The town of Čáslav (population 10 000) is situated in the middle of wide foothills of the mountains along the Elbe River, bordered by Železné hory (mountains) and the Sázava hill country, 70 kilometres east of Prague. Přemysl Otakar II., Bohemian king, founded Čáslav as a royal town in the mid-13th century.
The town went down in Czech history during the Hussite wars (1420–1436), when the so-called Čáslav Congress took place, which rejected King Sigismund of Luxembourg and set up a provincial government. Development began in the 18th century when the town became an important administrative centre of the region and has remained so to this day. The historical centre of Čáslav has kept its original layout from the Gothic period with a regular street pattern. The town hall and Church of St. Peter and Paul, the construction of which was started in the late 13th century shortly after the town was founded, dominate the great, historical central square. The Early Gothic municipal walls have been partially preserved to this day; the cylindrical tower of Otakar near the former Brod gate is one of the most precious remains of the municipal walls.
A number of prominent Czech personalities were born or lived in Čáslav, for example the composer Jan Ladislav Dusík (1760–1812), writers Jiří Mahen (1882–1939) and Rudolf Těsnohlídek (1882–1928), co-author of the phenomenal theatre Laterna Magika, Josef Svoboda (1920–2002), film director of worldwide recognition, Miloš Forman (1932), and also Jarmila Kratochvílová (1951) and Ludmila Formanová (1974), athletes who competed as runners at the Olympic Games.
The Žehušice preserve with white deer is also a popular tourist destination, as is Žleby Chateau, originally a Gothic castle rebuilt in the English Gothic style. Železné hory, a marvelleous mountain range, is also worth seeing.