1866 Battlefield
About
1866 Battlefield [13]. Located less than 10 km away near the village of Chlum, the Battle of Königgrätz (known also as Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové) was fought on 3 July 1866 between the allied forces of Austria and Saxony against the invading Prussian army. The pivotal engagement of the Austro-Prussian War, the battle fundamentally changed the course of Central European history, with Prussian units crushing Austria and its Saxon allies, claiming nearly 52,000 casualties in a single day. The overwhelming loses forced Austria to sue for peace a month later, leaving Prussia to assert dominance over the Germanies and eventually to the unification of a united German Empire in 1871. Austria-Hungary, meanwhile, faced decaying influence and eventual outright collapse. Today, the large battlefield is a collection of rolling fields, solemn monuments and lonely graveyards. The battlefield can be accessed by road 325 via road 35. An informative and interactive visitor center describing the political and military events of 1866 is located just outside of Chlum.
