| Žďár nad Sázavou | |||
| Town | |||
|
Castle courtyard
|
|||
|
|||
| Country | Czech Republic | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Vysočina | ||
| River | Sázava | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Area | 37.06 km2 (14.31 sq mi) | ||
| Population | 23,469 (As of 2006[update]) | ||
| First mentioned | 1100 | ||
| Postal code | 591 01 | ||
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |||
| Name | Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk at Zelená Hora | ||
| Year | 1994 (#18) | ||
| Number | 690 | ||
| Region | Europe and North America | ||
| Criteria | iv | ||
|
Location in the Czech Republic
|
|||
| Wikimedia Commons: Žďár nad Sázavou | |||
| Website: www.zdarns.cz | |||
Žďár nad Sázavou (Czech pronunciation: [ˈʒɟaːr ˈnat saːzavou̯]; German: Saar) is a city in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has approximately 24,000 inhabitants and is the administrative capital of the Žďár nad Sázavou District. The city is a prominent centre of tourism, as a 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.
Žďár nad Sázavou gained prominence after World War II when the communist government decided to build steel works in the city, called ZDAS. 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, ZDAS continues production today.
Villages Mělkovice, Radonín, Stržanov and Veselíčko are administrative parts of Žďár nad Sázavou. The Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk, one of the World Heritage Sites, is situated there.