Okres Prachatice

Okres Prachatice
Kraj	Jihočeský kraj
surface	1,374.93 km²
Inhabitants ; • Population density	50,971 ( January 1, 2019 ) ; 37 inhabitants / km²
Municipalities ; • of which cities ; • of which Městyse	65 ; 6 ; 4
LAU 1	CZ0315
Vehicle registration number ; (issued until 2001)	PT

Okres Prachatice (German: Prachatitz District ) is located in the southwestern part of Jihočeský kraj , Czech Republic . It covers an area of 1375 km² and a population of 51,470 inhabitants (as of 2007), which is spread over 65 communities and 272 districts.

Population development

After the Second World War, the district lost most of its inhabitants due to the expulsion of the Germans from Czechoslovakia . Due to its location in the exclusion zone of the Iron Curtain , only a few new citizens were allowed to move there.

The district is therefore still sparsely populated with 37 inhabitants per km². Almost 60% of all residents live in one of the six cities in the district. Outside of these cities, the population density is only 20 people per km². Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1990 and the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Community (EC), the population has been growing again.

geography

Most of the region is slightly hilly, in the border area there is the Šumava Mountains (German Bohemian Forest ). In 1991 the forest area was declared a National Park Šumava . The most important river is the Vltava , which rises here on the Schwarzberg (Černé hory) at 1162 meters. There are also other bodies of water in the form of dams and lakes.

In the north the district borders on the Okres Strakonice , in the east on the Okres Český Krumlov and in the south on the German district Freyung-Grafenau and in the west on the Okres Klatovy .

economy

The most important natural raw material is wood , which is extracted in the forests, which take up more than half of the area, as well as peat . The high forest density also ensures a very low environmental impact, as do the numerous nature parks and reserves (such as Šumava). This area is therefore particularly popular with hikers, cyclists and winter sports enthusiasts. The district is visited by around 162,000 tourists annually . There are a total of 312 overnight accommodations. In addition to nature destinations, the many different historical monuments are also attractions.

1,357 of 11,257 companies employ around 51% of the population, around a third of whom work in industry and a tenth in agriculture. The unemployment rate is 6.8%. The average monthly wage is relatively low and amounts to 12,136 kroner (approx. 470 euros). This is only 56% of the national average of 21,470 kroner in 2007. In agriculture, cereals, animal feed and potatoes are grown, while cattle and pigs are predominant in animal husbandry.

traffic

There are several railway lines of the Czech Railways in the district: the railway line České Budějovice-Černý Kříž , the railway Strakonice-Volary , and the railway line Číčenice-Haidmühle . The latter line was connected to the Waldkirchen – Haidmühle railway line until the 1970s . All these lines are single-track and not electrified, they branch off the main line 190 Plzeň – České Budějovice to the south and meet in Volary. In the course of modernization, these lines are to be rehabilitated. The České Budějovice – Volary near Nová Pec line should be connected to the Rybník – Lipno nad Vltavou line by 2014 .

The main road is I / 4 , which leads from the border crossing in Strážný, where it connects to the German B 12 , via Vimperk to Prague . In the long term, this line is to be expanded into an expressway between Munich and Prague. From this the second major road, the I / 39, branches off, which leads via Volary to Český Krumlov .