Poděbrady

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

Poděbrady (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpoɟɛbradɪ]; German: Podiebrad) is a historical spa town in the Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It lies on the river Labe 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of Prague 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. 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 (320 ft). The discovery of carbonic mineral water resulted in the opening of the first spa in 1908. After World War I 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, but also abroad.

The history of Poděbrady reaches back to medieval times. A long-distance trade route running from Prague to eastern Bohemia and then on to Silesia and Poland 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, King of Bohemia
• Hans Janowitz, author
• Miloš Forman, filmmaker
• the Mašín brothers
• Marta Kubišová, singer and signatory to Charter 77

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Poděbrady is twinned with:

• Piešťany, Slovakia

External links

• Official Web site