Cikháj (German: Ziegenhain) is a municipality and village in Žďár nad Sázavou District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 100 inhabitants.

Etymology

The name has its origin probably in the Czech word žíhání that once meant 'slash-and-burn'. The German name Ziegenhain was derived from the Czech name, meaning 'goat grove'. The name Cikháj was then created by transliterating the German name back into Czech.

Geography

Cikháj is located about 9 kilometres (6 mi) north of Žďár nad Sázavou and 38 km (24 mi) northeast of Jihlava. It lies in the Upper Svratka Highlands. The highest point is the hill Žákova hora at 810 m (2,660 ft) above sea level. Two important Czech rivers originate in the municipal territory: the Sázava originates in the woods in the northwest and the Svratka originates in the woods in the east.

The municipality lies within the Žďárské vrchy Protected Landscape Area. The southern slopes of the Žákova hora hill are protected as a national nature reserve.

History

The first written mention of Cikháj is from 1662.

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 445 —     1880 372 −16.4% 1890 368 −1.1% 1900 341 −7.3% 1910 342 +0.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 342 +0.0% 1930 319 −6.7% 1950 209 −34.5% 1961 193 −7.7% 1970 150 −22.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 119 −20.7% 1991 113 −5.0% 2001 110 −2.7% 2011 97 −11.8% 2021 102 +5.2%
Source: Censuses

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.

Sights

There are no significant historical monuments in the municipality, but there are several small monuments: a stone folk belfry from the 19th century, a former water mill from 1848 without preserved equipment, a cast iron cross from 1885 and a calvary from 1713.