thumb|Škroupovo náměstí
thumb|Ohrada area
Žižkov ( or Zizkow, between 1939 and 1945 Veitsberg) is a cadastral district of Prague, Czech Republic.
Most of Žižkov lies in the municipal and administrative district of Prague 3, except for very small parts which are in Prague 8 and Prague 10. Prior to 1922, Žižkov was an independent city. The district is named after Hussite military leader Jan Žižka. It is situated south of Vitkov hill, site of the Battle of Vitkov Hill on 14 July 1420, where Žižka's peasant army decisively defeated the forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor.
thumb|upright|Monument to [[Winston Churchill|Churchill on Winston Churchill Square]]
History
Early history
The present-day district of Žižkov was originally part of the sparsely populated countryside outside of Prague. Change came through the decision of Emperor Charles IV in 1358 to establish vineyards around Prague within a radius of about three miles. Residents of the hory viniční ("vineyard hills") were given special rights, which were confirmed by other sovereigns, such as exemption from taxes.
A village named Hory Viničné, whose economy was centered on vineyards on the slopes of Vitkov Hill, was first mentioned in 1788. Other vineyard settlements, such as Hrabovka, Ohrada, Parukářka, and Pražačka, would disappear in the course of the 19th century, but they are remembered in local names. According to a census in 1837, the district (including present-day Žižkov and Vinohrady) had a total of 66 houses and estates with 169 inhabitants and 216 head of livestock.
The New Town cemetery, to the east of the Žižkov Jewish Cemetery, is no longer extant. Originally measuring about 50 by 100 m, this cemetery became the official cemetery of Prague's New Town in 1713. In 1771, a large influenza epidemic, enhanced by famine, led to over 2000 people being buried in the cemetery that year. In 1839 the cemetery, already having a high concentration of burials in a small area (over 8,000), was closed. When Tchaikovsky Street was built in 1957, a large number of skeletal remains from the former cemetery were found.
During the second world war Žižkov was an area of considerable activity on the part of the Czech resistance movement. This was emphasised when the Reinhard Heydrich assassination parachutists were looked after by families within the area. In particular, to this day plaques can be seen to the Moravec family on Biskupcova 7 and Jan Zelinky (almost opposite) on Biskupcova 4.
In the 1970s, the communist city government of Prague developed plans to completely rebuild the district. The narrow streets were to be widened and the old tenements replaced by precast-concrete apartment blocks. These plans, however, were repeatedly postponed and eventually discarded after the overthrow of communism in 1989.
After the Velvet Revolution, often in connection with the restitution of houses, reconstruction and rehabilitation began in Žižkov. While many houses have since been renovated, the look of the neighborhood has not changed much.
Žižkov today
The Žižkovians were very proud of their bad reputation and up to this day they tend to refer to their neighbourhood as the "Free Republic of Žižkov". Like many districts of the city, Žižkov today is socioeconomically diverse. It 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. Žižkov is said to have the highest number of pubs per capita of any city district in Europe, with more than 300. The Palac Akropolis is recognized as a center of cultural events in the area. Of the interior furnishings, the most famous is a painting by Karel Škréta of St. Wenceslaus defending Prague against the Swedes in 1649.
- Church of Saint Roch, located on Olšany Square (Czech: Olšanské náměstí), is the oldest church in present-day Žižkov. The Baroque structure was built between 1680 and 1682 by Jan Hainric, probably according to plans by the renowned architect Jean Baptiste Mathey. Dedicated to a patron saint of plague victims, the church was originally built as a plague chapel for the Old Town cemetery established during a plague epidemic which broke out in Prague in early 1680. The church's shape is an elliptical dome (because of which the church is incorrectly called the Rotunda). Arcades stretch between the columns, supporting a gallery. The main Neo-Renaissance altar is the work of Antonin Baum and dates to 1879, when the church interior was restored and modified. In its center is a picture of an earlier period, the work of Ignác Raab in 1760, divided into two zones. At the top is the Virgin Mary as the Queen of Heaven with angels and at the bottom are patron saints invoked against plague epidemics: St. Roch, St. Sebastian, and St. Rosalia. The background of the image depicts the horror and destruction caused by the plague.
thumb|upright|[[FK Viktoria Stadion]]
Parks
Several parks are within Žižkov including Holy Cross Hill, Vitkov, the park at the Židovských furnace, and the Paradise Garden.