Křižanov (Žďár nad Sázavou District)

Křižanov is a market town in Žďár nad Sázavou District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,800 inhabitants.

Administrative parts
The village of Bojanov is an administrative part of Křižanov. It forms an exclave of the municipal territory.

Geography
Křižanov is located about 23 km southeast of Žďár nad Sázavou and 39 km northwest of Brno. It lies in the Křižanov Highlands. The highest point is at 587 m above sea level. The Libochovka River flows through the market town. The municipal territory is rich in fishponds.

History
The first written mention of Křižanov is from 1239. From 1297, Křižanov was referred to as a market town. The most notable owners of the estate was the Pernštejn family (1486–1560). They established fishponds here and helped the economic prosperity of Křižanov.

Transport
The I/37 road, which connects the D1 motorway with Žďár nad Sázavou and continues to Pardubice, runs through Křižanov.

Křižanov is served by the train station named Křižanov on the lines Prague–Brno, Hustopeče–Křižanov and Velké Meziříčí–Křižanov, which is located in neighbouring Kozlov.

Sights
The Church of Saint Wenceslaus on the town square is an architecturally valuable Gothic building from the second half of the 14th century, when it replaced an old Romanesque church. Originally, the church was fortified.

The second landmark of the town square is the town hall. It is a massive free-standing building with a turret. It has undergone a complicated construction development.

The Křižanov Castle has a Renaissance core, but its current appearance dates from the 1860s. Today, the institute of social welfare is located there.

Notable people

 * Zdislava Berka (c. 1220–1252), saint