Karlštejn Castle, photochrom, c. 1890
Karlštejn Castle, photochrom, c. 1890Photo: Photoglob Co. (publisher), c. 1890 · public domain · Wikimedia Commons

The Central Bohemian Region (Středočeský kraj) lies in the middle of Bohemia. By area, number of municipalities and population it is the largest region of the Czech Republic.[1] It is the only region without its own regional capital; the regional authority is based in the capital city of Prague, which the region completely surrounds.[1]*

Location and territory

The region borders almost all Czech regions; the exceptions are the Karlovy Vary Region and the Moravian regions.[1] Its area as of 31 December 2024 was 10,929 km², almost 14 % of the country and roughly twice the average area of a region.[1] The territory belongs to the Bohemian Massif. The north and east are flat, while uplands prevail in the south and south-west.[1] The highest point is Tok in the Brdy hills (865 m) in Příbram District, the lowest is the bed of the Elbe in Mělník District (153 m).[1] About three quarters of the Elbe–Vltava waterway, the only Czech waterway for both domestic and international transport, pass through the region.[1]

Kutná Hora, view across a vineyard to the historic centre
Kutná Hora, view across a vineyard to the historic centrePhoto: Herbert Frank from Wien (Vienna), AT, 2017 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Population

As of 31 December 2025 the region had 1,477,134 inhabitants and was the most populous region in the country.[3] Its population has been growing continuously since 1997, mainly through migration to new housing around Prague.[1] On the same date the largest towns were Kladno (69,728 inhabitants), Mladá Boleslav (47,874), Kolín (33,392), Příbram (32,917) and Kutná Hora (21,787).[4] In 2024 the region had 1,144 municipalities, 86 of them with town status; Kladno and Mladá Boleslav are statutory cities.[1] Towns were home to 51.2 % of the population, the lowest share in the country.[1]

Districts

The region consists of 12 districts: Benešov, Beroun, Kladno, Kolín, Kutná Hora, Mělník, Mladá Boleslav, Nymburk, Praha-východ, Praha-západ, Příbram and Rakovník.[2] The largest district by area is Příbram and the smallest Praha-západ; Praha-východ has the most inhabitants and Rakovník the fewest.[2] Since 1 January 2003, when the district offices were abolished, the region has also been divided into 26 administrative districts of municipalities with extended powers.[1]

Creation and name

The region was established on 1 January 2000 under Constitutional Act No. 347/1997 Coll., which created 14 higher self-governing territorial units.[5] The seats of the new regions are the same as those of the regions of 1949–1960 and the regional names were derived from them; the Central Bohemian Region is the only exception.[5] In the European statistical classification the region alone forms the Central Bohemia cohesion region at NUTS 2 level.[6] On 1 January 2016 the Brdy Protected Landscape Area was established on the territory of the abolished Brdy military area. The former military area was divided between municipalities of the Central Bohemian and Plzeň regions, and the area of the Central Bohemian Region shrank by 87.9 km² compared with the end of 2015.[1]

Economy and transport

The main industries are engineering, chemicals and food processing; Škoda Auto in Mladá Boleslav is a company of national importance.[1] Agriculture benefits from fertile land in the north-east of the region, where wheat, barley and sugar beet are the main crops.[1] The main railway lines and roads converge radially on Prague.[1] The D4 motorway links Prague via Příbram with South Bohemia; the section between Příbram and Písek, which includes 32 km of new motorway, opened on 17 December 2024.[7]

Monuments and nature

Kutná Hora with the Church of St Barbara and the cathedral in Sedlec is on the UNESCO World Heritage List; the château and park of Průhonice are inscribed together with Prague.[1] Well-known castles include Karlštejn, Točník, Křivoklát, Český Šternberk and Kokořín, and châteaux include Konopiště, Žleby, Kačina and Nelahozeves.[1] Thousands of pilgrims came to Stará Boleslav, where St Wenceslas was murdered, for the National St Wenceslas Pilgrimage in September 2026.[8] The Křivoklátsko Protected Landscape Area is a biosphere reserve; other protected landscape areas are Český kras, Český ráj, Blaník, Kokořínsko and Brdy.[1]

Pages linking here

Sources

  1. Český statistický úřad, Krajská správa pro Středočeský kraj
  2. Český statistický úřad, Krajská správa pro Středočeský kraj
  3. Český statistický úřad
  4. Český statistický úřad
  5. Český statistický úřad (Statistika&My)
  6. Český statistický úřad
  7. Vláda České republiky — 17 December 2024
  8. ČT24 — 28 September 2026