its prosperity. He chose Pardubice as the centre of his estate and began to build a city that corresponded to his status. The Pernštejn family had the entire historic centre with the Renaissance square built. They also had rebuilt the medieval castle into a comfortable fortified residence. In 1560, the Pernštejns were forced to sell the estate to Emperor Ferdinand I because of debts. During the Thirty Years' War, the city was besieged by the army of General Lennart Torstensson, but was not conquered. An important milestone in the history of the city was the year 1845, when the railway from Prague to Olomouc was finished. Pardubice became an important railway junction, which led to the development of the food, engineering and chemical industries, and subsequently the development of social and cultural life. In 1874, the Great Pardubice Steeplechase horse race took place for the first time. In 1910, Jan Kašpar made here the first successful flight in Czech lands and a year later he made history by flying the first long-haul flight from Pardubice to Prague. Until 1918, the town was part of the Austrian monarchy (Austria side after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867), head of the Pardubitz district, one of the 94 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Bohemia. In the interwar period, Pardubice continued to develop, the heyday ended with the advent of World War II. During the war the city was damaged by air strikes of the Allies, and the Fanto Werke refinery was repeatedly bombed during the Oil campaign of World War II. Demographics Economy Pardubice is known as an industrial city. The dominant industries are chemical industry, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Tesla electronics manufacturer operated here in 1921–1989. In 2000, Foxconn established a production plant in its former premises. This electronics manufacturer is the largest employer in Pardubice. Pardubice has a long tradition in the chemical industry. It is represented by the Paramo refinery, which was founded by David Fanto in 1889. Today it is owned by Orlen Unipetrol. In Pardubice-Semtín there are the companies Explosia (a manufacturer of explosives founded in 1920, which is associated with the invention of Semtex plastic explosive) and its subsidiary Synthesia (manufacturer of cellulose, pigments and dyes, and organic compounds, established in 1929). For centuries, Pardubice is known for the production of gingerbread. The gingerbread guild was established in the 16th century. The first factory was founded in 1913. Since 2008,