Kolín

History of the town

The exact year of the founding of the town of Kolín cannot be found in historical sources, but we know that it was created by relocating Starý Kolín, the original market settlement from a place that often threatened floods. He was given a more advantageous elevated place above the river Elbe.

The specific date is given in a historical source in a document of Přemysl Otakar II. The date of September 8, 1261 is mentioned here, and Cologne is written here as a royal city. It was also of great economic importance; to the southeast of Kolín there was a silver deposit and its mining brought the kingdom a relatively large wealth, which increased Kolín's popularity with the king and Přemysl Otakar II. and Wenceslas II. they even granted him a number of privileges. At the end of the 13th century, however, Kutná Hora was established on the site of a mining settlement, and Kolín gradually lost its significance.

In 1360, Petr Parléř began the construction of the Church of St. Bartholomew, undoubtedly the most important monuments in the city.

In 1757, a battle took place in Cologne between Austrian and Prussian troops, and was one of the most important battles of the Seven Years' War. Kolín then experienced great economic development in 1845, when a railway leading from Prague to Moravia was built here.

Significant places and sights

The city center itself is currently a city monument reserve. It consists of a rectangular square with a pseudo-Renaissance town hall, a plague column and a fountain. The synagogue and the former Jewish ghetto from the 17th century are also worth a visit in Cologne. A castle was once founded in Kolín, which was later rebuilt into a chateau and in the 19th century began to be used as a brewery. The most important Cologne landmark is the mentioned church of St. Bartholomew, whose choir is the work of Petr Parléř, author of the Church of St. St. Vitus or Charles Bridge in Prague.

Author: Andrea Štyndlová