Žižkov

Žižkov is a cadastral district of Prague, Czech Republic. Most of Žižkov lies in the municipal and administrative district of Prague 3. Prior to 1922, Žižkov was an independent city.

The district is named after Hussite leader Jan Žižka. It was historically a working-class district, and was sometimes referred to as "red Žižkov", because so many of its inhabitants supported left-wing parties.

Before World War II, Žižkov had a reputation as a rough area.Fact|date=March 2007 This reputation spread across the whole former Czechoslovakia and it was still possible to trace it amongst the people many decades later. The Žižkovians were very proud of their bad reputation and up to this day they tend to refer to their neighbourhood as the "Žižkov republic". This sentiment was very often a source of inspiration for novelists or film makers. This was captured in a humorous novel by Vlastimil Rada and Jaroslav Žák, "Z tajností žižkovského podsvětí", and in a 1985 film by Ivo Novák, "Fešák Hubert".

Today, Žižkov is undergoing a renewal, with many older buildings being reconstructed and restored. New fashionable cafes and restaurants are appearing and property prices are increasing rapidly.

Due to its specific atmosphere, Žižkov became the Bohemian part of Prague, with many artists living or performing there. Famous poet and nobelist Jaroslav Seifert was born and spent most of his life there. Franz Kafka is buried there, in the Jewish cemetry.

Žižkov is said to have the highest number of pubs per capita of any city district in Europe.Fact|date=April 2008

Žižkov also contains several beautiful parks. One of these, at Vítkov, contains an equestrian statue of Jan Žižka.

Žižkov is served by many tram and bus routes.

ee also

*Žižkov Television Tower
*FK Viktoria Žižkov - Czech football team
*Olšanské hřbitovy