dominant of Hradec Kralove

The name of the tower comes from the bright white colour of Hořice sandstone from which it is built. It houses Augustin, the third largest bell in the Czech Republic, the original tower clock machine by Josef Božek and a unique glass model of the tower. A thorough reconstruction carried out by the City of Hradec Králové in 2013 – 2015 allowed the installation of a modern audio-visual technology that offers countless possibilities for amusement and education.

The White Tower reconstruction project is a part of the Integrated plan of the development of the city of Hradec Králové “City Centre = the centre point of city growth and development”, 2.1.3 Protection and renewal of monuments and historical buildings. This project is co-funded from the European Fund for Regional Development within the framework of the Regional operational programme NUTS II North-East, priority axis 2.1 Development of regional centres.

Construction of The White Tower started in the middle of the western side of the Great Square in Hradec Králové on July 7^th 1574 during the reign of the Primate Martin Cejp of Peclinovce thanks to charitable gifts donated by the citizens of the city. Over the period six years, a 48 meters tall tower with the footprint of 10x10 meters made of Hořice sandstone grew up at the square. The construction was completed by installation of the roof that changed both shape and colour a number of times over the years. It used to shine thanks to its copper cladding, but it also used to be of white-grey colour or green. Naturally, each change of the roof colour was perceived very negatively by the general public. The very last change of roof shape added 20 more meters of height to the tower back in 1840.

The White Tower in Hradec Králové houses the third heaviest and largest bell in the Czech Republic. It´s bottom diameter is 206 centimetres, the approximate weigh is 8 000 kilograms and the tone is C1. The bell was first sounded back in 1509. At that time the bell was located in a wooden bell tower, because the city simply did not have a tower that would support the enormous weight of the bell. The bell moved to The White Tower some 72 years later, in 1581. Municipal bell used to be sounded on the occasion of commencement or completion of annual markets, in case of fire risk, to convene the city council or at various other festive occasions or dangerous moments in the history of the city of Hradec Králové. However, the bell was not sounded on regular basis. It has been devoted to St. Augustine since 1705. Because the tower got hit by a lightning the municipal council started to investigate why this has happened. The surprising conclusion was that the bell was most likely not blessed. Following the request of the city council bishop Tobias Jan Becker finally blessed the bell in 1705. The bell clapper cracked in 1850 and 1903.

The Augustin bell underwent a major overhaul in 1928. Work was carried out by a local company Buřil and Riss from Hradec Králové – Kukleny. The last official sounding of the bell took place on December 13, 1967. The bell came back to life on January 19, 2008 when the city of Hradec Králové donated 265 000 CZK for re-commissioning of the bell. Restoration was carried out by a leading Czech bell founder Rudolf Manoušek. The 24^th residing bishop of Hradec Králové diocese Mons. ThLic. Dominik Duka, OP blessed the bell again on August 28, 2008 at the presence of the Lord Mayor of Hradec Králové Otakar Divíšek, M.E. and numerous citizens of the city. Since that day the Augustin bell is sounded as per the Annual bell schedule approved by the Council of the City of Hradec Králové. The eastern part of the bell is decorated by a two-tailed lion, while the opposite western part depicts an eagle. Both symbols are assumed to be either symbols of the Bohemian kingdom or the city of Hradec Králové.

The astronomical clock is measuring time for inhabitants of Hradec Králové since 1585. It was manufactured by the clockmaker Vavřinec of the New City of Prague. A new astronomical clock was put into operation on October 1, 1829. This one was designed and hand made by Josef Božek, the mechanic and clockmaker of the Estates Polytechnic Institution in Prague. The clock machine with 440 centimetres long pendulum controlled 4 dials of 600 centimetres in diameter, each with 336 centimetres long minutes pointer, 260 centimetres long hour arm and 80 centimetres tall digits on the dial. It struck every quarter of an hour as well as on the hour. However, clockworks on the tower always caused troubles. For very long 238 years, until 1829, the astronomical clock used to have so called full or Czech dial, divided into 24 hours.

The repair budget amounted to 1380 conventional currency golds excluding the raw materials that were expected to be donated by the municipality. And this gave rise to a dispute between the municipality and the Catholic Church over who is going to pay for the repair. As it turned out, it was very unclear indeed who the owner of The White Tower really was. Dean Valenta, the spokesman for the Church, claimed The White Tower was not built for religious purposes, that it carries signs and motto of temporal nobility, that it is not structurally connected to The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, that it is a municipal watchtower with watchtower keeper´s residence who is indeed paid by the municipality that also runs the astronomical clock and last, but not least that the tower was built by the municipality almost three centuries later than The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. After two years of disputes the Guberniya decided on October 22, 1838 that The White Tower is the property of the municipality hence the municipality shall pay for the repair. However, since the Augustin bell ringing fees were not paid to the municipality, but to the Church, the Church was ordered to contribute to the repair costs.

Back in 1936 the deputy major and legal counsel L. Domečka wrote in his remarks that the Augustin bell is recorded in the inventory lists as property of The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit and that already the Jesuit chronicler František Švenda (1741 – 1822) referred to the Augustin bell as The White Tower´s jewel. The next White Tower repair was carried in 1989 – 1991 and the very last one in 2013 – 2015.
A Latin motto of the Holy Roman Emperor Maxmillian II is inscribed over the renaissance portal of The White Tower. It reads: „Deus providebit, vigilandum tamen“. Apart from the Czech translation “The Lord is far-sighted hence we have to keep vigilant” there are also other translations mentioned in other literature, such as “We keep watching out despite of all Lord´s foresight.”