Trutnov

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Trutnov, Czech Republic

Region	Hradec Králové
Population	31,398 (2004)
Area	103 km²
Coordinates	50°34′ N 15°55′ E
Elevation	427 m AMSL
Documented	1260
Website	www.trutnov.cz

Trutnov (German: Trautenau) is a city in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has a population of 31,398 and lies in the Giant Mountains in the valley of the Úpa River.

Trutnov is located on a 12th century Slavic settlement named after the Úpa River; the first written mention of this settlement is from 1260. In order to develop the countryside, King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia granted German settlers the right to establish a town at the pre-existing settlement. The first mention of the German name Trautenau, from which the modern name Trutnov is derived, is from a document of King Wenceslaus II in 1301. Since the end of the 14th century Trutnov was a dowry town for the Bohemian queen. Its stout defenses repelled all enemies except for a capture by Jan Žižka during the Hussite Wars in 1421 and sieges by the Swedes during the Thirty Years' War in 1642 and 1647.

For centuries Trutnov relied on farming for its economy, but it began to be industrialized during the 19th century. In 1823 Johannes Faltis constructed a linen manufactury and a cotton weaving mill. Textiles remains an important part of the city's economy. Germans were the ethnic majority in the town until their expulsion in 1945.