.de/bahn/Kursbuch1944/Teil6/503.jpghere] .Surrounding
More
Baroque statues fromMatthias Braun , so-called Bethlehem (Betlém), are in a nearby village of Žireč (part of Dvůr Králové nad Labem). Other places of interest in the area are in Dvůr Králové nad Labem proper (zoo ) and Jaroměř (fortress ).External links
* [http://www.kuks.cz/ Official web site of the Kuks municipality (in Czech)]
* [http://virtualniprohlidky.cz/virtualni-prohlidka/zamek-kuks/ Virtual tour of the Kuks Castle]
* [http://www.zamky-hrady.cz/1/kuks.htm Short information on Kuks Castle in English]
* [http://mapy.atlas.cz/mapviewer/mapviewer.aspx?cy=-1021623&cx=-634513&icon=default&scale=100000&action=zoomto Kuks on a map]
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