The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

It lies mostly in the Ralsko Uplands, only the northern part of the municipal territory extends into the Lusatian Mountains.

The highest point is the Hvozd mountain at 749 m (2,457 ft) above sea level, located on the Czech-German border.

[3] Until 1918, the town was part of Austria-Hungary, head of the Gabel District, one of the 94 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Bohemia.

The I/13 road (the section from Liberec to Děčín, which is a part of the European route E442) passes through the town.