map

Čáslav is situated at an altitude of 217 m in the Kutná Hora district of Central Bohemia.

The history of Čáslav begins in the 9th century when a fortress and a settlement called Hrádek were founded nearby. In 1250 the new town of Čáslav was founded by King Přemysl Otakar II. In 1421 the Bohemian parliament debated in Čáslav. It declared King Sigismund deposed and voted for a new, Hussite government. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) Čáslav was burnt down by Swedish troops twice (in 1639 and 1642).

The church of St. Peter and Paul [left, no.1983: background left, and right, no.1907] is a three-naved church with polygonal choir, tent roof and spire. The choir was begun around 1270, the nave was built around 1370, and the spire was created around 1400. The earlier, rectangular, chapel of St. Michael of around 1150 was transformed into the sacristy of the newer church. The famous Hussite general, Jan Žižka, was buried in the church after his death in Přibyslav in 1424. Parts of his cranium were rediscovered in the church in 1910.

The Protestant church [left, no.1983: center] was built in 1864–1869 in Neo-Romanesque style.

The film director Miloš FORMAN (real name Jan Tomáš Forman) was born in Čáslav in 1932. Among his best-known works are the films 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' (1975), which won five Academy Awards including one for direction, and 'Amadeus' (1984), which won another eight Academy Awards again including the one for best director.