Německý Brod

Německý Brod grew on the Sázava in the Bohemian highlands, where a ford and a trade route met a district rich in silver. Smil of Lichtenburk probably founded the town around 1251; its later name, meaning 'German Ford', reflected the language of many inhabitants. Silver mining first supported the settlement, followed by crafts and agriculture.

In 1422 Jan Žižka captured and destroyed Brod during the Hussite Wars. It was resettled largely by Czech speakers and rebuilt under the Trčka of Lípa family, who bought it in 1436. The town prospered in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries and became a royal town in 1637. The Thirty Years' War brought renewed plunder, followed by outbreaks of plague and destructive fires; a severe flood struck in 1714.