The eighteenth silver medal of the Czech Mint weighing one kilogram, issued as part of the cycle dedicated to our statutory cities, represents Kladno.

The first written mention of Kladno dates back to the beginning of the 14th century. The Central Bohemian village was promoted to a town in 1561, but it remained an insignificant serf village in the sparsely populated agricultural countryside for the next three hundred years. The turning point came in the mid-19th century, when Kladno was transformed into a key industrial area, thanks to coal mining and the development of metallurgy. Kladno was upgraded to a town in 1870. Its rapid growth was accompanied by an influx of labour, which multiplied the population several times over in a short time. Kladno went through a difficult time in the 20th century. The deprivation of the First World War was replaced by an era of development and prosperity, but this ended with the Nazi rampage. The communist regime supported the development of the city, but in a very insensitive way. The building of alienated housing estates for the working masses went hand in hand with efforts to erase the original buildings. Poldi steel became world famous, but the steel industry led to environmental damage. After the fall of socialism, the industry was damaged by failed privatisation, but Kladno managed to become a proud statutory city in 2000…

The medal maker Štěpánka Doležalová placed the neo-renaissance building of the Kladno town hall from the end of the 19th century on the obverse side of the medal. The composition of the obverse side is supplemented with an elaborated aerial view of the city centre. The reverse side of the medal then bears a map of the Czech Republic with its statutory towns marked.

It is not only the weight of the one-kilogram mintage that is impressive, but also its mintage - only 24 numbered pieces will be produced and placed in a luxurious wooden case.