Želiv () is a municipality and village in

Pelhřimov District Pelhřimov District () is a district in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Pelhřimov. Administrative division Pelhřimov District is divided into three administrative districts of municipalities with extended ...

in the

Vysočina Region The Vysočina Region (; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic. Its capital is Jihlava. The region is located in the central part of the country. It is one of just three in the country (the others being Prague and the Central Boh ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It has about 1,200 inhabitants. It is known for a

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

monastery.

Administrative division

Želiv consists of eight municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Želiv (790) *Bolechov (32) *Brtná (91) *Lhotice (51) *Lískovice (16) *Miletín (22) *Vitice (20) *Vřesník (103)

Etymology

The name is derived from the personal name Žel (shortened variant of the name Želibor or Želislav), meaning "Žel's".

Geography

Želiv is located about north of

Pelhřimov Pelhřimov () is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monument reser ...

and northwest of

Jihlava Jihlava (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava (river), Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihla ...

. It lies in the

Křemešník Highlands The Křemešník Highlands () are highlands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mainly in the Vysočina Region, but it also extends into the South Bohemian and Central Bohemian regions. With an area of , it i ...

. The highest point is at above sea level. The municipality is situated at the confluence of the Želivka and

Trnava Trnava (, , ; , also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of the Trnava Region and the Trnava District. It is the seat o ...

rivers. The Trnávka Reservoir is situated on the Trnava in the southwestern part of the municipality. The small reservoir of Vřesník is built on the Želivka River.

History

The first written mention of Želiv is from 1144.

Demographics

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.

Sights

Želiv is known for architecturally valuable

monastery with the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The monastery was founded in 1139 and renewed in 1712 according to design by

Jan Santini Aichel Jan Blažej Santini Aichel, also spelled Aichl (, ; 3 February 1677 – 7 December 1723) was a Czechs, Czech architect of Italians, Italian descent, whose major works are representative of the unique Czech Baroque architecture#Baroque G ...

. Trčka's Castle is a late Gothic castle from the second half of the 15th century, located in the monastery complex. Its current appearance is a result of a Renaissance reconstruction. Today it is owned by the monastery.