Later, when it was owned by Bohemian queens, the Králové attribute (genitive of králová, 'queen' in Old Czech) was added.

In the 14th century, thanks to the presence of the queens, the city became a military and political center of a region with a high level of education and culture.

During the rule of King George of Poděbrady, the city experienced a new period of economic, political and cultural prosperity.

[12] The development ended in 1547, when Hradec Králové joined the campaign against Emperor Ferdinand I, and as a result many of its properties were confiscated and its privileges were taken away.

[12] In 1766, Joseph II decided to build a large modern military fortress in the city.

Its construction changed the character of the city and its surroundings, some suburbs were demolished and the inhabitants moved into newly established settlements.

A nearby hill was dismantled to build the massive walls and the riverbed of both the Elbe and the Orlice were changed.

Before the World War I, the harmonious development of the city and its high architectural level were influenced especially by the architect Jan Kotěra.

In the 1920s, his pupil, another prominent Czech architect Josef Gočár, became the leading figure in the city's development, and his regulatory plan created in 1926–1928 became the basis for the construction activity in the years to come.

The urban development of Hradec Králové in the 1920s and 1930s was also appreciated abroad and the city was nicknamed the "Salon of the Republic".

[17] Hradec Králové is connected with Prague by the D11 motorway, which runs along the western municipal border.

It is a public domestic and private international airport, located about 3 km (2 mi) from the city centre.

[10] The REGIONS International Theatre Festival Hradec Králové is an annual cultural event held in the city.

[27] The football club FC Hradec Králové plays in the Czech First League in the Malšovická aréna stadium with a capacity of 9,300 people.

The ice hockey club of Hradec Králové is Mountfield HK, which plays in the Czech Extraliga.

[28] The track hosted a team called Východočeský KV Hradec Králové, which won two bronze medals in the Czechoslovak Championship in 1961 and 1962.

The face of the modern city dates from the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, when many monumental representative buildings in the Art Nouveau and Functionalism styles were built here.

[12] The main landmark of Hradec Králové and the most important monument is the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

The Church of the Holy Spirit was founded by Elizabeth Richeza in 1307, the two massive towers were added in 1360.

[32] One of the most valuable exhibits is the oldest surviving collections of Czech Renaissance polyphony, the Codex Speciálník manuscript.