Žirovnice

Žirovnice (Serownitz) is a town in Pelhřimov District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,300 inhabitants.

Administrative parts
The villages of Cholunná, Litkovice, Stranná, Štítné, Vlčetín and Žirov are administrative parts of Žirovnice.

Geography
Žirovnice is located about 19 km south of Pelhřimov and 32 km southwest of Jihlava. It lies in the Křemešník Highlands. The highest point is at 648 m 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.

Economy
Žirovnice was traditionally town of weavers, but in 1863, manufacturing of buttons from nacre was introduced. In the 1940s, nearly 100 nacre-processing manufactures existed in the small town. After Communists seized power in 1948, these manufactures were nationalized and transformed into one company, which still exists.

Transport
The railway line from Brno to Plzeň briefly passes through the municipal territory. The train station called Počátky-Žirovnice, which serves Žirovnice, is located in neighbouring Stojčín.

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 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 (c. 1333 – 1401/1409), nobleman, writer and theologian
 * Iva Janžurová (born 1941), actress

Twin towns – sister cities
Žirovnice is twinned with:
 * Grosshöchstetten, Switzerland
 * 🇸🇰 Trstená, Slovakia