Kolín (; german: Kolin, Neu Kolin, Collin) is a town in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( cz, Středočeský kraj, german: Mittelböhmische Region) is an administrative unit ( cz, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It has about 32,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation.

Administrative parts

Kolín is made up of town parts of Kolín I–VI and of villages of Sendražice, Šťáralka, Štítary and Zibohlavy.

Etymology

The name Kolín probably comes from the Old Czech verb ''koliti'', i.e. "to hammer poles", and is related to the location of Starý Kolín in the often flooded area at the confluence of Klejnárka and Elbe. The soil in the vicinity of the confluence was strengthened with the help of wooden poles.

Geography

Kolín lies about east of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. It lies in a fertile landscape of the

Central Elbe Table Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa ...

lowland. The town is located on the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

River. In the eastern part of the municipal territory is Sandberk, an artificial lake created by flooding a sandstone quarry.

History

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

world map A world map is a map of most or all of the surface of Earth. World maps, because of their scale, must deal with the problem of projection. Maps rendered in two dimensions by necessity distort the display of the three-dimensional surface of ...

mentions Budorgis in the Kolín's area in the 2nd century. Kolín was founded by King

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his dea ...

in the 13th century by relocation, when

Starý Kolín Starý Kolín is a municipality and village in Kolín District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,800 inhabitants. Administrative parts The village of Bašta is an administrative part of Starý Kolín. Etymology ...

("Old Kolín") was threatened by floods and the king decided to move the settlement. The first written mention of Kolín is from 1261, when it was mentioned that

Přelouč Přelouč () is a town in Pardubice District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,300 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Klenovka, Lhota, Lohenice, Mělice, Škudly, Štěpánov and Tupesy are administrative pa ...

obtain

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

, same as Kolín and

Kouřim Kouřim (; german: Kaurzim, Kaurzin, Kaurim) is a town in Kolín District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. ...

have. It lay on a trade route

–

Český Brod Český Brod (; german: Böhmisch Brod) is a town in Kolín District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,100 inhabitants. It is located east of Prague. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as ...

–

Čáslav Čáslav (; german: Tschaslau) is a town in Kutná Hora District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 10,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Adminis ...

–

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The ...

. In 1437–1438, a castle was founded in Kolín. It was built on ruins of a burned down monastery. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

, it was damaged, and in the 17th century, it was rebuilt to a brewery. In 1911, the castle burned down and its Renaissance look disappeared. The 1757

Battle of Kolín The Battle of Kolín on 18 June 1757 saw 54,000 Austrians under Count von Daun defeat 34,000 Prussians under Frederick the Great during the Third Silesian War (Seven Years' War). Prussian attempts to turn the Austrian right flank turned into pi ...

was fought during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

, and in 1944 a refinery in Kolín was bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II.

Zyklon B Zyklon B (; translated Cyclone B) was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide invented in Germany in the early 1920s. It consisted of hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid), as well as a cautionary eye irritant and one of several adsorbents such ...

for

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

was produced there.

Demographics

Economy

In Kolín is the smaller part of Kolín- Ovčáry Industrial Zone, known mostly for the factory of the automobile manufacturing company TPCA. As of 2020, TPCA employs 2,400 people and it is the most important employer in the region. Kolín is home to the packaging and paper manufacturer, OTK company.

Sights

The historical centre of the town has many gothic and baroque buildings. Most notable are the main market ( Karlovo Square) with the Neo-Renaissance town hall, and Church of Saint Bartholomew from the 13th century, rebuilt in 1360 by the architect

Peter Parler Peter Parler (german: Peter von Gemünd, cs, Petr Parléř, la, Petrus de Gemunden in Suevia; 1333 – 13 July 1399) was a German-Bohemian architect and sculptor from the Parler family of master builders. Along with his father, Heinrich Parler, ...

. In Kolín there is the original Jewish ghetto with a synagogue from 1696. It is the second oldest and most valuable synagogue in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

. The Jewish cemetery is one of the oldest and largest Jewish cemeteries in Bohemia. It was established in the first half of the 15th century.

Notable people

Jakub Krčín Jakub Krčín (June 18, 1535 Some sources doubt date, place and even year of Krčín's birth. Similarly, only the year of his death is known exactly. – 1604) was a prominent Czech Renaissance architect and engineer. Krčín was born in Kolín. ...

(1535–1604), pond and dam constructer *

Jean-Gaspard Deburau Jean-Gaspard Deburau (born Jan Kašpar Dvořák; 31 July 1796 – 17 June 1846), sometimes erroneously called Debureau, was a Bohemian-French mime. He performed from 1816 to the year of his death at the Théâtre des Funambules, which was ...

(1796–1846), Czech–French actor and

mime Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard that extends the format of email messages to support text in character sets other than ASCII, as well as attachments of audio, video, images, and application programs. Message ...

* František Kmoch (1848–1912), composer and conductor; worked and died here * Julius Petschek (1856–1932), industrialist *

Josef Svatopluk Machar Josef Svatopluk Machar (; 1864 – 1942) was a Czech poet and essayist. A leader of the realist movement in Czech poetry and a master of colloquial Czech, Machar was active in anti-Austrian political circles in Vienna. Many of his poems were sat ...

(1864–1942), poet *

Václav Radimský Václav Jan Emanuel Radimský (6 October 1867 – 31 January 1946) was a Czech impressionist painter who resided in France at the turn of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. He was highly influential on French impressionism. Life R ...

(1867–1946), painter *

Terezie Brzková Terezie Brzková (11 January 1875 – 19 November 1966) was a Czechoslovak film actress. She appeared in 28 films between 1939 and 1959. She is buried at the Vyšehrad Cemetery in Prague. Selected filmography * '' The Magic House'' (1939) * ...

(1875–1966), actress *

Robert Saudek Robert Saudek (21 April 1880 – 15 April 1935) was a Czech-born graphologist and writer of novels, stories, poems and plays. He had considerable influence on the content and standing of graphology worldwide. He also published numerous articles i ...

(1880–1935), graphologist and writer *

Otokar Fischer Otokar Fischer (20 May 1883 – 12 March 1938) was a Czech translator, playwright, poet and critic. He was born in Kolín, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He made new translations of Goethe, Shakespeare and Villon. He was a profes ...

(1883–1938), playwright, translator and poet *

Josef Sudek Josef Sudek (17 March 1896 – 15 September 1976) was a Czech photographer, best known for his photographs of Prague. Life Sudek was born in Kolín, Bohemia. He was originally a bookbinder. During the First World War he was drafted into the Au ...

(1896–1976), photographer * Václav Morávek (1904–1942), soldier and war hero * Ludmila Dvořáková (1923–2015), operatic soprano * Frank Daniel (1926–1996), Czech-American screenwriter and film director *

Jan Kubíček Jan Kubíček (30 December 1927 – 14 October 2013) was a Czech painter and printmaker, and one of the most radical Central European exponents of constructivist and concrete art. He also spent more than a decade illustrating children's books for ...

(1927–2013), constructivist painter and sculptor * Jiří Balcar (1929–1968), graphic artist, painter and illustrator * Luboš Dobrovský (1932–2020), politician and journalist * Eva Randová (born 1936), operatic mezzo-soprano *

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician serving as the third and current President of the Czech Republic since 2013. He previously served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

(born 1944), President of the Czech Republic * Jan Novák (born 1953), Czech-American novelist and playwright * Jarda Svoboda (born 1966), musician * Bohdan Ulihrach (born 1975), tennis player * Petr Čáslava (born 1979), ice hockey player * Barbora Poláková (born 1983), actress and singer

Twin towns – sister cities

Kolín is twinned with: *

Dietikon Dietikon is the fifth biggest city of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, after Zürich, Winterthur, Uster and Dübendorf. It is the capital of the same-named district of Dietikon and part of the Zürich metropolitan area. Geography The i ...

, Switzerland * Duino-Aurisina, Italy * Érd, Hungary *

Kamenz Kamenz () or Kamjenc ( Sorbian) is a town (''Große Kreisstadt'') in the district of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany. Until 2008 it was the administrative seat of Kamenz District. The town is known as the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Gott ...

, Germany * Lubań, Poland *

Rimavská Sobota Rimavská Sobota (; hu, Rimaszombat, german: Großsteffelsdorf) is a town in southern Slovakia, in the Banská Bystrica Region, on the Rimava river. It has approximately 24,000 inhabitants. The town is a historical capital of Gömör és Kishont ...

, Slovakia

References

External links

*
Kolín pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolin Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Kolín District Oil campaign of World War II Populated riverside places in the Czech Republic Populated places on the Elbe