Mladá Boleslav

Mlada Boleslav is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, on the left bank of the Jizera River about 45 kilometers northeast of Prague. A gord was founded there by Duke Boleslaus II in the second half of the tenth century, with the city's first documented mention in 1130; it was promoted to town status in 1334 and became a royal city in 1600. The population surged from 26,021 in 1961 to 41,226 in 1980 amid industrial expansion, reaching 47,874 by 2026, driven by the automotive company Laurin & Klement, founded in 1895, which became Skoda Auto after acquisition in 1925 and employed 32,000 people worldwide by 2017, 23,000 of them in Mlada Boleslav. The preserved historic center features Renaissance architecture including the Old City Hall, built from 1554 to 1559, and Mlada Boleslav Castle, and the city hosts the Skoda Museum as a major technical education center.