HRADEC KRALOVE, town of Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, situated at the confluence of the Orlice with the Elbe. It is the natural market centre of a fertile region known as the "Golden Road," in which settlement has existed from prehistoric time. It was one of the dower towns of Elizabeth of Poland, the wife of King Wenceslas II. of Bohemia, and was the first town to declare for the national cause in the Hussite Wars. It is famous for the decisive battle of Sadowa in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. The growth of the modern town is across the Elbe towards the railway and the industrial centre of Kukleny. Here are engineering works, tanneries and sawmills. Other industries include the manufacture of soap, candles, confectionery and pianos. Pop. (1923), 13,I15. (See SEVEN YEARS' WAR.)