Settlement in Brod has been documented as far back as the 12th century. There was an easy passage across the Sázava river ("brod" means "ford" in English). In the 13th century, silver was found near the town. After that Smil of Lichtenburg invited German miners to settle the area. The town which was first called Brod and later Smilův Brod (Ford of Smil), was renamed to Německý Brod (German Ford). At the beginning of the 14th century, the stone city walls were built, but later during the Hussite Wars in 1422 the city was burned down by Jan Žižka. The town was resettled in 1429 by Czech people. In 1637 Německý Brod was promoted to royal city. After The Second World War, the city was renamed to Havlíčkův Brod (Ford of Havlíček), after Karel Havlíček Borovský, famous writer and journalist.