Žiželice on the Cidlina: History, Museum and Cycle Route

Žiželice lies on the Cidlina in a flat, gently undulating landscape. The town combines a long history with tangible points of interest: a museum, a preserved church, a remarkable reinforced-concrete bridge and Cycle Route 4199 give your stay different focuses. At the same time, Žiželice is directly connected to the D11 motorway and the adjoining network of Class II and Class III roads.

History in the Museum and Townscape

The Žiželice Museum is located on the ground floor of the historic town hall. Martin Sobota, a master mason from Žiželice, built the town hall after the great fire of Žiželice in 1800. The permanent local-history exhibition focuses on the history of the town and is connected with the history of Hradišťský hrad Castle. The castle stood on a spur above the Cidlina in Hradišťko. The combination of the town hall, exhibition and local history makes a visit to the museum a focused introduction to the town’s historical development.

For a historical perspective, it is worth looking even further back: the first written record of the Žiželice area dates from 1052. At that time, there was already a wooden church and a market centre serving the wider surrounding area. A stone church was built in Žiželice in 1437 to the original dimensions; a substantial part of its masonry has survived to this day.

The museum’s ethnographic exhibition focuses on the heyday of crafts and guilds. On display are guild banners, seals, journeymen’s and guild documents, as well as facsimiles of guild books. In addition to architectural history, Žiželice thus offers an insight into craft traditions and the local organisation of working life.

The Cidlina, Bridge and Cycle Route

A prominent example of more recent transport history is the Žiželice road bridge over the Cidlina. The reinforced-concrete structure dates from 1923, has two reinforced-concrete spans and crosses a total distance of 40.9 metres. Those who enjoy combining historical details with active exploration will find a clearly described route in Cycle Route 4199: it runs from Nymburk via Poděbrady, Libice nad Cidlinou, Žehuň and Žiželice to Chlumec nad Cidlinou.

Protected Landscape in the Surrounding Area

The Žehuňský rybník–Obora Kněžičky bird protection area includes extensive reed beds and wet meadows around Žehuňský rybník, an area consisting mainly of oak-hornbeam forest in Žehuňská obora, and the small Kopičácký rybník. Žehuňský rybník was created on the Cidlina in 1492, and Žehuňská obora was established in 1840. The protected area also extends into the Zbraň district of Žiželice and into intensively farmed agricultural land to the southwest. When planning your trip, you can therefore choose between different focuses, including local history, cycling and landscape exploration.

For further research into suitable places in the same region, you can find Rostoklaty, Klučov, Uhlířská Lhota, Ždánice, Zásmuky, Starý Kolín, Tuklaty and Veltruby.

For the broader travel overview: Kolín District.