A small settlement of the Dvůr (court) with a small church probably originated in the late 12th century.
The first written record of Dvůr dates from 1270, referred to in Latin as Curia. It also appears named in German, “Hof”, in 1316. The Czech name “Dwuor” arises in the year 1421. This name probably denotes the prince’s court which was built in the vicinity of the church.

Dvůr as a tribute town

Dvůr gained the attribute Králové (“Royal”) after King Václav IV passed the town over to his wife, Sofia of Bavaria. This was before her coronation in 1400.

The discovery of the Dvůr Králové Manuscript

16th September 1817 was a significant date in the town’s history when the “Dvůr Králové Manuscript” was discovered by Václav Hanka in the dungeon of the dean’s church of St. John the Baptist. This manuscript contains 14 songs meant to date back to the 13th century. Although this is probably a forgery, the manuscript greatly influenced the atmosphere of the rebirth of national spirit at the time and put the name of the town on the map of Czech history.

Prosperity and development of the town

The town was mainly a commerce and trade centre. It also had a tradition of weaving and dyeing, because linen had been grown here for centuries. From the end of the 18th century cotton began to appear in the town and in the 19th century it began to replace the traditional material.
The textile industry began to develop to the full in the 1880s when the first textile factories began to spring up (Winternitz and Friedman (1861), Emanuel Bäumelt, Mořic Feldscharek, Julius Busch, etc.).
The industrial boom had a direct effect on the population growth, building development and also on the social and cultural life of the town.