The château in Jindřichův Hradec above Vajgar pond
The château in Jindřichův Hradec above Vajgar pondPhoto: Herbert Ortner , Vienna, Austria, 2006 · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

The South Bohemian Region (Jihočeský kraj) lies in the south of Bohemia. Its regional capital is České Budějovice.[2] By area it is the second largest region of the Czech Republic and it has the lowest population density of all regions.[2][4]*

Location and territory

A large part of the region's boundary is the state border with Austria and Germany. Within the country it borders the Plzeň and Central Bohemian regions, the Vysočina Region and the South Moravian Region.[1] The region covers 10,058 km², just under 13 % of the country; forests occupy more than a third of it and water bodies about 4 %.[1] Its core is the South Bohemian basin with the České Budějovice and Třeboň basins, surrounded by the Šumava, spurs of the Brdy, the Central Bohemian granite uplands, the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and the Novohradské Mountains.[1] The highest point is Plechý in the Šumava (1,378 m), the lowest the surface of the Orlík reservoir in Písek District (330 m).[1]

The Stone Bridge over the Otava in Písek
The Stone Bridge over the Otava in PísekPhoto: User:Aktron, 2006 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Waters

The region lies in the basin of the upper and middle Vltava with its tributaries the Malše, Lužnice and Otava.[1] More than 7,000 ponds with a total area of over 30,000 hectares were built here in the past; the largest are Rožmberk, Horusický rybník and Bezdrev.[1] The Lipno reservoir, covering 4,870 ha, is the largest body of water in the country. Other large reservoirs are Orlík and Římov, which supplies drinking water to much of the region.[1]

Population and districts

As of 31 December 2025 the region had 652,896 inhabitants.[3] Population density was 64.9 inhabitants per km². In 2025 the regional capital had 97,128 inhabitants, 14.9 % of the region's population; other larger towns are Tábor, Písek, Strakonice and Jindřichův Hradec.[4] The region is divided into seven districts: České Budějovice, Český Krumlov, Jindřichův Hradec, Písek, Prachatice, Strakonice and Tábor.[2] It has 624 municipalities including the Boletice military area, which has no inhabitants.[4] In 2025 the highest birth rate in the region was recorded in the administrative district of Týn nad Vltavou (9.2 births per thousand inhabitants).[5]

Creation and name

The region was established on 1 January 2000 under Constitutional Act No. 347/1997 Coll. as one of 14 higher self-governing territorial units.[6] It was originally called the Budějovice Region (Budějovický kraj) after its seat; in 2001 it was renamed the South Bohemian Region.[6] The region is governed by an elected assembly headed by the governor (hejtman) and by the regional authority, based in U Zimního stadionu Street in České Budějovice.[2] A region with its seat in České Budějovice already existed from 1949 as the České Budějovice Region; in the 1960 reorganisation its territory was adjusted and it was renamed the South Bohemian Region.[2] In the European statistical classification it forms the South-West cohesion region together with the Plzeň Region.[7]

Economy and transport

The region has a tradition of farming, forestry and fish farming; its ponds produce half of the fish output of the country.[1] Thanks to the Temelín nuclear power plant the region ranks second in electricity generation, with a fifth of national output. The Hněvkovice reservoir was built in connection with the construction of the plant.[1] The D4 motorway runs from Prague to South Bohemia; its section from Příbram towards Písek opened in December 2024.[8] Remains of the horse-drawn railway from České Budějovice to Linz, the first on the European continent, survive in the region.[1]

Monuments and nature

The historic centres of České Budějovice, Český Krumlov, Jindřichův Hradec, Prachatice, Slavonice, Tábor and Třeboň are urban heritage reserves.[1] Český Krumlov was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992 and the village green of Holašovice in 1998.[1] Protected areas include Šumava National Park and the Šumava, Třeboňsko and Blanský les protected landscape areas; about a fifth of the region is protected.[1]

Pages linking here

Sources

  1. Český statistický úřad, Krajská správa v Českých Budějovicích
  2. Encyklopedie Českých Budějovic, statutární město České Budějovice (archivní kopie) — 18 June 2026
  3. Český statistický úřad
  4. Český statistický úřad —
  5. Český statistický úřad —
  6. Český statistický úřad (Statistika&My)
  7. Český statistický úřad
  8. Vláda České republiky — 17 December 2024