Jihlava

Jihlava (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjɪɦlava] ^ⓘ; German: Iglau) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. Situated on the Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia, Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region.

A royal mining town was established in Jihlava in the early 13th century, making it the oldest mining settlement in the Czech Republic. It was the first city in Central Europe where mining law was codified. By the late 14th century, trade and crafts had become the heart of Jihlava's economy as the importance of mining declined. The city was severely damaged by a fire in 1523 and devastated in the Thirty Years' War but eventually recovered. From the mid-18th century on, Jihlava was a major textile centre in the Austrian Empire and subsequently Austria-Hungary.

The well-preserved historic centre of Jihlava, reconstructed multiple times resulting in an eclectic mix of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture, is protected as an urban monument reservation. The most valuable monument is the early Gothic Church of Saint James the Great, which is protected as a national cultural monument.