Broumov tip in the northeast Bohemia is surrounded by Poland from almost all the sides. Not by chance, it is a protected landscape area Broumovsko. Not far from Náchod, a town Hronov lies on the river Metuje. It is forever linked with a name of the famous native Alois Jirásek.
Hronov was known as a peasant village already in the 2nd half of the 13th century. The water fortification was built here during colonization; later it was mentioned as a small town which belonged to the Náchod domain. In the Hussite time the Utraquist believers prevailed. The area was Protestant until the events culminating by the Battle of the White Mountain on the 8th of November 1620. The Thirty Years’ War blew over Hronov, too. The Swedes burnt it out in 1639. After a long time, in the 19th century Hronov slowly began to develop especially thanks to home weaving and agricultural production in the surroundings. The textile production began to develop with the introduction of railway and cultural development of the town also accelerated.
All Saints’ Church, formerly Gothic, rebuilt in a Baroque style at the beginning of the 17th century belongs among the important historical buildings. A bell tower with wooden boarding from 1610 is a typical building for Hronov. Jirásek’s theatre built in 1930 according to architect Jindřich Freiwald’s plan dominates Hronov. A year later a theatre festival called Jirásek’s Hronov held here for the first time.
It is worth noticing a native house of Alois Jirásek. It is a timbered small cottage from the end of the 18th century. It is a rare monument of folk architecture as well as so called “free yard“ on the place of a medieval fortress. In addition to Jirásek, Josef Čapek and his sister Helena, Egon Hostovský and also a famous camera-man and director Jan Špáta belong among other significant natives of Hronov.
The river Metuje creates romantic valleys on its upper and middle stream, the most famous of which is so called “Hell” Valley. Near Hronov we can also visit a national cultural monument Dobrošov.
Before World War II an artillery fortification with underground corridors formed a part of the defensive fortification of Czechoslovakia and it had to be given without fight to the Germans after the Munich Agreement in 1938. Nowadays, it is a seat of a museum. In the 1920s the tourist cottage in Dobrošov was rebuilt according to architect Dušan Jurkovič’s plans.
The Evangelical congregation of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (ECCB) in Hronov has its origins in 1869 when it became a preaching station of the Klášter nad Dědinou congregation. The date of its origin as a congregation is the 27th of August 1885. Originally the Protestants gathered in various rent houses; many donors supported building of a house of prayer. It is interesting that the plans of a church in Růžová near Děčín were used for the construction of this house of prayer. The church in Růžová is however, for unclear reasons in a very bad condition until now.
The house of prayer in Hronov was built in 1876, later so called winter house of prayer was added. The hall for worship is on the 1st floor; a new organ according to prof. Jiří Reinberger’s plan was installed in 1955.
The congregation has its preaching station in Tis. It is a building from the end of the 19th century which was repaired in rather high costs in 1939 and it serves for popular recreation of children and youth.