Regions of the Czech Republic ( cs, kraj, plural: ''kraje'') are higher-level territorial self-governing units of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Every region is governed by a regional council, headed by a governor (''

hejtman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

''). Elections to regional councils take place every four years. According to the Act no. 129/2000 Coll. ("Law on Regions"), which implements Chapter VII of the Czech Constitution, the Czech Republic is divided into thirteen regions and one

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

with regional status as of 1 January 2000.

History

The first ''

kraj A kraj ( ''kraje'') is the highest-level administrative unit in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. For lack of other English expressions, the Slavic term is often translated as "province", "region", or "territory", although it approxi ...

e'' were created in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

during the reign of Charles IV in the 14th century and they lasted till 1862/68. ''Kraje'' were reintroduced in 1949 in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and still exist today (except for the early 1990s) in its successor states despite many rearrangements.

Competences

Rights and obligations of the regions include: *Establishment of secondary schools; *Responsibility for hospitals and social facilities; *Construction and repair of second and third class roads; *Organization of integrated transport systems; *Ordering of public intermunicipal transport; *Protection of the nature; *Cooperation in the distribution of EU funds within the NUTS-2 regions; *Tasks within the integrated rescue system; *Right to propose laws to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

and submit complaints to the Constitutional Court.

List of regions

Coats of arms

Central Bohemian Region CoA CZ.svg, Central Bohemian Region Coat of arms of South Bohemian Region.png, South Bohemian Region Plzen Region CoA CZ.svg, Plzeň Region Karlovy Vary Region CoA CZ.svg, Karlovy Vary Region Usti nad Labem Region CoA CZ.svg, Ústí nad Labem Region Liberec Region CoA CZ.svg, Liberec Region Hradec Kralove Region CoA CZ.svg, Hradec Králové Region Pardubice Region CoA CZ.svg, Pardubice Region CZE Kraj Wysoczyzna COA.svg, Vysočina Region South Moravian Region CoA CZ.svg, South Moravian Region Olomouc Region CoA CZ.svg, Olomouc Region Zlin Region CoA CZ.svg, Zlín Region Moravian-Silesian Region CoA CZ.svg, Moravian-Silesian Region

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regions of the Czech Republic Subdivisions of the Czech Republic Regions Czech Republic 1 Regions, Czech Republic

History

Competences

List of regions

Coats of arms

See also

References