Žďár nad Sázavou


Žďár nad Sázavou is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has approximately 21,000 inhabitants and is the administrative capital of the Žďár nad Sázavou District. The city is a prominent centre of tourism, as a cross country ski resort in winter and a popular destination for cycling and bathing in the summer. It is also situated on a major rail link between Prague and Brno.

Administrative parts

Villages Mělkovice, Radonín, Stržanov and Veselíčko are administrative parts of Žďár nad Sázavou.

Industry

Žďár nad Sázavou gained prominence after World War II when the communist government decided to build steel works in the city, called ŽĎAS. Within less than twenty years the population of the city grew fivefold, from about 3,000 in 1950 to 15,000 in 1969, and the number of inhabitants continued to grow until the 1980s. With the fall of the communist regime in 1989 the significance of heavy industry started to fall; however, ŽĎAS continues production today.

Sights

The Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk, one of the twelve czech World Heritage Sites, is situated there.
The town is the site of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Nicholas as well as a branch of the Czech National Museum, the Museum of the Book. The Baroque library of the former Capuchin Monastery in Roudnice nad Labem has been reconstructed, along with the library of the Czech historian, Gelasius Dobner, a beautiful, classical interior, and the library of the Mladá Vožice Chateau. Especially interesting are the collection of printing pressed and technology, and the reconstruction a medieval Scriptorium.

Tragedy

A school in the town was the location of an October 2014 knife attack, resulting in the death of a 16-year-old boy as well as injuries to three other pupils.

Notable people

Žďár nad Sázavou is twinned with: