Pardubice Region () is an administrative unit () of 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 ...
, located mainly in the eastern part of its historical region of
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
, with a small part in northwestern
Moravia
Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The medieval and early ...
. It is named after its capital
Pardubice
Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...
. As an administrative unit, Pardubice Region has existed three times in the course of history. It was established for the first time in 1850, and extended from
Český Brod to the Bohemian-Moravian border. In its second existence, it was one of 19 regions as they were set between 1949 and 1960. After 1960, Pardubice became the capital of Pardubice district, which was part of the Eastern Bohemian Region (capital
Hradec Králové
Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...
). The Pardubice Region, as it is now, was reestablished in 2000.
Administrative divisions
The Pardubice Region is divided into 4 districts:
There are a total of 451 municipalities in the region (as of 2019).
Among these are 15 municipalities with extended powers and 26 municipalities with a delegated municipal office. Thirty-two of the municipalities are classified as towns. The regional central offices are in Pardubice.
Population
The total population of the Pardubice Region is about 530,000. 17 municipalities have a higher population than 5,000. The largest municipality of the region is
Pardubice
Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...
with a population of more than 90,000. The table below shows the municipalities in Pardubice Region with the largest population (as of 1 January 2024).
Other significant towns in Pardubice Region are
Hlinsko
Hlinsko () is a town in Chrudim District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,600 inhabitants. The local part of Betlém is well preserved example of folk architecture and is protected as a Cultural monument (Czech Republi ...
,
Přelouč,
Polička,
Choceň
Choceň (; ) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,600 inhabitants.
Administrative division
Choceň consists of seven municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 c ...
,
Holice,
Letohrad and
Žamberk
Žamberk (; ) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zon ...
.
Geography
With a total size of 4,519 km
2, Pardubice is the fifth smallest region in the Czech Republic.
Králický Sněžník
Králický Sněžník () or Śnieżnik () is a mountain on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. With , it is the highest mountain of the Králický Sněžník Mountains.
Etymology
The name ''Sněžník'' or ''Śnieżnik'' derives ...
(1,424 m) is the highest point in the region. The lowest point (201 m) is situated on the water surface of the
Elbe
The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) 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 Republic), then Ge ...
River near Kojice.
The southern and southeastern parts of the region are home to the hilly areas of
Upper Svratka Highlands and
Iron Mountains
The Iron Mountains are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These mountains are located around the common meeting point of Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina.
A portion of the Appalachian Trail runs the crest of the Iron Mountains ab ...
. The central and western parts of the region are formed by the
Polabí lowlands. In the northeast, the region reaches the
Orlické Mountains
The Orlické Mountains (, , ) or Eagle Mountains are a mountain range located mainly in northeastern Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is a mesoregion of the Central Sudetes. They follow the border with Kłodzko Land in Poland
Poland, of ...
and
Hrubý Jeseník range.
The
European Watershed runs through the region, where it separates the basins of the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
and the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
. The tripoint of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
(Black Sea),
Elbe
The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) 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 Republic), then Ge ...
(North Sea) and
Oder
The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...
(
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
) watersheds is located at the peak of
Králický Sněžník
Králický Sněžník () or Śnieżnik () is a mountain on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. With , it is the highest mountain of the Králický Sněžník Mountains.
Etymology
The name ''Sněžník'' or ''Śnieżnik'' derives ...
. The majority of the region belongs to the
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land in which 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, ...
of the Elbe, consisting of the rivers
Chrudimka,
Divoká Orlice
The Divoká Orlice (, ) is a river in the Czech Republic and Poland. It flows through Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland and through the Hradec Králové and Pardubice regions. It is the upper and middle course of the Orlice, but usually it is c ...
, Doubrava, Loučná,
Tichá Orlice and Třebovka. The rivers in the drainage basin of the Danube are the Morava, Moravská Sázava, Svitava and Třebůvka. The
Seč Reservoir (220 ha) and the Pastviny Reservoir (92 ha) are among the larger water bodies in the region.
The most prevalent soil types in the region are
podzol and
cambisol. Forests cover 29.6% of the region and are predominantly
coniferous
Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...
.
Deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
forests occur around Pardubice.
Climate
Pardubice Region has a continental climate characterized by relatively hot summers and cold winters. The climate in Pardubice Region differs depending on location. The areas in the
Polabí lowlands in the western part of the region are relatively warmer with annual mean temperatures reaching 8 °C. On the other hand, the coldest areas are situated in the hilly northeastern part of the region, where the annual mean temperatures are around 4 °C.
Precipitation is relatively lower in the central part of the region where the total annual values are around 700 – 800 mm. In the areas with higher elevation (such as Žďárské Vrchy or the foothills of Orlické Hory) there is higher precipitation with annual values of 800 – 1,000 mm.
Economy
The
gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
(GDP) per capita of the region was 81.1% of the national average in 2011. Services form the largest part of the region's economy, forming 52.4% of GDP in 2011. Other significant sectors are industry (36.9% of GDP) and construction (7.2% of GDP). The registered
unemployment rate
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work d ...
was 8.44% at the end of 2011. The highest unemployment rate was in
Svitavy District
Svitavy District () is a district in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Svitavy.
Administrative division
Svitavy District is divided into four administrative districts of municipalities with extended competenc ...
.

* Industry
Industry and commercial public services are the basis of Pardubice's economy. General engineering, textiles, clothing, and leather processing are the strongest industrial branches. The chemical industry in Pardubice Region is larger than anywhere else in the Czech Republic.
* Transport
Road networks make up 3,597 km that transverse throughout the region. Roads I/35 and I/37 (connecting to I/17 in Chrudim) are noted as the most important. A 9 km section of the
D11 motorway connect the region to Prague. The two-lane
R35 expressway is planned to cross the region and connect it with Liberec, Germany and the Moravian network of highways and expressways.
There are 542 km of railways in the region, connecting it to Prague, Brno, Liberec, Olomouc, Ostrava, and to Poland. The railway corridor of Berlin – Prague – Brno – Vienna crosses the region and in Pardubice it is connected to routes of national significance to Liberec and Havlíčkův Brod.
Pardubice has an
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...
, operating for both public and military flights, which is listed in the category of the top 5 airports in the Czech Republic.
* Agriculture
Agriculture plays an important role in the region. The agricultural land covers about 60.2% of all land in the region, while the
arable land
Arable land (from the , "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 the purposes of a ...
occupies 43.8%. Forests cover 29.6% of the region.
* Tourism
Attractions from natural tourist spots (such as the Železné Hory and the Orlické Hory) to historical monuments, mostly medieval castles established since the 13th century, all encourage tourism to the region. The most significant historical monuments in the region are connected with the noble Pernštejn family from Moravia, who had two huge castles built, at
Litice nad Orlicí
Litice nad Orlicí () is a village and administrative part of Záchlumí in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landl ...
, and on Kunětická hora near Pardubice.
In 2011 there were 365 facilities providing accommodation in the region for 324,000 visitors.
Education and health care
In 2011 there were:
* 309 kindergartens with 17,994 students
* 251 elementary schools with 41,184 students
* 21 secondary elementary schools (Czech: ''
gymnázium'') with 6,305 students
* 55 high schools with 16,413 students
* 10 colleges (Czech: ''vyšší odborná škola'') with 1,135 students
*
University of Pardubice with seven faculties and more than 10,000 students.
Furthermore, there were nine hospitals with a capacity of 2,584 patients. In total, there were 2,009 doctors in the region and the patient-per-doctor ratio was 257.
Places of interest
*National Breeding Stud at
Kladruby nad Labem
*
Králíky and
Králický Sněžník
Králický Sněžník () or Śnieżnik () is a mountain on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. With , it is the highest mountain of the Králický Sněžník Mountains.
Etymology
The name ''Sněžník'' or ''Śnieżnik'' derives ...
National Nature Reserve
*
Kunětická hora Castle
Kunětická hora Castle () is a castle in the municipality of Ráby in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. The castle lies on Kunětická hora Hill, about 6 km from the city of Pardubice. The castle played an important role duri ...
*
Lanškroun Ponds Nature Park
Lanškroun Ponds Nature Park () is a nature park in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It includes the Lanškroun Ponds Nature Reserve.
Location
Lanškroun Ponds Nature Park is located mostly in the muni ...
*
Letohrad and its Museum of Crafts
*
Litomyšl
Litomyšl (; ) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 10,000 inhabitants. It is a former bishopric and Latin Catholic titular see. Litomyšl is known for the château-type castle complex of the Lit ...
with the Renaissance Chateau
*
Nové Hrady Chateau
*
Pardubice
Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...
with the Pardubice Chateau and Grand Pardubice Steeplechase
*
Svojanov Castle
*
Veselý Kopec, the largest collection of folk architecture in Bohemia
*Železné Hory National Geopark
Gallery
Chrudim - kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie.jpg, Chrudim
Kralicky-Sneznik-01.jpg, Kralický Sněžník
Kunětická Hora from air M1 -2.jpg, Kunětická hora Castle
Lanskroun-radnice1.jpg, Lanškroun Town Hall
Litomysl zamek od JZ DSCN0628.JPG, Litomyšl Chateau
Moravská Třebová-náměstí s radnicí.jpg, Moravská Třebová
Zámek Nové Hrady.JPG, Nové Hrady Castle
Zamek Pardubice.jpg, Pardubice Castle
De- Policka, Mariensäule.jpg, Polička
Slatinany CZ castle from E 0298.jpg, Slatiňany Castle
VeselýKopec2008g.jpg, Veselý Kopec
Lichnice-leden.jpg, Iron Mountains
References
External links
*
*
Official tourist portal
{{authority control
Regions of the Czech Republic