Úpice

Úpice (German: Eipel) is a town in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,400 inhabitants.

Úpice
Town
Old Town Hall, now town museum and gallery
Flag Coat of arms
Úpice Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°30′45″N 16°0′55″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Hradec Králové
District	Trutnov
First mentioned	1358
Government
• Mayor	Petr Hron
Area
• Total	15.31 km2 (5.91 sq mi)
Elevation	352 m (1,155 ft)
Population  (2025-01-01)[1]
• Total	5,448
• Density	360/km2 (920/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	542 32
Website	www.upice.cz

Administrative division

Úpice consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):^[2]

• Úpice (4,992)
• Radeč (346)

Etymology

The name is a diminutive form of Úpa.^[3]

Geography

Úpice is located about 9 kilometres (6 mi) southeast of Trutnov and 35 km (22 mi) northeast of Hradec Králové. It lies in the Giant Mountains Foothills. The highest point is at 508 m (1,667 ft) above sea level. The Úpa River flows through the town.

History

It is proven that Úpice existed already in the 11th century, however the first written mention is from 1358. It was a small town until the second half of the 19th century, when the textile and machinery industries developed.^[4]

In 1975, the village of Radeč was joined to Úpice.^[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 2,957 —     1880 3,222 +9.0% 1890 4,156 +29.0% 1900 5,627 +35.4% 1910 7,672 +36.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 6,757 −11.9% 1930 7,909 +17.0% 1950 6,277 −20.6% 1961 6,540 +4.2% 1970 6,749 +3.2%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 6,990 +3.6% 1991 6,141 −12.1% 2001 5,932 −3.4% 2011 5,713 −3.7% 2021 5,338 −6.6%
Source: Censuses[5][6]

Economy

The largest employer based in the town is Kasper Kovo, a metal processor.^[7]

Transport

The I/14 road (the section from Trutnov to Náchod) passes through the town.

Sights

Church of the Saint James the Great

The Church of the Saint James the Great was built in 1698–1705, after the old wooden church from the 14th century was burned down in 1625. The altar from 1730 includes an image of Saint James the Great painted by Petr Brandl.^[8]

The most valuable monument is Dřevěnka Inn. It is an excellently preserved half-timbered house from the beginning of the 17th century. It is a former homestead, which served as an inn from 1739 to 1990. Since 2018, it has been a museum. The house is protected as a national cultural monument.^[9]

A notable building is the Old Town Hall. It is an early Baroque house, built in 1677–1678. The tower was added in 1752. Since the 1960s, it has been used as the town museum and gallery. The gallery is named after a local native, painter Julie Winterová Mezerová, whose paintings are exhibited here.^[10][11]

Notable people

• Philipp Oberländer (1875–1911), hunter and traveller
• Josef Čapek (1887–1945), artist and writer; lived here
• Karel Čapek (1890–1938), writer; lived there
• Richard Sacher (1942–2014), politician

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic

Úpice is twinned with:^[12]

• Piechowice, Poland