Situated 35 km from Pilsen and 27 km from Rakovník, the town is a traditional centre of administration and culture of the north-eastern sector of the Pilsen District. For almost a century, between 1850-1949, it even used to be the seat of state administration of the political district of Kralovice. First mentioned in 1183, the village and fort were passed to the Convent of Plasy in that year. The market place on the cross-roads of the merchant routes between Prague, Pilsen, Cheb and Žatec was granted freedoms of a subject city in 1289. In 1400, Kralovice was chartered by emphyteusis and received more business and legal privileges managed by the old municipal legislation. Kralovice and the villages around were granted to Bedřich and Hanuš of Kolowraty by King Sigismund. The new owners halved up the city later, incorporating one half into the Krašov Castle Domain and joining the other to the Libštejn Castle. But both halves went back to the Convent of Plasy, one in 1480, the other in 1513. Before long, one of Kralovice's halves joined the farming estate of Kaceřov in 1518 and was sold to the Gryspek's of Gryspach later. The other half was pawned to the Gryspeks. It was the Gryspek family who applied with King Ferdinand II to grant Kralovice the freedoms of a city in 1547, that were accompanied by the coat-of-arms, the red-wax seal, and many market privileges. The Gryspeks lost the title following the battle of the White Mountain and Kralovice went back to the Convent of Plasy in acknowledgement of the faithfulness to the Emperor and of the merits won during the uprising of the Estates. The Convent held Kralovice until its dissolution of 1785. The town got a limited magistrate toward the end of the l8th century. As to the size, Kralovice consisted of 285 houses with 1,800 inhabitants around the middle of the l9th century. Built up of wood for the most part, the town was easy prey of several fires, especially of the desolating one of 1845 which consumed half of the city. But the declining l9th century saw Kralovice grow very fast, with 335 houses and almost 2,000 inhabitants who made their living on farming, especially crop growing, and petty crafts, like pottery, weaving, etc. Kralovice had been a well-known cattle market and famous for pig breeding. Prosperous times came in between the wars and again after World War II when several companies opened shops here to provide agricultural services. The present-day greater Kralovice, i.e. including the villages of Hradecko, Bukovina, Řemešín and Trojany, come up to a population of 3,600. The town lies on the stream of the Kralovický potok which empties into the Střela river and numerous ponds are scattered across the country around, like Oborák, Volesko, Týnice, Červená Hora. A place so old must have its history written into architecture. Dating back to 1250, local dominant is the parochial St Peter and Paul's Church. The Gryspeks had the church restored in the Renaissance style probably by Bonifác Wohlmut's design in 1575-1581. 'The rectangular nave and narrow, pentagonal presbytery cling to the prismatic tower with a staircase on the northern side. A crypt was established in the chapel to become the last place of repose for Florián Gryspek and his populous family (he had 24 children) who rest here in coffins made of glass. For the good condition, their bodies are nicknamed the mummies of Kralovice. Carved and painted by Hans Bule of Regensburg, Samuel Braun of Kadaň and Hartwig of Wernigerode back in 1593, the Gryspeks' epitaph is an outstanding piece of West-Bohemian Renaissance art. It was ordered for 600 tolars by Florián Gryspek's sons, featuring him and his wife Rosina. The church furniture is mostly baroque with a Gothic sculptural group depicting the Annunciation of Our Lady of Mariánská Týnice on the main altar. Also worth mentioning are the baroque parish and many burgher houses -no. 35 in the square is the oldest existing secular building in town; no. 1 is the former town hall built in 1793; the Town Magistrate occupies the former Art-Nouveau savings bank; the high school in the square. Samples of modern architecture are the Bohemian Brethren Congregation built by the architect Hanuš Zápal in the Žatecká Street in 1934. Kralovice is a lively place. Much is changing, services keep improving, new businesses and bureaus are starting and many buildings are acquiring new looks to make the life of natives and visitors more pleasant.

Liberation Square with school and the baroque house 'U Beránků'

Mariánská Týnice, built by J.B. Santini's disign

Kralovice, the Mark Street with the st Peter's and Paul's Church