Mladá Boleslav (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 42,000 inhabitants. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. It is a major centre of the Czech automotive industry thanks to the Škoda Auto company, and therefore the centre of Czech industry as a whole. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts Mladá Boleslav is made up of city parts and villages of Mladá Boleslav I (locally called Staré Město, i.e. "Old Town"), Mladá Boleslav II (locally called Nové Město, i.e. "New Town"), Mladá Boleslav III (locally called Podolec), Mladá Boleslav IV (locally called Pták), Bezděčín, Čejetice, Čejetičky, Chrást, Debř, Jemníky, Michalovice, Podchlumí and Podlázky. Etymology Mladá Boleslav was named after its founder, Duke Boleslaus II, who was called "The Young One" to distinguish him from his father. Because there was already a town known as Boleslav near Prague, this new town was called Město Boleslava Mladého ("The Town of Boleslav the Young"), later abbreviated to Mladá Boleslav ("Young Boleslav") to distinguish it from the older town of Boleslav, which in the 15th century became known as Stará Boleslav ("Old Boleslav"). Geography Mladá Boleslav is located about northeast of Prague. The eastern part of the municipal territory lies in the Jičín Uplands, the western part lies in the Jizera Table. The highest point is located on the slopes of the Chlum hill, at above sea level. The city is situated on the left bank of the Jizera River, at its confluence with the Klenice River. The historic city centre is situated on a promontory above the confluence. History In the second half of the 10th century, a gord was founded by Duke Boleslaus II on a promontory, in the area of today's historic centre. The first trustworthy written mention of the gord is from 1130, when it was also called "New Boleslav" for the first time. Probably in the 11th century, a settlement was founded below the promontory, on an important site on the road from Prague to northern Bohemia, Lusatia, and Brandenburg. A new stone royal castle was built on top of the promontory next to the gord in the middle of the 13th century, and the gord was abandoned. In 1548 and after a fire in 1555, Renaissance reconstructions were made. In 1600,