Havlíčkův Brod

Havlíčkův Brod (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɦavliːtʃkuːf ˈbrot]), Německý Brod until 1945 (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɲɛmɛtskiː ˈbrot]; German: Deutschbrod) is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It is also the capital of the Havlíčkův Brod district. It is located on the Sázava River in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and has a population of 24,321 as of 2003. It belongs to the historical land of Bohemia. Settlement in Brod has been documented as far back as the 12th century. After silver was discovered in the area, the Bohemian nobleman Smil of Lichtenburk (Lichtenburg) invited German miners to settle the area; Brod received its city rights in 1257. Although the townspeople were German-speakers in a predominantly Czech-speaking...