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Pardubice began to change for the better after the fall of the communist regime. Despite the transformation of the economy post-1989 bringing the end of a number of enterprises (Tesla, TMS) and many other companies restricting production and their numbers of employees (Synthesia), the level of unemployment in the town did not rise dramatically. This was mainly thanks to the far-sighted policy of the city, whose management came up with the idea of setting up a free trade zone close to the airport at the beginning of the 1990s. And so it was that a free customs zone, the only one in the Czech Republic, a place where production and commercial companies were offered assembly, storage and production facilities, was created over six hectares. We should just add that in the City Invest Czech 2000 yearbook Pardubice was the regional capital in the country considered the most beneficial for investment.

It is clear that the development of Pardubice and the surrounding area is no longer reliant on the railways, as was the case a hundred years ago. The city is also joined to the world by passenger and freight air transport. A motorway close to Pardubice was recently completed and there is still the option of making the River Elbe negotiable all the way to Pardubice, which would mean joining it to the European network of waterways.

Pardubice has genuinely flourished in recent years. The Old Town has been reconstructed, in particular the chateau, whose dilapidated ruins have been transformed into a beautiful historic monument. The buildings repaired in the city have been joined by a number of new-builds and there are concrete plans in place to build an entirely new square with complexes of residential, administrative and commercial buildings in the centre of the city. Even the oldest housing estate has begun to undergo reconstruction that should change it into a more colourful and cosy place in which to live. The city parks and woods have been newly treated and new children’s play parks built.