Církvice (Kutná Hora District)

Církvice is a municipality and village in Kutná Hora District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,300 inhabitants. The village of Jakub in the municipality is known for the Church of Saint James the Great, which is one of the most valuable Romanesque buildings in the country and a national cultural monument.

Církvice
Municipality
Church of Saint Lawrence
Flag Coat of arms
Církvice Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°56′44″N 15°20′6″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Central Bohemian
District	Kutná Hora
First mentioned	1276
Area
• Total	10.12 km2 (3.91 sq mi)
Elevation	214 m (702 ft)
Population  (2025-01-01)[1]
• Total	1,312
• Density	130/km2 (340/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	285 33
Website	www.cirkvice.cz

Administrative division

Církvice consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):^[2]

• Církvice (630)
• Jakub (628)

Etymology

The name is derived from cierkev, which was an old Czech term for a wooden church.^[3]

Geography

Církvice is located about 5 kilometres (3 mi) east of Kutná Hora and 32 km (20 mi) west of Pardubice. The villages of Církvice and Jakub are urbanistically merged. The municipality lies in a flat agricultural landscape of the Central Elbe Table lowland. The Klejnárka River flows through the municipality. There are several fishponds around the villages.

History

The first written mention of Církvice is from 1276.^[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 1,349 —     1880 1,355 +0.4% 1890 1,347 −0.6% 1900 1,418 +5.3% 1910 1,367 −3.6%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 1,332 −2.6% 1930 1,231 −7.6% 1950 1,079 −12.3% 1961 1,185 +9.8% 1970 1,170 −1.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 1,099 −6.1% 1991 1,073 −2.4% 2001 1,151 +7.3% 2011 1,183 +2.8% 2021 1,258 +6.3%
Source: Censuses[5][6]

Transport

The I/38 road from Jihlava to Kolín passes through the municipality.

Církvice is located on the railway line leading from Kolín to Havlíčkův Brod.

Sights

Church of Saint James the Great

The Church of Saint James the Great in Jakub is one of the most important Romanesque buildings in the country, protected as a national cultural monument. This church was built between 1148 and 1165. Several reconstructions and modifications were made, but in 1872–1874 the church was cleaned of these reconstructions and its purely Romanesque character was restored. The preserved sculptural decoration is also unique and very valuable.^[7]

The Church of Saint Lawrence in Církvice was probably built at the end of the 13th century and was first documented in 1352. In the second half of the 17th century, the original Gothic building was baroque rebuilt. Valuable is also the early Baroque rectory.^[8]