Kolín
Kolín is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic some east from Prague, lying on the Elbe River. It has a population of about 32,000.History
's world map mentions Kolin – Budorgis in the 2nd century. In the 12th and 13th-century German settlers were called in after the Germans leaving west during Migration and the colonization by Slavs.
Kolín was founded by King Otakar II of Bohemia in the 13th century, first mentioned in 1261. Later on, 1437, a castle was founded here. Between 1475 and 1488, Hynek ze Strážnic, a Renaissance writer and son of King George of Poděbrady, lived in the Kolín Castle.
The 1757 Battle of Kolín was fought during the Seven Years' War, and in 1944 a refinery in Kolín was bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II. Zyklon B for Nazi concentration camps was produced there.
The historical center of the town has many gothic and baroque buildings. Most notable are the main market, the Jewish ghetto and synagogue, the very old and large Jewish cemetery, and St. Bartholomeus Church from the 13th century.Notable people
- Jakub Krčín, pond and dam constructer
- Jean-Gaspard Deburau, Czech–French actor and mime
- František Kmoch, composer and conductor
- Josef Svatopluk Machar, poet
- Robert Saudek, graphologist and writer
- Otokar Fischer, playwright, translator and poet
- Josef Sudek, photographer
- Václav Morávek, soldier and war hero
- Ludmila Dvořáková, operatic soprano
- Frank Daniel, Czech-American screenwriter and film director
- Jan Kubíček, constructivist painter and sculptor
- Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic
- Jan Novák, Czech-American novelist and playwright
- Bohdan Ulihrach, tennis player
Kolín is twinned with:
