The South Moravian Region (Jihomoravský kraj) is a higher self-governing territorial unit in the south-east of the Czech Republic. Its seat is Brno, at the confluence of the Svratka and the Svitava, the second largest city in the country.[1] According to the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), the region had 1,230,516 inhabitants on 31 December 2025.[5]*
Location and neighbours
To the east the region borders Slovakia and to the south Austria. Its Czech neighbours, from west to north-east, are the South Bohemian Region, the Vysočina Region, and the Pardubice, Olomouc and Zlín regions.[1]
Nature
The north of the region is occupied by the Moravian Karst with extensive cave systems and the Macocha Abyss, 138.5 m deep. The southern part is mostly flat, with fields, meadows, vineyards and remnants of floodplain forest along the Dyje.[1] The Podyjí National Park lies in the south-western corner. Southern Moravia also includes Pálava, the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape and the Nové Mlýny reservoirs. In the east, beyond the Morava river, the land rises into the White Carpathians.[1] The White Carpathians and the Lower Morava are UNESCO biosphere reserves.[1]
The region covers 7,188 km², the fourth largest area among the regions. Its highest point lies in the Hodonín district near Durda (842 m), at the tripoint with the Zlín Region and Slovakia. The lowest point is the confluence of the Morava and the Dyje near Lanžhot (150 m); Lanžhot is also the southernmost municipality of Moravia.[1]
Divisions
The region consists of seven districts: Blansko, Brno-City, Brno-Country, Břeclav, Hodonín, Vyškov and Znojmo. Its 673 municipalities are grouped into 21 administrative districts of municipalities with extended powers.[1] Under Act No. 387/2004 Coll., 25 municipalities moved from the Vysočina Region to the Brno-Country district on 1 January 2005, enlarging the region by almost 13,000 hectares. On 1 January 2016, by contrast, the region lost 722 ha, which passed to the Olomouc Region when the Březina military training area was reduced.[1] On 1 January 2007, 26 municipalities changed district so that district boundaries matched the administrative districts of municipalities with extended powers.[1]
Creation and name
The region was created on 1 January 2000 under Constitutional Act No. 347/1997 Coll. as the Brno Region (Brněnský kraj), a name derived from the seat of the regional authority.[2] Following Constitutional Act No. 176/2001 Coll. it was renamed the South Moravian Region; in the CZ-NUTS classification the new name applied from 10 July 2001.[3] The first regional assembly was elected on 12 November 2000.[2] In November 2024 Jan Grolich (Spolu) retained the post of governor (hejtman).[4]
Economy and transport
The region produces about a tenth of the gross domestic product of Czechia. Services predominate, and the manufacturing industry of Brno and its surroundings holds an important position.[1] Agricultural land makes up almost 60% of the region. More than 90% of the vineyard area of Czechia lies here, almost half of it in the Břeclav district.[1] The main roads are the D1, D2, D46 and D52 motorways. Brno-Tuřany international airport serves Brno, and two main railway corridors cross the region.[1] Brno is the seat of a number of national institutions, above all judicial ones, and a centre of higher education and of trade fairs and exhibitions.[1]
Monuments
The Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape and the Tugendhat Villa in Brno are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.[1] The Battle of the Three Emperors was fought near Slavkov (Austerlitz); folk architecture is presented in the open-air museum in Strážnice. Přímětice has one of the largest cross-shaped wine cellars in the world.[1] Motor races are held on the Masaryk Circuit.[1]
Pages linking here
- Alena Schillerová
- Brno
- National Heritage Institute
- Olomouc Region
- Pardubice Region
- South Bohemian Region
- Vysočina Region
- Zlín Region