Ledeč nad Sázavou (; until 1921 Ledeč) is a town in

Havlíčkův Brod District Havlíčkův Brod District () is a district in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Havlíčkův Brod. Administrative division Havlíčkův Brod District is divided into three administrative districts of municip ...

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 4,700 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone.

Administrative division

Ledeč nad Sázavou consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Ledeč nad Sázavou (3,985) *Habrek (201) *Horní Ledeč (486) *Obrvaň (91) *Souboř (45)

Geography

Ledeč nad Sázavou is located about northwest of

Havlíčkův Brod Havlíčkův Brod (, until 1945 Německý Brod; ) is a town in Havlíčkův Brod District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban mon ...

and northwest 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 ...

. The southern part of the municipal territory with the town proper 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 ...

and the northern part extends into the

Upper Sázava Hills Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

. The highest point is the hill Ostojovka at above sea level. The Sázava River flows through the town.

History

The first written mention of Ledeč is from 1181, when it was written about a noble from Ledeč. In the first half of 16th century, during the rule of the Ledecký of Říčany noble family, Ledeč was promoted to a town. In the early 19th century, the railway was built, which helped the economical and cultural development of the area. Until 1918, the town was a part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, in the district of the same name. In 1921, Ledeč was renamed Ledeč nad Sázavou.

Demographics

Transport

Ledeč nad Sázavou is the terminus and starting point of the railway lines from/to

and

Čerčany Čerčany is a municipality and village in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region in the Czech Republic. It has about 3,100 inhabitants. Administrative division Čerčany consists of 15 municipal parts (in brackets population according t ...

Sights

The main sight is the Ledeč nad Sázavou Castle. The castle was built in the early Gothic style in the first half of the 13th century, and later was rebuilt in Renaissance and Baroque styles. It has a unique

sgraffito (; ) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in con ...

decoration of the ceiling of the Renaissance hall. The castle now contains a museum and a gallery. It has a high tower open to the public. Among the main landmarks of the town centre is the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. It is a large Gothic building. A unique element is the

rib vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic a ...

, which is not load-bearing and has purely decorative purpose. The Church of the Holy Trinity is a Renaissance cemetery church. It dates from 1585.

Notable people

Zdeněk Bárta Zdeněk Bárta (15 May 1891 – 1 April 1987) was a Bohemian fencer. He competed in the individual épée and sabre events at the 1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and c ...

(1891–1987), fencer * František Laudát (born 1960), politician *

Jiří Havlíček Jiří Havlíček (born 16 May 1976) is a Czech economist who served as Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic from April until December 2017 in Cabinet of Bohuslav Sobotka. Early life Havlíček was born on 16 May 1976. In 2012, ...

(born 1976), politician

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ledec nad Sazavou Populated places in Havlíčkův Brod District Cities and towns in the Czech Republic