For seven and a half centuries, St. Stephen’s, the First Martyr’s, Church in Kouřim is an architectural as well as spiritual dominant of the town.

The modern Jewish community in Čáslav began its history in the mid-19th century. At the end of the century, the Jewish inhabitants of Čáslav experienced a period of social and cultural flourishing, which culminated at the turn of the century with the construction of a new synagogue on the former Rudolfova třída (today’s Masaryk Street No. 111).

The municipality approached the prominent Viennese architect Wilhelm Stiassni, who had also participated in the construction of the Jubilee Synagogue in Prague on Jerusalem Street. He designed a synagogue in the Moorish style for Čáslav, which was to replace an older house of prayer documented from the mid-19th century. The plans of this Jewish builder were promptly approved by the Israelite Association and the municipal authority in 1897, but it took two more years before construction began. The possible cause was lack of finance. Not only the inhabitants of Čáslav and its surroundings, but also the Rotschild family in Vienna contributed to the construction. Construction work began on 13. March 1899 and already on 2.9.1899 the ceremonial approval took place.

The Čáslav synagogue is a building of high architectural quality and is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

St. Barbara’s Cathedral, a jewel of late Gothic architecture and one of only four cathedral-type buildings in Bohemia, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist as well as the historic centre of Kutná Hora.