The town was founded in the 13th century. At that time a Slavic settlement situated at the country road to Žitava started to develop into a town. Thanks to the development of crafts, extraordinarily developed suburban areas were set up around the inner town. In the 18th century Česká Lípa ranked among most populated Czech towns; textile workshops started to be established there.

The historical centre of Česká Lípa was declared a historical town reserve. Plenty of beautiful houses with extraordinary Art Nouveau and Empire-style facades have been renovated there recently. The plague column with the Holy Trinity, created by Jan Kristián, a sculptor from Žitava, dates back to 1681. In the 18th century statues of country patrons were added, namely St. Wenceslas, St. Vojtěch, St. Jan Nepomucký and St. Florian - a patron saint protecting people from fire.