Iglau

Jihlava
Town
City centre
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Vysočina
District	Jihlava
River	Jihlava
Elevation	525 m (1,722 ft)
Coordinates	49°24′01″N 15°35′26″E / 49.40028°N 15.59056°E / 49.40028; 15.59056Coordinates: 49°24′01″N 15°35′26″E / 49.40028°N 15.59056°E / 49.40028; 15.59056
Area	78.85 km2 (30 sq mi)
Population	50,521 (As of 2015[update])
Density	647/km2 (1,676/sq mi)
First documented	1233
Mayor	Rudolf Chloupek
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	586 01
Location in the Czech Republic
Website: [2] Jihlava;— official website

Jihlava (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjɪɦlava] ( listen); German: Iglau, Polish: Igława) is a city in the Czech Republic. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava river (German Igel) on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia, and is the oldest mining town in the Czech Republic, approximately 50 years older than Kutná Hora.

Among the principal buildings are the early Gothic churches of St. Jacob, Friars Minor church of Our Lady and Dominican church of the Holy Cross, the Baroque church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Municipal Hall and a number of municipal houses containing Gothic and Renaissance details. There is also a Jewish cemetery, containing some remarkable monuments including the tombstone of the parents of Gustav Mahler.

The city's German name, Iglau, is derived from the German word for hedgehog, Igel, hence the hedgehog on the coat of arms. According to legend, already in the year 799 silver was mined in Iglau. King Ottokar I established a mint, and Iglau was granted extensive privileges from early times onwards.

An old Slavic settlement upon a ford was moved to a nearby hill where the mining town was founded (ca. 1240) by king Wenceslaus I. In the Middle Ages the town was inhabited mostly by Germans (mostly from Northern Bavaria and Upper Saxony). Medieval mines surrounded by mining settlements were localized outside the walls of the medieval town (named Staré Hory).