Kladno (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 67,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and has a rich industrial history. Administrative divisions The city is split into six administrative parts: Kladno, Dubí, Kročehlavy, Rozdělov, Švermov and Vrapice. Geography Kladno is located about northwest of Prague and is a part of the Prague metropolitan area. The total area of the city is 36,96 km2. The highest point is at above sea level, and the lowest at above sea level. It lies in a mostly flat landscape of the Prague Plateau, albeit in the north the terrain becomes hillier. There are no large bodies of water within city limits, only several small creeks. The city is surrounded almost on all sides by forests connected to the Křivoklátsko and Džbán protected nature areas. The city limits contain the Žraločí zuby natural monument. History The first written mention of Kladno is from 1318 as the property of the Kladenský of Kladno noble family. After 1543, when Kladenský of Kladno family died out, it became a property of the Žďárský of Žďár family. In 1561 the settlement was granted town status. In 1566, the Žďárskýs of Žďár rebuilt the local fort into a Renaissance castle. The town walls was built in following decades. The town prospered until Battle of White Mountain in 1620, when it was looted by Polish Cossacks. After the Bohemian branch of the Ždárský family died out, the town was eventually purchased by the Benedictian abbey of Břevnov in 1705. Under the Benedictians, several Baroque structures were designed by architect Kilián Ignác Diezenthofer, including the Saint Florian chapel, the Marian column in the town square, and a redesign of the aging castle into a smaller manor. In the 18th century the town began to expand beyond its walls. In the 19th century, the town industrial centre. Bituminous coal was first dicovered within present city limits in 1775, however significant mining activity only started in the mid-19th century and intensified over the following decades. From 1855, the coal reserves began attracting the iron working industry, the largest of which eventually became the Poldi steelworks, founded in 1899. Also in 1855, the city was connected to the railway network. The growth of industrial activity spurred a massive population growth, growing almost tenfold within the space of 25 years from 1843