Karlovy Vary Region


The Karlovy Vary Region or Carlsbad Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the westernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Karlovy Vary. The region is world-famous for its spas, including Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně.

Administrative divisions

The Karlovy Vary Region is divided into 3 districts:
At a lower level, the region has 134 municipalities, comprising 56 in the Karlovy Vary District, 40 in the Cheb District and 38 in the Sokolov District.

Population

Karlovy Vary Region is the smallest region in the Czech Republic with a population of less than 300,000. Only 11 municipalities have higher population than 5,000. The largest municipality of the region is Karlovy Vary with a population of around 50,000. The table below shows the municipalities in Karlovy Vary Region with the largest population :
NamePopulationArea District
Karlovy Vary48,50159Karlovy Vary District
Cheb31,98896Cheb District
Sokolov23,24123Sokolov District
Ostrov16,73150Karlovy Vary District
Chodov13,39414Sokolov District
Aš13,21056Cheb District
Mariánské Lázně12,80052Cheb District

Other significant towns in Karlovy Vary Region are Nejdek, Kraslice, Františkovy Lázně and Horní Slavkov.

Economy

Spas

The region is well known for its spas and is responsible over half of the county's spa industry. Twelve spas can be found in the city of Karlovy Vary alone. Other famous spa towns in the region include Františkovy Lázně, Mariánské Lázně, Lázně Kynžvart and Jáchymov. The spas are visited not only by Czechs but by people from the rest of Europe, Russia, Israel and North America as well. Karlovy Vary spa wafers, a food item from the region, was awarded protected designation of origin status by the European Commission in 2011.
The water from the region is used in locally produced beverages including Mattoni from Karlovy Vary and Aquila from the village of Kyselka.

Black Triangle

The region is the home of two power stations, Vřesová and Tisová, both in the Sokolov District. The region is also part of the so-called Black Triangle, an area of heavy industrialization and environmental damage on the three-way border of Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

Transport

The Karlovy Region is served by Karlovy Vary Airport, which handled more than 100,000 passengers in 2012. The region is also home to two other airports, neither of which are used for passenger flights. These are Cheb Airport, the oldest airport in the country, and Mariánské Lázně Airport.
The region lacks any motorways. The unfinished R6 expressway passes through the region, linking Cheb and Karlovy Vary to Prague. The length of operated railway lines in the region is.

Education

The Czech University of Life Sciences Prague opened a centre in the village of Dalovice in the Karlovy Vary District in 2007. The private College of Karlovy Vary is also located in the region, in addition to regional centres of the Banking Institute / College of Banking in Karlovy Vary and the University of West Bohemia in Cheb and Sokolov.