Sázava

Sázava

Sázava, with its nearly 600 inhabitants, lies on the upper Sázava river between Žďár nad Sázavou and Přibyslav. The village is surrounded by beautiful countryside of the protected landscape area of the Žďár Hills, the name of which comes from the old effort to populate the virgin soil and to stump (in Czech “žďářit“) the local woods. Silver and iron ore mining started to develop here, too. The first written records of the village date back to the middle of the 13th century. At the same time a Cistercian monastery was built in Žďár nad Sázavou nearby.

At the beginning of the 15th century the first water drifted smithery started to be built on the Sázava river. One of these iron mills, which were very important for making farming tools at the time, was built also in Sázava and kept functional until 1714, when it was together with other mills and the whole village destroyed in a flood caused by a dam failure in Dářko lake. In the 17th century the village was struck by fires and epidemics. The cultural life of the community revived in the 19th century. Today, also due to its beautiful environs, Sázava is a pleasant place to live.

The history of the village is closely connected with the growth of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (ECCB) congregation and the Hussite tradition of the region. In 1422, Jan Žižka defeated the forces of Emperor Sigismund at then Německý Brod. He died in the nearby town of Přibyslav on the 11th of October 1424. Even after that the Utraquist faith survived and was not wiped out even by the forcible recatholization attempts of cardinal Ditrichstein in the early 17th century. Secret meetings took place in mills and “heretical“ books found their way into villages. In Sázava, the Protestants met at Špinar’s mill.

In 1783, soon after the Toleration Patent, the Sázava Protestants joined the Augsburg confession congregation in Krucemburk. A year later, however, they founded their own Reformed church community and soon chose a place for a cemetery and a house of prayer. The construction started thanks to the financial support of miller Špinar on the 15th of June 1785 and on the 20th of November of the same year it was consecrated. The meeting house was given an exception to the strict toleration rules: a semi-circle apse. The floor was made of stone tiles and soon a new pulpit and benches were put in. In 1885 a Neo-Romanesque tower was built at the forefront. The bells inside come from the church in Černilov. The rectory was built between 1847 and 1848. Today it houses a minister flat as well as an assembly room and other premises serving various church activities. By the church, there is a big lime tree which dates back to the origins of its construction. During World War II the congregation suffered a great loss when its minister Emil Pokorný was arrested for hiding a Gestapo fugitive and died in prison in 1943.

In the post-war times Bible study courses for Brno and other congregations took place in Sázava summer camp. Sázava congregation has its preaching stations in Přibyslav and Žďár nad Sázavou.