| Stará Paka | |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Hradec Králové |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Jičín |
| Pushpin Map: | Czech Republic |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Czech Republic |
| Coordinates: | 50.5083°N 15.4939°W |
| Established Title: | First mentioned |
| Established Date: | 1357 |
| Area Total Km2: | 21.71 |
| Elevation M: | 407 |
| Population As Of: | 2024-01-01 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 2134 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal codes |
| Postal Code: | 507 91, 509 01 |
Stará Paka is a municipality and village in Jičín District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,100 inhabitants.
The villages of Brdo, Karlov, Krsmol, Roškopov and Ústí are administrative parts of Stará Paka.
The name Paka appeared in its initial form as Paká. The meaning of the adjective paká is unclear. It probably meant 'opposite' (opačná in modern Czech), and probably referred to its location on the shady slopes, away from the sun. Already from the 14th century, two settlements (Stará Paka – 'old Paka' and Nová Paka – 'new Paka') were distinguished.[2]
Stará Paka is located about 12km (07miles) northeast of Hradec Králové and 40km (30miles) northwest of Hradec Králové. It lies in a hilly landscape of the Giant Mountains Foothills. The highest point is the hill Staropacká hora at 578m (1,896feet) above sea level. The Oleška River flows through the municipality.
The first written mention of Stará Paka is from 1357.[2] Little is known about its past. Together with the neighbouring town of Nová Paka, it belonged to the Kumburk estate.[3]
Stará Paka is located on the railway lines Liberec–Pardubice and Kolín–Trutnov.[4]
The main landmark of Stará Paka is the Church of Saint Lawrence. It was built in the Baroque style in 1754–1760, on the site of an older wooden church.[5]
For its preserved folk architecture, the almost entire village of Karlov is protected as a village monument zone. It consists of half-timbered houses from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries with very decorative wooden gables called lomenice.[6]