The oldest preserved mention in the records of Hradec dates from the year 1220, when an estate with this name was owned by Jindřich I, the first of the Lords of Hradec and the son of Vítek of Prčice. He had a Gothic castle built here on the site of a previous fortified settlement. The town developed in the middle of the 13th century on the site of what was originally a settlement of artisans and merchants below the castle.