Úpice

Úpice (Eipel) is a town in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,500 inhabitants.

Administrative parts
The village of Radeč is an administrative part of Úpice.

Etymology
The name is a diminutive form of Úpa.

Geography
Úpice is located about 9 km southeast of Trutnov and 35 km northeast of Hradec Králové. It lies in the Giant Mountains Foothills. The highest point is at 508 m 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.

In 1975, the village of Radeč was joined to Úpice.

Economy
The largest employer based in the town is Kasper Kovo, a metal processor.

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

Sights
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.

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.

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.

Notable people

 * 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
Úpice is twinned with:
 * 🇵🇱 Piechowice, Poland