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'Kuks' (German: 'Kukus') is a village in the Czech Republic, Hradec Králové Region, Trutnov District. Its main feature is a baroque spa building with famous sculptures by Matthias Braun.

Contents

History

Surrounding

External links

History

On the slope of the Elbe in Kuks, there used to be mineral springs. In 1692-1696, František Antonín Špork, the owner of the county, directed three of them at one place and built a simple spa. When the healing effects of the water were proven by professors of Charles University and experts from Baden-Baden, Špork enlarged the spa in 1707-1722 with an octagonal Church of Holy Trinity, a Hospital, theatre and other buildings in the Baroque style. The interiors and exteriors were decorated with Baroque sculptures by Matthias Braun, the most famous of which are the Virtues and Vices.
Špork died in 1738 and his heirs were not interested in maintaining the spa. A flood in 1740 destroyed most of the infrastructure and put the spa out of business. The Hospital (now called Kuks Castle), Church, Pharmacy with historical furniture and Matthias Braun's statues in a park have however survived to the present day and are considered a masterpiece of European Baroque style.
After the Munich Agreement, until the end of World War II, the territory of Kuks became a border area of Nazi Germany. The railroad Pardubice-Jaroměř-Turnov, which goes through Kuks, crossed the border four times within about 40 km. A scanned image of the relevant page from the 1944 German rail timetable can be viewed here.

Surrounding

More Baroque statues from Matthias Braun, so-called Bethlehem (Betlém), are in a nearby village of Žireč (part of Dvůr Králové nad Labem). Other places of interest in the area are in Dvůr Králové nad Labem proper (zoo) and Jaroměř (fortress).

External links

★ Official web site of the Kuks municipality (in Czech)

★ Virtual tour of the Kuks Castle

★ Short information on Kuks Castle in English

★ Kuks on a map