In the Middle Ages, the Old Czech word žďár denoted a place where the forest had been cleared and burned to make way for meadows and fields.

The largest body of water is Pilská Reservoir, which was built in 1959–1962 and today it serves as a recreational area, for fishing and as protection against floods.

[5] From 1588, Žďár came under administration of Olomouc Bishopric, but remained loyal to the Cistercian monastery, which resulted in a long-running dispute.

[5] After World War II, a large engineering and foundry company ŽĎAS was founded and the population significantly increased.

[10] The town lies on the crossroads of two first class roads: I/19 (from Havlíčkův Brod to with the Kunštát) and I/37 (connecting Pardubice with the D1 motorway in Velká Bíteš) Žďár nad Sázavou is situated on a major railway link from Prague to Brno, further continuing to Slovakia, Austria and Hungary.

It is also the starting point of the lines to Kolín, Velké Meziříčí, Nové Město na Moravě and Tišnov.

[11] Žďár nad Sázavou is best known for the Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk on the hill Zelená hora, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

[14] Post-secondary Vocational School Žďár nad Sázavou exhibits its collection in the Museum of Computer Technology.