The town of Jaroměř is situated in the Hradec county, 120 km from Prague. Located at the confluence of three rivers – Elbe, Úpa and Metua, it is an important road and railway junction. Referred to as the “city of parks and gardens”, it is one of the oldest Czech settlements.

      The historical centre marks the spot where, at the beginning of the 11th century, prince Jaromír of the Přemyslid family founded a fortified castle. In the Middle Ages, the place was protected by powerful city walls, but it was nonetheless destroyed during the Hussite Wars. Jaroměř fell again at the end of the Thirty Years’ War, when the town was almost completely depopulated. Then the following centuries were the heyday of Jaroměř, which was helped, among others, by erection of the nearby Josefov fortress and construction of the railway line (1857-1859). Numerous interesting buildings and monuments testify to the years of splendour.      As a result of the Silesian Wars (1740-1763), the Habsburg Empire lost a large area of Silesia and Kłodzko Land, together with the local fortresses. The ever-growing Prussia threatened further expansion, so to secure the territory of Bohemia, the Habsburgs decided to build two fortresses: Josefov and Terezín. On October 3, 1780, Emperor Joseph II laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new fortress in Josefov. After seven years of work, the building was completed and handed over to the army. It was never the area of serious fighting. During the First World War, Russian prisoners of war were kept in the fortress, and during the World War 2 – Wehrmacht units and government troops stationed there. In 1948, Josefov was incorporated into the town of Jaroměř. In 1968, the Soviet army entered the fortress. They occupied the military hospital and several other buildings. Russians soldiers stationed there until 1991.