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Regions
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WELCOME TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC'S REGIONS
Welcome to the Czech Republic's RegionsLadies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends, even though in terms of size the Czech Republic is one the smaller countries in the world, I am convinced that its name and reputation are well known far beyond our borders. I am also quite certain that it only takes the mention of a few names from Czech history (Charles IV, Hus, Comenius or Masaryk), from the arts (Dvořák, Janáček, Martinů, Mucha, Čapek or Kundera) or from sport (Zátopek, Čáslavská, Navrátilová, Jágr or Nedvěd) for the majority of people to know which is the country in question. As of January 1, 2000, our constitution divides the country into thirteen regions and the capital city of Prague, which also has the status of a region. These regions vary greatly in terms of size and population: while the most populous region, the Region of Moravia-Silesia, has 1.25 million inhabitants, the least populous, the Region of Karlovy Vary, has only slightly more than 300,000 inha-bitants. The first elections to regional assemblies took place in November 2000 and the regions came into de facto existence as of January 1, 2001. The goals of creating these regions were to bring government administration closer to the people and to move decision-making from the center closer to where these decisions are carried out. At the present, the regions are responsible for the building and maintenance of local roads, the administration of secondary schools, selected cultural and social institutions and also for some medical institutions that have been transferred from the national government. In the area of local autonomy, the regions are primarily responsible for their own economic development, which is primarily focused on attempts to attract investors and the creation of new jobs. In some parts of the Czech Republic, particularly in the capital city of Prague and its immediate surroundings, the levels of investment are satisfactory while other parts of the country must deal with serious problems arising from a change from the traditional structure of heavy industry to modern, high tech fields. No less important is the development of tourism and increasing the interest of foreign tourists in our country. As the governor of the Region of Moravia-Silesia and the chairman of the Association of Regions of the Czech Republic, I am convinced that the presentation of individual regions as a part of our country’s exposition at the Expo 2005 world exposition in Aichi, Japan, will contribute to a knowledge and understanding of the beauty and diversity of our country and that it will result in an increased desire for information on the part of visitors looking for an interesting vacation or establishing business contacts. Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, welcome to the Czech Republic's regions! Evžen Tošenovský |
