Jihlava

A town located in the centre of hilly and woody Bohemian-Moravian Highlands (Ceskomoravska vrchovina) at the border between Moravia and Bohemia. The town wealth flowing from mining showed itself especially during the town establishment. Almost three main ecclesiastic buildings rose at the same time- the parish church of St. Jakub and monasteries of Minorites and Dominicans. The king’s privileges warranted the prosperity to the town and Jihlava soon become one of the most powerful towns in the kingdom. It had been protected only by bulky fortification; the town square had been flanked by stones houses with arcades. Coins had been struck here. A huge fire in 1523 finished the medieval period of town construction which had been renewed in the Reanissance style. The Jihlava’s type of house originated at that time- with so called covered court, over Gothic downstairs a Renaissance space of upstairs hall opens with arcade loggias with Tuscan columns decorated often with frescos. The town suffered a lot during the Thirty Years War. The suburbs had been burnt out, most of the houses pulled down and only the eighth of all citizens survived. The whole town monument reservation is a unique combination of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. In the centre there are 213 protected monuments, 70 from them have the first-rate significance.