| Kněžice | |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Vysočina |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Jihlava |
| Pushpin Map: | Czech Republic |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Czech Republic |
| Coordinates: | 49.2708°N 15.6722°W |
| Established Title: | First mentioned |
| Established Date: | 1222 |
| Area Total Km2: | 22.39 |
| Elevation M: | 550 |
| Population As Of: | 2024-01-01 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 1402 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 675 29 |
Kněžice (in Czech pronounced as /ˈkɲɛʒɪtsɛ/) is a municipality and village in Jihlava District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,400 inhabitants.
The villages of Brodce, Rychlov and Víska are administrative parts of Kněžice.
Kněžice is located about 15km (09miles) southeast of Jihlava. It lies in the Křižanov Highlands. The highest point is at 669m (2,195feet) above sea level. The Brtnice River flows through the municipality; the fishponds Kněžický and Strážov are supplied by the river. The municipality of Hrutov forms an enclave in the municipal territory of Kněžice.
The first written mention of Kněžice is from 1222. Until the end of the 16th century, half of Kněžice and the villages of Rychlov and Víska were owned by the monastery in Želiv. The second half of Kněžice was property of various noble families, most notably of the Waldstein family in the early 17th century. In the 1620s, Kněžice was acquired by the Collalto family, who held it continuously until the establishment of a sovereign municipality.[2]
There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.
The Church of Saint James the Great has a Romanesque core. In the second half of the 14th century, it was rebuilt in the Gothic style and extended. The tower was added only in 1838.[3]
Kněžice Castle is a Renaissance hunting lodge with Baroque and Neoclassical modifications. It was built at the end of the 16th century on the site on an old fortress. Today the castle houses the municipal office, library and Kněžice's Museum of Nature.[4]