Kněžice () is a municipality and village in
Jihlava District
Jihlava District () is a district in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Jihlava.
Administrative division
Jihlava District is divided into two administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence ...
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 1,400 inhabitants.
Administrative division
Kněžice consists of four municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
*Kněžice (1,082)
*Brodce (132)
*Rychlov (15)
*Víska (92)
Geography
Kněžice is located about southeast 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
Křižanov Highlands
The Křižanov Highlands (, ) is a highland and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the Vysočina Region.
Geomorphology
The Křižanov Highlands is a mesoregion of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands within ...
. The highest point is at above sea level. The Brtnice River flows through the municipality; the fishponds Kněžický and Strážov are supplied by the river. The municipality of
Hrutov forms an
enclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...
in the municipal territory of Kněžice.
History
The first written mention of Kněžice is from 1222. Until the end of the 16th century, half of Kněžice and the villages of Rychlov and Víska were owned by the monastery in
Želiv
Želiv () is a municipality and village in Pelhřimov District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,200 inhabitants. It is known for a Premonstratensian monastery.
Administrative division
Želiv consists of eight municipal ...
. The second half of Kněžice was property of various noble families, most notably of the
Waldstein family
The House of Waldstein (Valdstejn, Valdonio, or Wallenstein) is an old, wealthy and important noble family from Central Europe (Germany and the Czech Republic). They owned many castles across Europe.
Origin
The House of Waldstein or House of V ...
in the early 17th century. In the 1620s, Kněžice was acquired by the
Collalto family
The House of Collalto (full name - ''Princes of Collalto and San Salvatore'') is an old and distinguished Austro-Italian noble house of Lombards, Lombard origin, named after their seat at Collalto, Susegana, Collalto in Susegana, now in the Prov ...
, who held it continuously until the establishment of a sovereign municipality.
Demographics
Transport
There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.
Sights
The Church of Saint James the Great has a Romanesque core. In the second half of the 14th century, it was rebuilt in the Gothic style and extended. The tower was added only in 1838.
Kněžice Castle is a Renaissance hunting lodge with Baroque and Neoclassical modifications. It was built at the end of the 16th century on the site on an old fortress. Today the castle houses the municipal office, library and Kněžice's Museum of Nature.
Notable people
*
Jaroslav Kožešník (1907–1985), scientist and politician
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knezice
Villages in Jihlava District