Kolín

Kolín (Kolin, Neu Kolin) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation.

Administrative parts
Kolín is made up of the town parts of Kolín I–VI and the 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 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 47 km east of Prague. It lies in a fertile landscape of the Central Elbe Table lowland. The Elbe 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 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 ("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, just like Kolín and Kouřim have. It lay on a trade route Prague–Český Brod–Čáslav–Moravia.

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, 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 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 the Nazi concentration camps was produced there.

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 to Nymburk) also passes through the town.

Kolín is a railway junction. The Kolín railway station is located on the major lines Prague–Olomouc and Prague–Brno, which further continue to Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. It also lies on the intraregional lines Prague–Havlíčkův Brod and Ústí nad Labem–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. 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 (1535–1604), pond and dam constructer
 * Jean-Gaspard Deburau (1796–1846), Czech–French actor and mime
 * Vincenc Morstadt (1802–1875), painter and illustrator
 * František Kmoch (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 (1880–1935), graphologist and writer
 * Otokar Fischer (1883–1938), playwright, 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 (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 (born 1944), former 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, Switzerland
 * 🇮🇹 Duino-Aurisina, Italy
 * 🇭🇺 Érd, Hungary
 * 🇩🇪 Kamenz, Germany
 * 🇵🇱 Lubań, Poland
 * 🇸🇰 Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia