Kolín (; ) is a town in the
Central Bohemian Region
The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...
of the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an
urban monument reservation.
Administrative division
Kolín consists of ten municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
*Kolín I (1,484)
*Kolín II (12,755)
*Kolín III (3,552)
*Kolín IV (5,218)
*Kolín V (5,846)
*Kolín VI (406)
*Sendražice (1,641)
*Šťáralka (81)
*Štítary (787)
*Zibohlavy (180)
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 the Klejnárka and Elbe rivers. The soil in the vicinity of the confluence was strengthened with the help of wooden poles.
Geography
Kolín is located about east of
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. It lies in a fertile landscape of the
Central Elbe Table
The Central Elbe Table () is a plateau and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the Central Bohemian Region, but due to its size, it also extends to other regions. The axis of the plateau is the Elbe River, ...
lowland. The
Elbe
The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) 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 Republic), then Ge ...
River flows through the town. In the eastern part of the municipal territory is Sandberk, an artificial lake created by flooding a sandstone quarry.
History
Ptolemy's world map
The Ptolemy world map is a map of the world known to Greco-Roman societies in the 2nd century. It is based on the description contained in Ptolemy's book ''Geography'', written . Based on an inscription in several of the earliest surviving manusc ...
of the 2nd century mentions ''Budorgis'' in the area of today's Kolín.
Kolín was founded by King
Ottokar II 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 1,700 inhabitants.
Administrative division
Starý Kolín consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population acco ...
("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 obtained
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 ...
, just like Kolín and
Kouřim have. It lay on a trade route
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
–
Český Brod–
Čáslav
Čáslav (; ) is a town in Kutná Hora District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone.
Administrative division ...
–
Moravia
Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The medieval and early ...
.
Jewish people settled in Kolín in the 14th century. In 1437–1438, a castle was founded in Kolín. It was built on the ruins of a burned down monastery. During the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
, it was damaged, and in the 17th century, it was rebuilt as a brewery. In 1911, the castle burned down and its Renaissance look disappeared.
The 1757
Battle of Kolín
The Battle of Kolín (Kolin) 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 turn ...
was fought during the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
, 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 consists of hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid), as well as a cautionary eye irritant and one of several adsorbents such ...
for the
Nazi concentration camps
From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe.
The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...
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
Toyota Motor Manufacturing. As of 2020, TMM employed 2,400 people. It is the most important employer in the region.
Kolín is home to the packaging and paper manufacturer,
OTK company.
Transport
Kolín is connected with Prague by the I/12 road. The I/38 road (the section from
Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The history of Kutná Hora is linked to silver mining, which made it a rich and rapidly developing town. The centre of Kutná Hora, i ...
to
Nymburk
Nymburk (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the Elbe River. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Mo ...
) also passes through the town.
Kolín is a railway junction. The
Kolín railway station is located on the major lines Prague–
Olomouc
Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region.
Located on the Morava (rive ...
and Prague–
Brno
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
, which further continue to Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. It also lies on the intraregional lines Prague–
Havlíčkův Brod
Havlíčkův Brod (, until 1945 Německý Brod; ) is a town in Havlíčkův Brod District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban mon ...
and
Ústí nad Labem
Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction.
...
–Kolín.
Sights

The historical centre of the town, formed by the Karlovo Square and surrounding streets, has many Gothic and Baroque buildings. The most important monument is the Church of Saint Bartholomew, protected as a
national cultural monument. It has an early Gothic core from the second half of the 13th century. In the mid-14th century, it was rebuilt by the architect
Peter Parler. A separate bell tower was built next to the church at the end of the 15th century. In 1878–1910, the Gothic appearance of the church was restored by
Josef Mocker.
A notable landmark of the town square is the town hall. Originally a Gothic house from the 15th century, it was rebuilt in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1887.
In Kolín is the original Jewish ghetto with a synagogue from 1696. It is the second oldest and most valuable synagogue in
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
. 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 (18 June 1535 – 1604) was a architect and engineer from Bohemia. He is best known for being the founder of many fish ponds in Bohemia.
Biography
Krčín was born in Kolín. He was a prolific designer and founder of fish ponds, and ...
(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 Czech-French mime. He performed from 1816 to the year of his death at the Théâtre des Funambules, which was immor ...
(1796–1846), Czech-French actor and mime
*
Vincenc Morstadt (1802–1875), painter and illustrator
*
Josef Popper-Lynkeus (1838–1921), Austrian scholar, writer and inventor
*
František Kmoch
František Kmoch (1 August 1848 – 30 April 1912) was a Czech composer and conductor.
Life and career
František Kmoch was born in Zásmuky near Kolín, Bohemia. His father was a tailor and a clarinetist who performed folk music. As a child, Fran ...
(1848–1912), composer and conductor; worked and died here
*
Julius Petschek (1856–1932), industrialist
*
Josef Svatopluk Machar (1864–1942), poet
*
Václav Radimský (1867–1946), painter
*
Terezie Brzková (1875–1966), actress
*
Robert Saudek
Robert Saudek (21 April 1880 – 15 April 1935) was a Czech-born graphology, graphologist, diplomat, and writer of novels, stories, poems and plays. He had considerable influence on the content and standing of graphology worldwide. He also publi ...
(1880–1935), graphologist and writer
*
Otokar Fischer (1883–1938), literary historian, translator and poet
*
Josef Sudek (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 Constructivism (art), constructivist and concrete art, concrete art. He also spent more than a decade ...
(1927–2013), constructivist painter and sculptor
*
Jiří Balcar
Jiří Balcar (26 August 1929 – 28 August 1968) was a Czechoslovak graphic artist, painter, illustrator, typographer and cartoonist. He was famous for designing movie posters and book covers.
Life
Jiří Balcar was born in the family of doctor E ...
(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 who served as the third president of the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2023. He also 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 in 2013–2023
*
Jan Novák (born 1953), Czech-American novelist and playwright
*
Jarda Svoboda (born 1966), musician
*
Bohdan Ulihrach
Bohdan Ulihrach (born 23 February 1975) is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.
Career
Ulihrach turned professional in 1993. He won his first top-level singles title in July 1995 at Prague, where he defeated Javier Sánc ...
(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 ...
, Switzerland
*
Duino-Aurisina, Italy
*
Érd
Érd (; ; , ) is a town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. It is a city with county rights.
History
The area has been inhabited since ancient times. Archaeological findings indicate that prehistoric humans lived here 50,000 year ...
, 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 Gotth ...
, Germany
*
Lubań
Lubań (; ), sometimes called Lubań Śląski (; , ); is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in southwest Poland. It is the administrative seat of Lubań County and also of the smaller Gmina Lubań (although it is not part of the territory ...
, Poland
*
Rimavská Sobota
Rimavská Sobota (; , ) 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 County (from 1850 to 1922).
Geography ...
, Slovakia
References
External links
*
{{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