Church of Saint James, Religious monument in Želnava, Czech Republic

The Church of Saint James (Kostel svatého Jakuba Staršího) is an oriented single-nave Gothic church rebuilt in Baroque style between 1708 and 1712. A prismatic tower with a barrel-vaulted undercroft and covered side staircase fronts the west facade, a sacristy adjoins the south side of the five-sided presbytery, and a flat-ceilinged porch sits against the south wall of the nave. The nave measures 14.3 by 11 metres and holds a two-storey wooden gallery on two wooden columns.

The church is first documented in 1395, when Želnava returned to the Zlatá Koruna monastery after a dispute with the Vyšehrad provostry; only the lower part of the tower survives from that Gothic phase. A sacristy was added in 1686 and the tower raised two years later. In 1708–1712 the church was rebuilt and enlarged in Baroque style, consecrated on 19 February 1713 by the Český Krumlov prelate Siegmund Hübner. The tower was raised again in 1772.

The church is a filial church of the Roman Catholic parish of Volary; until the end of 2019 it was the parish church of the abolished parish of Želnava. The cemetery enclosed by a wall belongs to the monument. Since 1981 the overgrown churchyard has been turned into a collection of artistic cast-iron crosses and sculptures, gathered and conserved with pieces brought in from surrounding cemeteries.

The building is accessible during religious services and located conveniently in the village center. Visitors should expect variable opening hours and should gather local information before planning a visit.

The cemetery surrounding the church holds over two hundred cast-iron crosses and sculptures. From 1981 it was turned into a collection of artistic funerary cast iron, with pieces conserved and brought in from neighbouring cemeteries after the German-speaking population was displaced in 1945.