Žirovnice (; ) is a town in

Pelhřimov District Pelhřimov District () is a district in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Pelhřimov. Administrative division Pelhřimov District is divided into three administrative districts of municipalities with extended ...

in the

Vysočina Region The Vysočina Region (; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic. Its capital is Jihlava. The region is located in the central part of the country. It is one of just three in the country (the others being Prague and the Central Boh ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It has about 3,200 inhabitants.

Administrative division

Žirovnice consists of six municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Žirovnice (2,348) *Cholunná (45) *Litkovice (45) *Stranná (90) *Štítné (133) *Vlčetín (100)

Geography

Žirovnice is located about south of

Pelhřimov Pelhřimov () is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monument reser ...

and southwest of

Jihlava Jihlava (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava (river), Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihla ...

. It lies in the

Křemešník Highlands The Křemešník Highlands () are highlands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mainly in the Vysočina Region, but it also extends into the South Bohemian and Central Bohemian regions. With an area of , it i ...

. The highest point is at above sea level. The small river of Žirovnička flows through the town. The area is rich in small fishponds.

History

The town was built around a castle of the same name. The first written mention of Žirovnice is from 1358.

Demographics

Economy

Žirovnice was traditionally town of

weavers Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainment ...

, but in 1863, manufacturing of

button A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, or ...

s from

nacre Nacre ( , ), also known as mother-of-pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...

was introduced. In the 1940s, nearly 100 nacre-processing manufactures existed in the small town. After

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

s seized power in 1948, these manufactures were

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

and transformed into one company, which still exists.

Transport

The railway line from

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

briefly passes through the municipal territory. The train station called ''Počátky-Žirovnice'', which serves Žirovnice, is located in neighbouring

Stojčín Stojčín is a municipality and village in Pelhřimov District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 100 inhabitants. Stojčín lies approximately south of Pelhřimov, south-west of Jihlava, and south-east of Prague. D ...

Sights

Among the main landmarks of the town are the castle and the church. The Žirovnice Castle was originally a medieval castle, rebuilt into a Renaissance aristocratic residence. The frescoes with which it is decorated are considered the most extensive in the country. In the castle there is a museum of button-manufacturing and nacre-processing. The Church of Saints Philip and James was built in the pseudo-Gothic style in 1868–1871. It replaced an old Gothic church from the 18th century, which has insufficient capacity and was demolished in 1868. A wooden statue of

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...

and a Gothic baptismal font have been preserved from the original church. The Church of Saint Giles is a simple cemetery church. It was built in the Baroque style in 1700,but the remains of an older late Gothic church are incorporated into it. The Church of Saint Bartholomew is located in Stranná. It is a Neoclassical building with a Gothic core.

Notable people

Tomáš Štítný ze Štítného Tomáš Štítný ze Štítného (c. 1333 – 1401/1409) was a Czechs, Czech nobleman, writer, theologian, translator, and Christian preacher. Tomáš Štítný came from a lower nobility from the Štítná fortress (today part of Žirovnice, C ...

( – 1401/1409), nobleman, writer and theologian *

Iva Janžurová Iva Janžurová (born 19 May 1941) is a Czech actress. She attended school in České Budějovice and in 1963, she graduated from the Faculty of Theatre at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In 1964, she became the main member of Vinoh ...

(born 1941), actress

Twin towns – sister cities

Žirovnice is twinned with: *

Grosshöchstetten Grosshöchstetten is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bern-Mittelland (administrative district), Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January ...

, Switzerland *

Trstená Trstená ( or ''Árvanádasd''; ; German: ''Bingenstadt'') is a town in Tvrdošín District, Žilina Region, Northern Slovakia. Location Trstená is situated on the Orava River at the Orava (reservoir) in the Slovak part of the Orava valle ...

, Slovakia

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zirovnice Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Pelhřimov District