A '' Kraj'' ( ''kraje'') is the highest-level administrative unit in the

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

and the Slovak Republic. For lack of other English expressions, the Slavic term is often translated as "

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

", "

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

", or "

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

", although it approximately means "(part of) country", or "(part of) countryside". A ''kraj'' is subdivided into ''

okres Okres (Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, 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 " ...

y'' ("districts"). The first ''kraje'' were created in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

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

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

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

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

nine of the 85 federal subjects are called krais (, ''kraya''), coequal to

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

s. The toponym Krajina refers to several historical regions in Slavic countries.

Kraje in the Czech Republic

Kraje in Slovakia

Toponymy

Kraj is also found as a toponym outside of Czech- and Slovak-speaking areas. * Almaški Kraj, a part of Novi Sad, Serbia * Gerovski Kraj, a village near Čabar, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia * Jovanovski Kraj, a former name of Rotkvarija/Žitni Trg, a part of Novi Sad, Serbia * Končarev Kraj, a village near Plitvička Jezera, Lika-Senj County, Croatia * Kraj, Pašman, a village in Zadar County, Croatia * Kraj, Split-Dalmatia County, a village in Dicmo, Croatia * Kraj, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, a village near Mošćenička Draga, Croatia *

Kraj Donji Kraj Donji is a village near Marija Gorica, Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary t ...

, a village near Marija Gorica, Croatia * Kraj Drage, a village near Sveta Nedelja, Istria County, Croatia *

Kraj Gornji 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 i ...

, a village near

Marija Gorica Marija Gorica () is a municipality in western Zagreb County of Croatia on the border with Slovenia. History The name of the settlement is derived from the patron saint of the parish church, which is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Vir ...

, Croatia * Rašića Kraj, a hamlet near Vranići, Serbia * Srednji Kraj, a village near Barajevo, Serbia

Anthroponymy

Kraj is also found as a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Rudolf Kraj (born 1977), a Czech boxer

Other uses

* Kraj (song), 2009 single by the Macedonian singer Karolina Gočeva

References

External links

*
etymology of the word
{{authority control Types of administrative division Slovak words and phrases