Plzeňský kraj

Plzeňský kraj Pilsen region
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Basic data
Historic country :	Bohemia
Administrative headquarters :	Pilsen
Biggest town:	Pilsen
ISO 3166-2 :	CZ-32
Residents :	584,672 (January 1, 2019)
Population density :	72.9 inhabitants / km²
Vehicle registration number :	P
geography
Area :	7,561 km²
Administrative division
Districts :	7th
Municipalities :	501

The Plzeňský kraj ( German Pilsner Region ) is one of the 14 regions of the Czech Republic . The region is located in the south-west of Bohemia . The administrative seat is in Pilsen . In the west it borders on Germany , followed clockwise by the regions Karlsbad , Aussig , Central and South Bohemia . With an area of 7,561 km² it is the third largest region in the Czech Republic and has 578,629 inhabitants (January 1, 2017).

landscape

The region can be divided into the following important scenic areas: Plzeňská pahorkatina (Pilsen Hills), Brdská vrchovina (Brdy Hills ), Český les (Bohemian Forest) and Šumava (Bohemian Forest) .

raw materials

The main focus of raw material extraction is in the Pilsen area. To promote coal , fire-resistant and ceramic clay and natural components. Limestone can be found at the foot of the Bohemian Forest . There are good conditions for agriculture. 50.8% of the total area is used for agriculture, 39.4% are forests.

environment

The environmental conditions are very good compared to the rest of the country. The emissions are on average 40% lower than in other regions. The mountain regions are among the least polluted areas. There are 166 nature reserves and nature parks in the region . However, pollution is high in the Pilsen area. The emissions here are well above the national average, due to the high degree of industrialization and heavy road traffic. High loads are also measured in the Nýřany - Tlučná - Vejprnice , Břasy - Radnice , Stříbro and Ejpovice areas . All municipalities with more than 2000 inhabitants have sewage treatment plants . The main danger is the liquidation and dismantling of contaminated sites in the industrial, but also in the agricultural sector. In contrast, the disposal of industrial waste poses no problem.

colonization

A large number of small municipalities are typical of the region; there are no cities with a medium population. The exception is the second largest city in Bohemia - Pilsen - with 164,000 inhabitants. Another 46 cities have 367,000 residents. The urbanization rate is therefore around 67%. Most of the municipalities whose population is growing are located on the corridors connecting Prague with Germany. The border region to Germany is sparsely populated. Outside this axis there are mostly small, agricultural villages. In order for the trade to settle in these regions, more and more micro-regions are being established.

population

With a population share of 5.4% (551,528, December 31, 2004), the Pilsen region is in the middle of the range. Of these, 30% live in the greater Pilsen area and a fifth in 13 other cities with more than 5000 inhabitants. The population density is 72.9 inhabitants per square kilometer (Czech Republic 130). The districts of Tachov (37.5) and Klatovy (45.2) have the lowest population density .

According to the age structure, the region is one of those with the oldest population. The average age in 2017 was 42.5 years, in the Klatovy district even 43.2 years. There has been a decline in population since the early 1990s. From 2003 the population increases again.

housing

Increased activity has been observed since 1990. Pre-war buildings and dilapidated houses were renewed. The construction of prefabricated apartments is decreasing in favor of individual construction. The largest part is concentrated in the districts of Pilsen-City , Pilsen-South and Pilsen-North . In 2001, 15% of the apartments were unoccupied, most of them in the Klatovy district . The building density per 1000 inhabitants reached a coefficient of 3.4 in 2001 compared to the average in the Czech Republic of 2.7.

Statistical key figures

Statistical key figures as of December 31, 2007
district	Area in km²	Residents ¹⁾	Average age ¹⁾	Communities
Okres Domažlice	1,140	61,405	42.0	85
Okres Klatovy	1.939	86,452	43.2	94
Okres Plzeň-město (Pilsen City)	261	189,131	42.9	15th
Okres Plzeň-jih (Pilsen-South)	990	62,445	42.5	90
Okres Plzeň-sever (Pilsen-North)	1,286	78.007	41.5	98
Okres Rokycany	575	48.184	42.6	68
Okres Tachov	1,379	53.005	41.3	51

¹⁾ on January 1, 2017

Share of gross domestic product (2001): 5.2%,
Unemployment rate (March 31, 2017): 3.12%

Administrative division

Administrative division of the region

Communities

After the regions, the municipalities form the third administrative level in the Czech Republic . In the region there are 15 municipalities with an extended sphere of activity (Czech obec s rozšířenou působností ) and 35 municipalities with an authorized municipal office (Czech obec s pověřeným obecním úřadem ). The total number of municipalities is 501.

Districts

The districts ( okres ) do not form an organizational unit of the region and have no longer had an administrative function since January 1, 2003. However, some areas of state administration retained the district structure (e.g. courts, police). The districts also define the area of the regions.

district	Seat
Okres Domažlice	Domažlice
Okres Klatovy	Klatovy
Okres Plzeň-jih	Plzeň
Okres Plzeň-město	Plzeň
Okres Plzeň-sever	Plzeň
Okres Rokycany	Rokycany
Okres Tachov	Tachov

politics

The first regional captain was the citizen democrat Petr Zimmermann from 2000-2008 . After the election on 17./18. In October 2008, the former health minister Milada Emmerová (ČSSD) became the region’s chief woman and thus the first woman to head a region. She resigned in September 2010 after being elected to the House of Representatives. Milan Chovanec became the new captain . Like Emmerová, Chovanec was a minority government with the support of KSČM . In the elections on October 12 and 13, 2012, the ODS with the top candidate Jiří Pospíšil with 26.48% was again the strongest political force, just ahead of the Social Democrats (24.89%) and the KSČM (20.93%), however Captain Chovanec was able to continue his cooperation with KSČM, which since then has also been represented on the regional council with two members. At the beginning of 2014, Chovanec moved to the government in Prague as the new interior minister and handed over his position as regional leader to his party colleague Václav Šlajs.

After the 2016 election, Šlajs was replaced by Josef Bernard ( ČSSD ).

Composition of the organs of the region:

organ	Terms of office
organ	2000-2004	2004-2008	2008–2012	2012-2016	2016-2020
Parliament of the region ( Zastupitelstvo Plzeňského kraje ) 45 members	ODS 13 KSČM 11 Čtyřkoalice 8 ČSSD 8 Nezávislí 5	ODS 22 KSČM 10 ČSSD 8 KDU – ČSL 3 SNK 2	ČSSD 19 ODS 14 KSČM 9 Koalice per PK 3	ODS 15 ČSSD 15 KSČM 12 TOP 09 a Starostové a nezávislí pro Plzeňský kraj 3	ANO 11 ČSSD 9 ODS 8 KSČM 6 Starostové a Patrioti s podporou Svobodných a Soukromníků 4 TOP 09 3 SPO + SPD 2 KDU-ČSL + STAN + Strana zelených 2
Regional Council ( Rada Plzeňského kraje ) 9 members	ODS 4 Nezávislí 2 Čtyřkoalice 3	ODS 7 KDU-ČSL 2	ČSSD 9	ČSSD 7 KSČM 2	ČSSD 4 ODS 3 Koalice per Plzeňský kraj 1 Starostové a Patrioti s podporou Svobodných a Soukromníků 1
Captain ( Hejtman Plzeňského kraje )	Petr Zimmermann (ODS)	Petr Zimmermann (ODS)	Milada Emmerová (ČSSD, 2008–2010) Milan Chovanec (ČSSD, since 2010)	Milan Chovanec (ČSSD) Václav Šlajs (ČSSD, since 2014)	Josef Bernard (ČSSD)

economy

As of December 31, 2005, 127,341 companies were registered in the region. One third has its seat in the Pilsen-City district. 40 companies with more than 500 employees are significant, 16 of them employing more than 1,000 people.

A total of 149,732 people (27.3% of the total population) were employed in industry in 2002. School and culture, healthcare, social affairs, forestry and agriculture as well as fish farming followed on the other places.

Average monthly earnings are around 23,354 CZK (1st – 3rd quarter of 2013) in third place after Prague and the Central Bohemian Region , but 7.3% lower than the national average. The highest wages are paid in Okres Plzeň-město (19 732 CZK), the lowest wages are paid in Okres Klatovy (15,518 CZK), Tachov (15,724 CZK) and Plzeň-sever (15,749 CZK).

20,500 people (6.45%) were looking for work on December 31, 2005, with the highest unemployment in Okres Tachov at 8.62% and lowest in Plzeň-jih at 4.74%. In contrast, there were around 3940 vacancies. There are job offers mainly in the technical area.

The Euregio Egrensis with Germany and the Euregio Bavarian Forest - Bohemian Forest with Germany and Austria contribute to increased cross-border cooperation .

traffic

The length of the roads is 5007 kilometers, of which 407 kilometers are first class roads, 1511 kilometers are second class roads and 3089 kilometers are third class roads. Compared to other regions, Pilsen has the lowest proportion of first class roads. The length of the motorways is 89 kilometers. The rail network covers 713 kilometers, 237 kilometers of which are electrified. National and regional railways and the international connection Prague- Pilsen- Nuremberg / Regensburg - Munich run through the region .

Education and Healthcare

There are 11 hospitals in the region with a total of 3,600 beds, including the University Clinic in Pilsen with 1,830 beds (2007) and the Psychiatric Clinic in Dobřany , both of which are among the largest employers in the region.

Education is provided by 255 kindergartens, 204 primary schools, 30 vocational schools, 32 technical high schools, 14 high schools and 5 institutions of post-secondary education. Public higher education is represented by the West Bohemian University in Pilsen with nine faculties and the Medical Faculty in Pilsen of Charles University in Prague .

Culture

In 2002 the region had 37 movie theaters, 43 museums, 12 theaters and 18 amphitheaters. In addition, there are 590 libraries, in particular the Scientific Library of the Pilsen Region , which is supported by the region , as well as numerous music and theater festivals, especially in Pilsen.

tourism

The tourist center is the city of Pilsen with numerous cultural monuments and facilities. The zoological and botanical gardens in Pilsen are among the facilities with the greatest number of visitors. The active vacationer is attracted by numerous tourist hiking and cycling trails. The Bohemian Forest offers extensive hiking and winter sports opportunities. The Konstantinovy Lázně spa is located in the northwest of the region . In Domažlice the famous place annually in August Chod Festival ( Chodské slavnosti ) instead.

Cultural monuments include the Plasy and Kladruby monasteries , the Radyně , Švihov , Kašperk , Rabí , Velhartice castles and the Kaceřov , Horšovský Týn , Kozel and Manětín castles . There are three city monument reserves (Domažlice, Horšovský Týn and Pilsen) and 21 city monument zones in the region. 47 villages are listed. The folk architecture typical of the Plzeň region can be seen in the Koterov and Černice districts. Significant collections of folk architecture are preserved in the Chodsko region (e.g. Trhanov ). Log and half-timbered buildings can be found in the northern area of Pilsen, around Rokycany and in the Tachov region. In Chanovice there is an open-air museum (Skanzen Chanovice) with rural architecture in the vicinity of Klatovy.

For nature lovers, the national park and the protected landscape area Šumava and the protected landscape areas Český les , Křivoklátsko and Slavkovský les are tourist destinations . One of the landscape attractions is the Bolevecká rybniční soustava , a pond from the 15th century on the outskirts of Pilsen. Important recreational areas are the Hracholusky Reservoir and the Berounka River .

Biggest cities

city	Residents (January 1, 2017)
Pilsen	170,548
Klatovy	22,378
Rokycany	14,014
Tachov	12,699
Domažlice	11,177
Sušice	11,127
Stříbro	7,705
Nýřany	7.106
Přeštice	6,475
Dobřany	6.218
Planá	5,387
Horažďovice	5,366
Kdyně	5,242
Nýrsko	4,945