These attributes best characterize the attractiveness of Nový Bor. The first one was given to it by nature, the other one was acquired in its short but unique history.

The town lies 360 m above sea level and its fate has been linked to the glass industry since the end of the 17th century. The emergence of glass production and its further development was facilitated by the favourable location on the imperial road Prague - Rumburk - Zittau (1753) and about a hundred years later by the railway (1869). The town is situated in the wooded, hilly landscape of the foothills of the Lusatian Mountains, so it offers many possibilities for summer and winter tourism. The main architectural monument is the 18th-century Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with a rare Rococo organ, brought here from the Church of St. Charles Boromean in Prague. The historical development of the town is closely linked to Maria Theresa and Count Josef Kinský, at whose instigation Maria Theresa made Nový Bor a town on 26 February 1757. It thus became one of the smallest and youngest towns in northern Bohemia in its time. As early as 1754, the first company of glass merchants was established in Bor, which was active until 1835 and helped the town to become world-famous for glassmaking. Nowadays, several glassworks, a number of painting shops, glass studios and glass artists work in Nový Bor. The largest glassworks is the glassworks combine (since 1967) Crystalex. It is possible to visit a glass museum, several galleries, or even visit a glass studio.

The oldest town school was located in Liberecká Street No. 68, today there is a bakery. The first steam and baths were opened by František Fluch in Nový Bor in 1882 on Nádražní třída (today's Husova Street). The baths operated until World War I. The architect Dittrich undertook the construction of the new town baths. The spa was opened in 1910 in Schillerova Street and was named "Imperial Jubilee Spa".

The town is also famous for the Rumburk Revolt in May 1918, which ended with the defeat and subsequent execution of 7 participants behind the fence of the Forest Cemetery. Today there is a granite monument and seven graves with the names of those executed in the cemetery nearby. For more information, including a brochure, please see the section Life in the town - Tourism - Attractions of Nový Bor and its surroundings.

In the post-war period 1945-1989, the town experienced a significant displacement of the local German population and immigration of the Czech population from the interior. In the second half of the 20th century, the construction of prefabricated houses began and the population began to grow significantly in the 1970s and 1980s.