Excellent programme on Youtube, Das blieb vom Doppeladler, sadly in German, all about Koniggratz. Even if you don't speak the lingo the visuals are excellent and bring back good memories of Bohemia last year in the company of Mollinary and Holdfast. Obviously filmed during the period of Soviet occupation its quite astounding to see how dilapidated the town was then in comparison to today, perhaps at some stage in the future one of our German speakers could dub a translation ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H8rL6jqJiQ
Well beyond my smattering of German, but at least I learned how to pronounce the name properly.
Wow, Cam, that is a great find!
Mollinary
I "holiday" in Hradec Kralove (modern day Koniggratz) once every 2-3 years (my wife taught English there between 2003-2005 and half our holiday seems to involve visiting the school).
I've driven out to Chlum and picnic'd by the memorial and I've been to the museum - warning, I went on a Monday - so it was shut!!).
The vauban type fortifications (about 10 mins in) look like those in Jaromer (Josefov) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AJarom%C4%9B%C5%99_Josefov_from_air_K2_-3.jpg (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AJarom%C4%9B%C5%99_Josefov_from_air_K2_-3.jpg).
The tunnels within the fortification were built so the the Austrians could just about stand, which mean that the taller Prussians would have to stoop and be unable to fight, if they ever got inside. You get to have a candle lit tour.
Hradec Kralove appears around 38 mins in, you can see the 3 towers in the main square and the swans on the Labe (Elbe)
If anyone needs any help or advice about the area, let me know and I'll either try to sort it when I there next (in Sept) or I'll ask some of the locals
Regards
Lee
We did a battlefield tour of the 1866 Bohemian Battlefields last year, and The Cultural Experience will probably offer it again for 2014. The Tourist Offices in Trautenau/Trutnov and Gitschin/Jicin offer the most resources in terms of marked walks and self-guiding literature, but only the Trautenau stuff is in English as yet. (Possibly because it was the only Austrian victory, and of course the Bohemians/modern Czechs were in the Austrian Army.) The Koniggratz Museum is good for 'the horror of war' at an individual level but quite inadequate for understanding the battle at any higher level I am afraid. Most other museums in the area tend to focus on local industry such as hat-making. Vital stuff but not germane to wargamers.
Holdfast