The story
The first written reliable mention of Kralupy is from 1253. It was originally a village by the local ford. From its establishment to 1848, it was owned mostly by Knights of the Cross with the Red Star, except for four enforced short breaks. It had belonged to the same authority for six hundred years, which is a rare case.
When the importance of the Kralupy river ford ceased, the inhabitants mostly occupied themselves with farming. Growing and drying fruits had a tradition here. In 1851, the state railway line from Prague to Dresden was put into operation and in 1856, the Buštěhrad line with the reloading dock on the Vltava River opened. This laid the foundations of the Kralupy railway junction, which was extended in 1865 by the construction of the Kralupy–Turnov line. The development of the river shipping had led to the regulation of the Vltava in 1894. The railway and river transportation stimulated a rapid population growth and overall economic development Many enterprises were established and the price of land rose.
In 1854, the shipyard producing both wooden and metal vessels was founded and in 1857 the first real factory opened – a chemical factory called Jordánka, which employed 600 people in its heyday. In 1867, the steam-mill was put into operation, two sugar factories in 1868–1869, and a brewery opened in 1872. At the same time the first sand quarries and brickworks were opened. The general growth occurred, the mineral oil refinery was put into operation. This stage of the transformation of the village into a town culminated in 1881, when Kralupy was promoted to a market town, and in 1902, when it became a town. In 1902, the neighbouring settlement of Lobeč was joined to Kralupy and it changed its name to Kralupy nad Vltavou.
World War I affected the town only indirectly. After the war, several new enterprises were established. The town suffered in World War II, when the oil campaign targeted the oil refinery in 1945. During the totalitarian communist rule in 1948–1989, the town lacked democratic municipal government.
The town's location is the cause of frequent devastating floods, which came in 1784, 1845 and 1890. The town centre was also damaged by the 2002 European floods.
Lobeček, Mikovice and Minice were separate municipalities until 1980, when they were incorporated into the town. Zeměchy was incorporated in 1986.
From Wikipedia’s article on Kralupy nad Vltavou, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5