With its regular ground plan of streets and a square, this royal town is a fine example of highly advanced medieval urbanism of the 13th century. The rectory Church of St. Bartholomew is an exceptional masterpiece of Late Gothic architecture. Petr Parléř, the Gothic architect working under King Charles IV, built the high cathedral chancel between 1360-1378. The burghers' houses built in the High Baroque style and the rare Baroque synagogue in the former Jewish ghetto on the western outskirts of the town date from a later period.
The town is famous for its festival of traditional brass bands (Kmochův Kolín).
