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The story
Žďár was founded as a settlement of the nearby Cistercian monastery, which was established in 1252. The original settlement was soon moved on the left bank of the Sázava, in the site of today's historic centre. In 1293, Žďár was first referred to as a market town.
From 1588, Žďár came under administration of Olomouc bishopric, but remained loyal to the Cistercian monastery, which resulted in a long-running dispute. In 1606, the monastery was abolished and the dispute settled down. In 1607, Žďár was promoted to a town. The monastery was rebuilt into a castle in 1614. In 1638, the monastery was restored, but was attacked by Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War. The town was ransacked in 1645. After it was destroyed by a great fire, the monastery was abolished in 1784.
In the second half of the 19th century, Žďár developed both culturally and economically. In 1898 and 1905, railways were constructed. The first factories were established and part of the old town was rebuilt.
After World War II, a large engineering and foundry company ŽĎAS was founded and the population significantly increased. New suburbs were created and in the 1970s the entire historic centre was rebuilt.
From Wikipedia’s article on Žďár nad Sázavou, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4