Svitavy District ( cs, okres Svitavy) is a district (''

okres Okres ( Czech and Slovak term meaning "district" in English; from German Kreis - circle (or perimeter)) refers to administrative entities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is similar to Landkreis in Germany or "''okrug''" in other Slavic-speak ...

'') within Pardubice Region 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 ...

. Its capital is the town of

Svitavy Svitavy (; german: Zwittau) is a town in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is the birthplace of Oskar Schindler and the centre of the Czech Esperanto movement. The historic town centre is well prese ...

. As a part of Pardubice Region the district has borders with

Ústí nad Orlicí District Ústí nad Orlicí District ( cs, okres Ústí nad Orlicí) is a district (''okres'') within Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Ústí nad Orlicí. The district has borders with Pardubice District to the west, Sv ...

to the north and

Chrudim District Chrudim District ( cs, okres Chrudim) is a district (''okres'') within Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Chrudim. Overview The district has mostly flat terrain with slopes of Iron Mountains appearing on the sout ...

to the west. The district was administratively formed in 1960, when the former districts of

Litomyšl Litomyšl (; german: Leitomischl) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,900 inhabitants. It is former bishopric and Latin Catholic titular see. Litomyšl is known for the château-type castle ...

, Moravská Třebová,

Polička Polička (; german: Politschka) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,700 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administra ...

and

were merged. Svitavy District incorporates parts of historical regions of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

and

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The ...

. From a total of 116 municipalities, 44 municipalities (including the district's capital) are situated in Moravia. As of 1 January 2007, 48,864 inhabitants live in the Moravian part of the district. The Bohemian part counted 67 municipalities with 50,885 inhabitants. Five municipalities (

Brněnec Brněnec (german: Brünnlitz) is a municipality and village in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,300 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Chrastová Lhota, Moravská Chrastová and Podlesí ar ...

, Březová nad Svitavou, Kamenná Horka, Karle and Radiměř altogether having 4,769 inhabitants) lie in Bohemia as well as Moravia.

Geography

With a total area of 1,379 km² it is the largest district of the Pardubice Region. From the total area of the district,

agricultural land Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with ...

occupies 835.1 km² (

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...

628,8 km², permanent pastures 171.3 km² and water bodies 10.8 km²).

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s cover 31.3% of the district's area. The district is divided into

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

s of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

and the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. The main rivers in the district are Svitava (central part of the district), Svratka (south-eastern part), Třebůvka (eastern part), Třebovka and Loučná (both in the north-western part). The former three rivers comprise part of the Danube basin, while the latter two comprise part of the Elbe basin. The largest water body in Svitavy District is the pond Hvězda, with an area of 82 ha.

Demography

As of 31 December 2012, the district had 104,971 inhabitants from which 53,120 were women and 51,851 were men. The average age was 40.9 years; 15.3% of the inhabitants were 14 years or younger, while 16.5% were 65 years or older. The district's workforce counted 53,955 people.

Climate

The district has a continental climate which is characterised by significant variations in temperature in the course of the year. There are slight variations between the climate in various parts of the district. The northwestern and southeastern part of the district have an average temperature of 7 °C and precipitation up to 600 mm in one year. The central part of the district is slightly cooler and more humid, with an average temperature of 6 °C and precipitation of 700 mm. The southeastern part of the district is even cooler and even more humid.Časová řada vybraných ukazatelů za okres Svitavy (2000–2012), available online at http://www.czso.cz/xe/redakce.nsf/i/okres_svitavy

Economy

The district has been suffering from the highest unemployment rate in the Pardubice region, reaching 8.6% at the end of 2012. The economy of the district is oriented towards agriculture and manufacturing. The share of the district's employment accounted for by agriculture has been steadily decreasing, yet it is still higher than in other districts of the Pardubice Region. The agricultural sector mainly produces

cereal A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...

s and

rapeseed Rapeseed (''Brassica napus ''subsp.'' napus''), also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains a ...

. There is a relatively varied structure of manufacturing in the Svitavy district. Food and textile production comprise the main volume of manufacturing. However, the long-term importance of textile manufacturing is decreasing. Glass fibre production, metalworking and mechanical engineering are other important branches of manufacturing in the district.

Places of interest

* Hřebeč mining paths and museums *

with its château complex which is listed as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

* Renaissance historical core of Moravská Třebová *

with its town walls * Svojanov Castle * Toulovcovy maštale, nature reserve with a labyrinth of sandstone rocks * Protected Landscape Area Žďárské vrchy

List of municipalities

* Banín * Bělá nad Svitavou * Bělá u Jevíčka * Benátky * Bezděčí u Trnávky * Biskupice * Bohuňov * Bohuňovice * Borová * Borušov * Březina * Březinky * Březiny * Březová nad Svitavou *

* Budislav * Bystré * Cerekvice nad Loučnou * Chmelík * Chornice * Chotovice * Chotěnov * Chrastavec * Čistá * Desná * Dlouhá Loučka * Dolní Újezd * Dětřichov * Dětřichov u Moravské Třebové * Gruna * Hartinkov * Hartmanice * Horky * Horní Újezd * Hradec nad Svitavou * Janov * Janůvky * Jaroměřice * Jarošov * Javorník * Jedlová * Jevíčko * Kamenec u Poličky * Kamenná Horka * Karle * Koclířov * Korouhev * Koruna * Křenov * Kukle * Kunčina * Květná * Lavičné * Linhartice *

* Lubná * Makov * Malíkov * Mikuleč * Mladějov na Moravě * Moravská Třebová * Morašice *

Městečko Trnávka Městečko Trnávka (german: Markt Türnau) is a municipality and village in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,400 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Bohdalov, Lázy, Ludvíkov, Mezihoří, N ...

* Nedvězí * Němčice * Nová Sídla * Nová Ves u Jarošova * Oldřiš * Opatov * Opatovec * Osík * Pohledy *

* Pomezí * Poříčí u Litomyšle * Pustá Kamenice * Pustá Rybná * Příluka * '' Radiměř'' * Radkov * Řídký * Rohozná * Rozhraní * Rozstání * Rudná * Rychnov na Moravě * Sádek * Sebranice * Sedliště *

Široký Důl Široký Důl (german: Breitenthal) is a municipality and village in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 400 inhabitants. Široký Důl lies approximately west of Svitavy, south-east of Pardubice, and ...

* Sklené * Slatina * Sloupnice * Staré Město * Stašov * Strakov * Študlov * Suchá Lhota *

* '' Svojanov'' * Telecí * Trpín * Trstěnice * Tržek *

Třebařov Třebařov (; german: Triebendorf) is a municipality and village in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 900 inhabitants. Třebařov lies approximately north-east of Svitavy, east of Pardubice, and east o ...

* Újezdec * Útěchov * Vendolí * Vidlatá Seč * Víska u Jevíčka * Vítějeves * Vlčkov * Vranová Lhota * Vrážné * Vysoká * Želivsko

Gallery

File:Kostel bystre.jpg, Bystré u Poličky File:Moravská Třebová-náměstí s radnicí.jpg, Moravská Třebová File:Litomysl zamek od JZ DSCN0628.JPG, Litomyšl Castle File:De- Policka, Mariensäule.jpg,

File:Svitavy náměstí 2.jpg,

File:9- věž hradu Svojanov.jpg, Svojanov Castle File:Toulovcovy maštale.jpg, Toulovcovy maštale File:Zdarske.jpg, Žďárské vrchy

References

External links

List of towns and villages of the Svitavy District
{{authority control Districts of the Czech Republic