Place:Kyšperk, Žamberk, Čechy, Czechoslovakia

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Letohrad (; until 1950 Kyšperk; ) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,400 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The first written mention of Kyšperk Castle, a predecessor of the settlement, is from 1308 when it was mentioned in Zbraslav chronicles. It was founded by the Lords of Žampach in the 13th century. Existence of the castle was last mentioned in 1419. In 1513, the town of Kyšperk was first mentioned. It was probably founded much earlier as a settlement beneath the castle, but it had the same owner all the time and there was no reason to create records.^[1]

The town experienced a rapid development in the 17th century, when the estate was owned by the Vitanovský of Vlčkovice family. During the rule of Hynek Jetřich Vitanovský of Vlčkovice, Kyšperk greatly improved its state: he had rebuilt the original fortress into a Baroque castle, had built a castle chapel which later became the Church of Saint Wenceslaus, handcraftsmen were allowed to establish guilds, and a hospital for poor and old people was founded.^[1]

The large fire from 1824 burned down 76 houses. In 1874 a railway crossed Kyšperk, starting the growth of the textile industry. After World War II, Kyšperk turned into a modern town with a major electrotechnical industry.^[1]

In 1950, the municipalities of Kynšperk, Orlice, Kunčice and Rotnek were merged. The new municipality was named Letohrad. Kyšperk was renamed Letohrad and Rotnek was renamed Červená. After the Velvet Revolution in 1989 the historical centre of the town was renovated.^[1]

Research Tips