The town of Náchod is the largest town of the Kłodzko Borderlands, it lies on the Metuj River at an altitude of about 350 m.
The founding of the town is associated with the knight Hron from the Načeratic family, who about half of the
In the 13th century, he founded a castle to protect the provincial trail connecting Prague with Kłodzko. The castle was located in a strategically advantageous place, where the trail passed through a pass called Branka. The name Náchod first appears in written sources in 1254, it is related to the designation of the place where people walk or walk.
At the border crossing with Poland, the city has become a natural administrative, economic and cultural center of the area. The most important historical monuments in Náchod include the Renaissance chateau with a French garden, the Gothic church of St. Lawrence. The Art Nouveau building of the city theater and the Neo-Renaissance building of the town hall. In the city we can find a regional museum or a gallery of fine arts. In the newly renovated spring, you can taste IDA mineral water.
Near the town there is also a fortification from the 30s of the 20th century – the Dobrošov Fortress with an exhibition of Czechoslovak fortifications. Other tourist destinations are Jirásek’s cottage with a lookout tower in Dobrošov or the deeply cut valley of the Metuje River between Náchod and Nové Město nad Metují. The most valuable part of this valley was declared a nature reserve in 1997 as the Peklo Nature Reserve.
Important personalities of cultural life born in Náchod include the writer and exiled publisher Josef Škvorecký, the singer and composer Sláva Vorolová, the painter Bohumír Španiel and the architect Jan Letzel. The works of Alois Jirásek are also related to the city, such as “Skaláci”, “At the Ducal Court” or “At Us”. The town of Náchod also claims to be an important figure at its annual cultural events. The most important of them are the “Náchod Curonian Festival” (in honour of Petr Kuronský, the owner of the Náchod estate at the end of the 18th century), the festival of student creativity “Náchod Prima Sezona” inspired by the books of Josef Škvorecký, or the chamber music festival Camerata Nova Náchod.
