Wikipedia Pardubice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpardubɪtsɛ] ( listen); German: Pardubitz) is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the river Elbe, 96 kilometres east of Prague. Pardubice has an antique centre square and old town, with many restaurants that stay open until late in the evening. There is an old Tower and a recently renovated Castle. Factories include the Synthesia chemical factory (manufacturer of Semtex, a plastic explosive), an oil refinery Paramo, a heavy machinery factory and an electronic equipment plant. The Czech Open Chess Tournament is the biggest in Europe, with roughly 1200 players from all over the world competing in the main groups, and many side-events such as a team championship, a Rubik's Cube competition and a Go-tournament. Pardubice is home to one of the top hockey teams in the Czech Extraliga, HC Pardubice (former Tesla). The local hockey club has bred international stars such as Vladimír Martinec, Dominik Hašek, Otakar Janecký, Aleš Hemský, Jan Bulis (all natives of Pardubice) and Milan Hejduk. Ex- NBA player Jiří Welsch is also a native of the city. It's also home of a famous steeplechase, the Velká pardubická. The oldest extant Document regarding Pardubice comes from 1295. The area had a monastery beginning in the early 13th century, and the city was founded c. 1340. Arnošt of Pardubice, the first archbishop of Prague, was born[citation needed] in Pardubice in 1297. It was Arnošt's testament of 1340 that proved the existence of the town of Pardubice, respectively a tributary town. Pardubice was promoted to a small town sometimes during the years 1332 - 1340. In 1491, Pardubice was bought by Vilém from Pernštejn, who continued to expand the town and made significant impact on its prosperity. Gothic reconstruction of Pardubice in the 16th century, yet again, enriched the town and thus confirmed the saying "glitters like Pardubice". Until 1918, the town was part of the Austrian monarchy (Austria side after the compromise of 1867), head of the PARDUBITZ district, one of the 94 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Bohemia.[1] In 1845, the first train arrived to Pardubice. The town was connected to other railway lines so Pardubice could thrive even more. New industrial enterprises started to emerge in the town, namely a distillery, a factory for mill machines of Josef Prokop and sons and Fanta's Factory. Since 1874, the Great Pardubice Steeplechase (Velká Pardubická) horse race has taken place every autumn (second Sunday in October). On 13 May 1911, Ing. Jan Kašpar made history by flying the first long-haul flight towards Prague. In Pardubice, industrial expansion was on the rise, especially after the First World War. However, during the Second World War the town was damaged by air strikes of the Allies. The Fanto Werke refinery at Pardubice was repeatedly bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II, and forced labor was provided by a concentration camp.[2][3] The Tesla electronics manufacturer operated from 1921--1989, and the Foxconn factory was established in June 2000. After 1989 the town continued to develop and flourish; the Chateau and its surroundings of estates were reconstructed. Pardubice has established contacts with foreign towns. Pardubice is situated on the bank of the second longest river in the Czech Republic, the Labe River, where there is a mouth of another river called Chrudimka. Pardubice is located at approximately 15° east longitude and 50° north longitude. The town is located 100 km east of the capital city of Prague, 150 km north-west of Brno. Pardubice is in the area of Labe Lowlands with average elevation of 225m and its area is 78 km2. The area is of lowland character without many hills. One exception is a nearby hill Kunětická hora. Pardubice is called the city of industry. The dominant industries are chemical industry, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. The chemical industry is mainly represented by a company Paramo and Synthesia, which was founded in Pardubice-Semtín as a stock factory for explosive substances. This field of industry together with the factory went through significant development, especially in 1960s. Synthesia is now one of the leading Czech companies manufacturing cellulose, pigments and dyes, and organic compounds. Synthesia is also a major exporter mainly for the EU countries and is associated with the invention of explosive Semtex. Paramo -- formally known as Fanta's Factory was until 2012 one of the major companies of its kind, but during the year a major shareholder decided to significantly suppress its production and the future of Paramo is still uncertain.

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