The original settlement was founded at the beginning of the 12th century and took its name from an old and lonely tree which was standing there. In the first half of the 13th century the St. John's knights - Johannites - built a fortified monastery here, which, however, ceased to exist in the 15th century. The unique cellar system of this monastery originates from the beginning of the 13th century and was recently made accessible to the public. Further excavations are being conducted near the 16th century townhall. Many historical items are placed in the Museum of Karolína Světlá, the most valuable of them being gothic furniture from Bohemia of the 15th and 18th centuries. The famous writer Karolína Světlá is remembered here by many pictures and books, as she took inspiration for her novels from this region under Ještěd.

The town of Hejnice is an important place of pilgrimage whose history goes back as far as the 13th century. The most famous local building, at the same time a goverment-protected monument, is the Temple of the Visitation to the Virgin Mary. The present church was built around a gothic building dating from 1472. Nowadays, Hejnice is trying to restart the tradition of its historical function and that is why pilgrimages are again taking place here. Among the important cultural events belong the classical music concerts taking place in the Church of the Visitation to the Virgin Mary.

The town was first mentioned as early as in the 14th century as a property of the Lords of Dražice. Later, the Bibrsteins, Vartenbergs, Albrecht of Waldstein and the Rohans were successively the owners of the town. Among its most important monuments are the townhall dating from 1889, the baroque castle of St. Prokop from 1717-21 and the statue of St. Jan of Nepomuk from 1773. Thanks to the well-used airport in Hodkovice, the tradition of air shows was started here.

This medieval town arose and developed together with the castle and the chateau. It still is the biggest town on the Směda River, and even today functions as something like an administration centre for the region. Frydlant acquired its municipal rights approxiamately in 1537, changed its owners as time went by and enjoyed its biggest fame during the ownership of Albrecht of Waldstein. Thanks to the town being a natural centre of the Frydlant region, many valuable objects of cultural interest were built here. All this lead to the town being proclaimed the "Town Monument Zone". Similarily as in nearby Liberec, the centre of the town is dominated by a neo-renaissance townhall, which is even the work of the same architect - F. Neumann. Another of the interesting historical buildings is the Church of the St. Cross Founding dating from 1551, with the Rederns burial chapel. The centre of the town is surrounded by many old merchant houses. All these monuments are, however, overshadowed by the fame of the local castle and chateau complex, which is at the same time the oldest castle museum in Central Europe.

Originally, there was a settlement founded by Lusatian Serbs at the place of the present town of Chrastava. In the first part of the 15th century Chrastava belonged to Hussites, who used it as their base for their "Spanile jizdy"(holy attacks) to Lusatia from here. Gradually, a fortified settlement arose on both banks of the Lusatian Nisa River. Among the interesting monuments of the town are a baroque fountain from 1707, the St. Vavřinec Church and also the townhall in late empire style on the square, where the town museum, Mini-Gallery G and the Tourist centre were opened in 1996.

The original settlement was grouped around a church built in the second half of the 13th century. In the year 1466, the Church of St. Bartolomej was founded in the place of the original temple, which was destroyed during the Hussite Wars. The town of Hradek experienced its greatest prosperity in the second half of the 17th century. The main tourist spot of the Hradek region is the recreational centre Kristyna, where, since the year 1993, the Academic World Championship in triathlon takes place every year.

In 1584, Melchior of Redern founded this little town for his miners who worked in the nearby Měděnec (Copper Hill) mining tin ore. As a memorial of those times, many galleries remained in the area, nowadays serving mainly as a hibernating place for bats. The Church of St. Catherine is the oldest edifice in the town and a marble memorial of G. Menzel - local parish priest and traveller - is also worth noticing. Near the train track, there is another small church dating from 1911 in which many government-protected sculptures are kept. The local homeland study museum prides itself on its interesting collection on the history and nature of the Frydlant region. The museum is situated in the local library. Only a few kilometres from the town of Nově Město pod Smrkem there is a border crossing with Poland, which offers a good opportunity for tourists to visit the nearby spa Swieradów Zdrój.

Lázně Libverda is a well-known spa town, whose foundation is cloaked in a curious tale. According to this tale, a common man owned a cockerel which was always strong and healthy. One day, the man followed his cockerel and that was how he discovered a spring with mineral water. Gradually, the well-known spa town was founded around this spring and became famous mainly thanks to the healing properties of the mineral water on the nervous and motor system. This water can be tasted for free in the pavillion of the Kristian's Spring. Many famous people have undergone treatment in this spa, amongst whom were for example C.M. von Weber, Josef Jungmann and many others. The restaurant Obří sud (Giant's Barrel) from 1931, situated on the hill above the town, is another much-visited curiosity in the area.

The Kunratice Spa was founded in 1880 and it specializes in the treatment of the motor system by using local peat. An attentive tourist can find the famous herb of this region.