Church of St. James the Greater, Gothic parish church in Jihlava, Czech Republic

The Church of St. James the Greater is a three-aisled hall church with a long polygonal presbytery and two square towers in the west front. Its walls are of unplastered quarry stone, and gravestones from the former churchyard are set into the exterior. The north tower, 63 m high, has a timbered top floor with a gallery that once held the tower keeper's flat.

A fire destroyed the earlier church in 1256, and construction of the new one began that year; the presbytery was consecrated in 1257 by Bishop Bruno von Schauenburg, who made it a parish church. Fires in 1353 and 1523 damaged it, and the towers were rebuilt in 1545; the southern tower was later lowered because it leaned. The present form comes from a Purist restoration at the end of the 19th century.

The church displays Gothic features that were enhanced with Baroque elements over centuries. Today these layers are visible in the altars and decorations that shape how the interior looks.

The northern tower offers stairs to climb for city views. Accessibility and opening times vary by season and should be checked before visiting.

The bell Zuzana hangs in the southern tower, which had to be lowered by nine metres after it began to lean on unstable ground. Cast in 1563, it is 1.82 m tall and weighs 7,086 kg, making it the second largest bell in Moravia after St. Wenceslas in Olomouc Cathedral.