South Bohemian Region's websites

Territory, Countryside

The Region of South Bohemia has been long been perceived as mainly an agricultural area with a developed system of fish farming and forestry and only in the course of the last century the processing industry developed here. Geographically, the region makes a relatively closed whole whose heart is formed by the South-Bohemian basin. It is surrounded by the Šumava Mountains in the South-West, by the spurs of the Brdy Highlands in the North-West, by the Middle-Bohemian granite highlands in the North, by the Czech-Moravian Highlands in the East and by the Novohradské Mountains in the South-East. There are two basinal areas of České Budějovice and of Třeboň in the Region of South Bohemia.

A substantial part of the region's border is formed by the state frontier with Austria and the Federal Republic of Germany (with the total length of 323km). The South-Bohemian Region also neighbours with the Region of Plzeň, Middle Bohemia, Vysočina and South Moravia. The border position of the region provides it with effective possibilities for cross-border cooperation in the field of production and services as well as for the development of tourism as visitors to the region can make use of the overall attractiveness of the region with pristine landscapes and plenty of historic landmarks.

The region covers an area of 10 057 km2, which is 12.8% of the area of the whole Czech Republic. One third of this area is covered by forests and 4% are formed by water surfaces. The majority of the territory lies in the altitude of 400 - 600 metres above sea level, due to which the local climate is rather severe. The Mountain of Plechý (1 378m) is the highest mountain in the Region of South Bohemia, the lowest place is, on the other hand, the surface of Orlická Dam (330 m) in Písek District.

The territory of the region belongs to the basin of the upper and middle Vltava River with the affluents of the Otava, Lužnice, Malše, Blanice and many more rivers. More than 7 000 ponds have been built there in the past; their total acreage now amounts to more than 30 thousand hectares. The Rožmberk pond (490 ha), Bezdrev pond (450 ha) and the Horusický pond (415 ha) are the biggest ponds in the area as well as in the whole of the Czech Republic. Apart from these ponds, there is the large water dam of Lipno, the biggest water surface in the Czech Republic measuring 4 870 ha, and the water dam of Orlík surrounded by large recreational areas, as well as the water dam of Římov, which supplies a significant part of the region with drinking water. The water reservoir of Hnevkovice was built in connection with the construction of the nuclear power station of Temelin.

The Region of South Bohemia lies in the area which is not very rich in raw materials; there are almost no energy resources. However, there are large forests that represent a notable natural wealth especially in the Šumava and Novohradské Mountains. These forests contain mainly coniferous trees, spruces and pines. The biggest natural resources of the region are formed by the deposits of sand and gravel, brick clay, aggregate and glass sand. From other resources, peat is the most significant one as well as, in some localities, limestone, bergmeal and graphite.

Within the bounds of the Czech Republic the environment of the South-Bohemian Region can be characterised as less damaged, although there is a range of pollution sources originating especially in the field of agriculture and industry. However, this environmental burden tends to be decreasing gradually. In spite of a definite improvement in the waters of the Vltava River since 1990, it is still characterised as polluted along the majority of its course. The environmental conditions are better on the Otava and Lužnice Rivers. The upper parts of the Vltava and Blanice river courses and the course of the Malše River, especially in the surroundings of Římov water dam, are said to be the cleanest. The area of four fifths of South-Bohemian forest cover is evaluated as damage free; the remaining part is assessed to be slightly damaged. It is favourable that the air of the region is assessed as one of the clearest in the whole of the Czech Republic.

The region's territory has always had more of a recreational character rather than the character of a developed industrial area. The local efforts to preserve the natural environment were reflected in the establishment of the National Park of Šumava (which covers an area of 685m2, including the part extending to the Region of Plzeň), the nature reserves of Šumava (covering the area of 945 m2 a part of which also exceeds to the Region of Plzeň), the Třeboň area (700 km2) and Blanský Wood (212 km2). There are 288 small protected natural formations and a whole range of protected natural artefacts.

There are also many historical town reserves such as the historical centres of the towns of České Budějovice, Český Krumlov (registered among the UNESCO landmarks), Jindřichův Hradec, Třeboň, Slavonice, Prachatice and Tábor. Apart from these places of interest there are also a number of historical sights such as the castles in Hluboká nad Vltavou, Český Krumlov, Blatná Červená Lhota, Zvíkov and Orlík The so-called "Rustic Baroque" represents a very specific feature of the local folk architecture among which the village square of the village of Holašovice (České Budějovice District) belongs. This place was also registered as a UNESCO landmark in 1998.