The fourteen Czech regions: centres, quirks and one anchor fact each

The Central Bohemian Region surrounds Prague on every side, yet its government sits in Prague. It is a decent pub-quiz question and a fair clue to how the Czech map works: 14 regions drawn in 2000, mostly around cities and their hinterlands, with the capital carved out as one of them. What follows is a reference list, grouped by historic land, with the administrative centre and one anchor fact for each region.

A quick orientation by compass

If the names mean little yet, think in directions. Prague sits in the middle of Bohemia, wrapped by Central Bohemia. West of it lie Plzeň and Karlovy Vary regions, with the spa towns tucked against the German border. North-west is Ústí nad Labem, north is Liberec. To the north-east and east come Hradec Králové and Pardubice. South is South Bohemia. The plateau of Vysočina marks the old border between Bohemia and Moravia, and beyond it lie South Moravia in the south-east, Olomouc and Zlín in the middle and east of Moravia, and the Moravian-Silesian Region in the far north-east, bordering Poland.

That layout matters when you plan a move or a weekend. Distances between regional centres are modest by European standards, and the main rail and road routes radiate from Prague, so the capital often sits in the middle of a journey that looks like it should be a straight line.

Bohemia

Prague (Praha). The capital, at once a municipality, a statutory city and a region. Its historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is the seat of the president, the government and parliament.

Central Bohemian Region (Středočeský kraj). The largest region by area, wrapped around Prague, with its authority in the capital. It includes Kutná Hora, whose historic centre is on the UNESCO list, and Karlštejn, the castle built by Charles IV.

South Bohemian Region (Jihočeský kraj). Centre: České Budějovice. Ponds, forests and Český Krumlov, a UNESCO site. České Budějovice is also home to the Budějovický Budvar brewery.

Plzeň Region (Plzeňský kraj). Centre: Plzeň, birthplace of pilsner lager, brewed there since 1842.

Karlovy Vary Region (Karlovarský kraj). Centre: Karlovy Vary. The spa triangle of Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně has been part of the UNESCO listing of the Great Spa Towns of Europe since 2021.

Ústí nad Labem Region (Ústecký kraj). Centre: Ústí nad Labem. The Elbe leaves Czechia here through sandstone gorges in the Bohemian Switzerland area, and the Ore Mountains with their mining history rise to the west.

Liberec Region (Liberecký kraj). Centre: Liberec. The Jizera Mountains, and the Ještěd tower on the ridge above the city.

Hradec Králové Region (Královéhradecký kraj). Centre: Hradec Králové. It holds part of the Krkonoše (Giant Mountains), including Sněžka, at 1,603 metres the highest peak in Czechia.

Pardubice Region (Pardubický kraj). Centre: Pardubice. Known for the Velká pardubická steeplechase, run every year since 1874, and for gingerbread.

The borderland

Vysočina Region (kraj Vysočina). Centre: Jihlava. A plateau in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, straddling the old border between the two lands. It has three UNESCO sites: Telč, the pilgrimage church at Žďár nad Sázavou and the Jewish quarter and basilica in Třebíč.

Moravia and Silesia

South Moravian Region (Jihomoravský kraj). Centre: Brno, the second city of Czechia and home to its top courts. Vineyards, the Lednice-Valtice landscape (UNESCO) and the Moravian Karst are here.

Olomouc Region (Olomoucký kraj). Centre: Olomouc. A university city with a historic centre and the Holy Trinity Column, a UNESCO monument, plus the Jeseníky mountains.

Zlín Region (Zlínský kraj). Centre: Zlín. A twentieth-century industrial city shaped by the Baťa shoe company, whose functionalist architecture still defines the centre.

Moravian-Silesian Region (Moravskoslezský kraj). Centre: Ostrava. The coal-and-steel heartland, where the former ironworks at Dolní Vítkovice has become a cultural site, with the Beskydy mountains to the east.

Reading the map

The regions are a tool of administration, not of identity. Someone from Vysočina may say they are from Bohemia or from Moravia and mean it. Because Prague is a region of its own, Central Bohemia has no large city at its centre. The borders are administrative compromises, and the old lands run across them, as Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia explained shows.

The count is also easy to misquote. Czech sources say 13 regions plus the capital, and it is just as common to hear 14 regions. Both are right; what matters is whether Prague is in your source's count.

Three oddities worth knowing

The first is Central Bohemia, whose authority sits in the capital that it surrounds but does not include. Visitors to the region's offices find themselves in Prague, and the arrangement is a good example of why a map of regions is not a map of everyday life. The second is Vysočina, a region built around a landscape rather than a historic land, which is why residents there can say with equal truth that they live in Bohemia or in Moravia. The third is Zlín, a city that grew around the Baťa shoe company in the twentieth century and was laid out accordingly, with factory buildings and housing in a single functionalist plan.

Each of the 14 has a similar curiosity, and the quickest way to find yours is to visit its centre. The regional capitals are also where the region's assembly and governor sit, so a day trip to one doubles as a look at how self-government works on the ground.

Regions and the EU's map

Czech regions also appear in EU statistics. The 14 regions correspond to the EU's NUTS 3 level of statistical units, and for the purposes of EU cohesion policy they are grouped into eight larger cohesion regions, with Prague standing alone as the richest. That is why a Eurostat table of regional data can look different from a Czech one: it may treat Prague as a region of its own, or combine several Czech regions into a bigger unit.

For a quick check, search the Czech Statistical Office's regional pages for the figures behind a claim you read in the press. They are published for the 14 regions and usually with a short methodological note, so you can see what is counted. The funding side of this story is told in Czech EU funds: cohesion policy explained.

Why the region matters

The region decides services you use: regional roads, secondary schools, regional buses and trains integrated with the transport system, and in many places hospitals. It also sets the boundaries for regional elections, and the Chamber of Deputies constituencies follow the regional borders. Driving licences, vehicle registration and many permits are handled by municipal offices, not regional ones, so the region on the map is not always where your paperwork goes. Who does what is set out in Czech regions and municipalities: levels of government.

For a region you plan to visit or move to, the official regional website and the Czech Statistical Office's regional pages give current figures on population, transport and services.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the largest region by area?

Central Bohemia, which wraps around Prague.

Where are the highest mountains?

In the Krkonoše (Giant Mountains) in the Hradec Králové Region, where Sněžka reaches 1,603 metres.

Which region produced pilsner lager?

The Plzeň Region; pilsner has been brewed in Plzeň since 1842.

Is Prague part of Central Bohemia?

No. Prague is a region in its own right, though the Central Bohemian authority has its seat there.