Statistická ročenka Pardubického kraje
Characteristics of the Pardubický Region
CHARACTERISTIC OF THE PARDUBICKÝ REGION
The Pardubický Region is located in the East of Bohemia. The position of the Region is further determined by the neighbouring Regions: Středočeský, Královehradecký, Olomoucký, Jihomoravský and Vysočina. The Královehradecký, Liberecký and Pardubický Regions together form a NUTS 2 territory – The Northeast. A part of the northeast border of the Region is also the national border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The borders of the Region are further formed by southern parts of Orlické hory (the Eagle Mountains) and westernmost parts of the Hrubý Jeseník Mountain Range. The highland parts of Železné hory (the Iron Mountains) together with Žďárské vrchy (the Žďár Hills) line the south and southeast, while the River Labe (Elbe) and the Labe lowland are situated in the central and western parts. Orlické hory, Žďárské vrchy, and Železné hory are national protected areas.
The area of 4 519 km2 (5,73 % of the CR’s area) ranks the Region fifth smallest one. Agricultural land makes 60,8 % of the total area, with arable land making 44,7 % of agricultural land. Forest land covers 29,3 % of the Region’s area. The highest point of the Region is the Mount Králický Sněžník (1 423 m above the sea level), which is the third highest point in the CR. The whole of the Mount Králický Sněžník area, involving remains of original vegetation, has been declared a national nature reserve. The lowest point of the Region is the surface of the River Labe at Kojnice (202 m above the sea level), near the western border of the Region.
The quality of the environment varies throughout the Region, owing to a great diversity in natural conditions, settlement, industrial and agricultural activities. It is the foothill and upland areas lacking any rather large settlements of central and southern parts of the Ústí nad Orlicí District and southern parts of the Chrudim District that suffer from the impact of human activities in the least degree. The greatest degree of that impact is seen in the area of concentrated industrial activities, settlement and traffic – the Pardubice area. Here, the environmental damage, resulting particularly from chemical and power engineering (the Paramo chemical works, the power plants Opatovice and Chvaletice), has grown to involve the most serious environmental problems within the whole CR.
Regarding water management, the Pardubický Region is a very important area with many water supplies, whose significance reaches beyond the regional level, of ground water as well as surface water drawn from watercourses. The Region involves many headstreams, without any inflow pollution from other catchment areas. A rather low degree of wastewater pollution is seen in middle and lower parts of watercourses, except for the River Labe and the upper course of the River Svitava. The three largest water surface areas are the Seč Reservoir (on the River Chrudimka), the Bohdaneč Pond (on the Opatovice River Channel) and the Pastviny Dam (on the River Divoká Orlice). Some parts of the Region are under large-scale protection measures, i.e. they involve water protection zones, or protected areas of natural water accumulation (CHOPAV). The ground water supplies are connected particularly with synclines of the Czech Cretaceous Basin in eastern Bohemia (the Districts Ústí nad Orlicí and Svitavy) and with the Labe quaternary sediments (the Pardubice District).
The Pardubický Region comprises four Districts (Chrudim, Pardubice, Svitavy, and Ústí nad Orlicí) and 453 municipalities, which is the sixth lowest number of municipalities among the 14 Regions in the CR. The average cadastral area of municipality 10 km2 is the third smallest in the CR and the average mean number of population 1 123 inhabitants ranks the Region tenth in the CR. And it is the co-operation among municipalities that is the basis for the gradual process of forming micro-regions, which is one of the Region’s strengths that might enhance its overall development. Of the Region’s population, 13,7 % live in municipalities under 500 inhabitants, which is by two thirds higher than the national average. There is seen a gradual increase in the share of municipalities of the population between 500-1 999, which now makes 23,4 %, being by one third higher than the national average. The percentage of population living in municipalities of 2 000-9 999 inhabitants is by one tenth higher than the national average. The percentage of population living in municipalities of over 10 000 inhabitants makes 41,2 %, which is about by one third lower than the national average. In the Region’s capital Pardubice, there live 18,0 % of the population of the Region.
The Region’s population was 508 566 as at 31 December 2000, which is about 5 % of the CR’s total population. By comparison with previous years there is a slight constant decrease – comparing to 1999, the decrease is by 3 %. The following Districts rank among the most populated: Pardubice, Ústí nad Orlicí, Chrudim and Svitavy, respectively. The following towns rank among the most populated: Pardubice, Chrudim and Svitavy. Regarding the distribution of the population by age in 2000 when compared to 1999, there was a decrease in the under-15 age group, which was influenced by the decrease in births, while an increase was observed in the 15-94 age group (by 4,1 %) as well as in the 65+ age group (by 6,7 %). The ratio of 65+ population to that under 15 (the index of seniority) amounted to 83,5 (in 1999, it was 81,0). As for the relative indicators of demographic statistics, attention should be paid to the fact of the second lowest neonatal mortality compared to other Regions (0,9 %).
One of the fundamental requirements to reverse the disadvantageous demographic development is to stimulate housing construction, which, in fact, has kept increasing since 1997 in terms of the number of completed dwellings. In 2000, there were completed 1 542 dwellings (which is below the national average by 14,4 %).
The 2000 average registered number of employees was 127 763 F/T equivalent persons, which is by 2,8 % less than the 1999 figure. Regarding the number of employees in relation to the breakdown of industrial activities, a high percentage of employees, compared to the national average, is reported in agriculture (8,3 %), industry (45,5 %), construction (7,7 %), education (10,2 %), and human health activities (6,7 %). Taking a long-term view, the trend of restructuring of the Region’s economy is observed, with the transfer from the primary and secondary spheres to the tertiary sphere taking place. The average monthly wage in the Pardubice Region has been experiencing a continual increase over last years, amounting to CZK 12 034, which makes 85 % of the national average. Regarding industrial breakdown, the highest average wages were paid by bank and insurance houses (CZK 19 359), and companies falling under production of electricity and manufacture of gas (CZK 19 019).
The registered unemployment rate was 7,87 % as at 31 December 2000 (the eighth place among the Regions), which is by 1,16 % lower than the 1999 rate. The highest unemployment rates are reported in the Svitavy District (10,79 %) and the Chrudim District (9,44 %). The registered number of the unemployed, amounting to 19 896 persons and making 4,4 % of the unemployed in the whole CR, has kept regularly increasing by 35-40 % a year since 1996, amounting to the number 2,6 times higher in 1999. However, in 2000 there was a decrease by 14,8 % when compared to 1999. The highest share of job applicants is formed by the 25-34 age group. Females make 51,5 % of the unemployed; persons with a reduced capability to work make 14,3 %. Regarding educational attainment, most of the job applicants are observed among persons with secondary vocational education (44,2 %) and basic education (27,8 %). There were six job applicants per vacancy in the Region (which is by over 50 % less than in 1999); regarding persons with reduced capability to work, there were 17 job applicants per vacancy.
In 1999, the purchasing power standard GDP per inhabitant was 47,2 % of the EU average, while in 1998 the percentage was by five percentage points higher. Six branches of industry make a significant contribution to the Region’s GDP, comprising 77 % of the Region’s gross value added. The decisive role is played by the manufacturing industry, whose gross value added kept gradually increasing and its share in the Region’s gross value added ranged from 30,1 % in 1993 to 33,7 % in 1999. In 1997, the share reached 35,9 %. A similar development was seen in construction, though it concerned lower volume levels: the share of its gross value added in the Region’s gross value added floated between 7-9 % and even exceeded 9 % in 1995-1996. The share of agriculture in the Region’s gross value added was floating within 6,8 %-8,1 % in 1993-1999. A similar development was seen in transport. Its share floated between about 8,5-9,5 %. Trade reached the highest percentage of gross value added (13,4 %) in 1994; after a fluctuating development the 1999 share was reported 12,6 %. Real estate share fluctuated as well – from 1993 to 1997 it decreased from about 9 % to 7 %, although there was an increase in volume. In 1993, two more branches reported a gross value added share that exceeded 6 % of the Region’s gross value added: the group Production and Distribution of Electricity, and the section Financial Intermediation. These two were stagnating, with a slight tendency to fall, and finally fell to 4 %.
Regarding transport, there is the total of 500 km of rail tracks in the Region. The most important track is a part of the international rail highway E040 (connecting Paris, Nuremberg, Praha and Vienna) and the rail highway E061 as well (connecting Berlin, Praha, Brno and Vienna). This track goes through the Region via the following towns and cities: Chvaletice, Přelouč, Pardubice, Choceň, Ústí nad Orlicí and Česká Třebová. In Česká Třebová the track divides to go on either to Olomouc and Ostrava, or to Svitavy and Brno. In Pardubice, tracks of national relevance link to the main track, providing the connection to Liberec, and to Havlíčkův Brod via Chrudim and Hlinsko. Current road network comprises the total of 3 654 km (roads classified into class I: 445 km; roads classified into class II: 913 km). The most important route is the road No. I/37 coming from the north via Pardubice and Chrudim towards Ždírec nad Doubravou. In Chrudim, it meets the road No. I/17 leading from Čáslav, via Heřmanův Městec, Hrochův Týnec to Zámrsk. The Southeast of the Region has its main road nod at Svitavy. The road No. I/35 leads northwestwards via Litomyšl, Vysoké Mýto, and Holice towards Hradec Králové. In future, the expected extension further eastwards of the current highway route Praha – Poděbrady should be the turning point in the road transport matters. The speed-traffic road R35 should link to the proposed highway route northwards from Pardubice, being thus the backbone road in the Region. As for the air transport, the international airport in Pardubice plays the principal role, providing both military and civil air traffic operation and being one of the five backbones airports of the country. Other, and smaller, airports in the Region are intended rather for sporting aviation, though some of them can operate general air traffic or serve as alternate military airdromes. In terms of water transport, only a short navigable part of the River Labe is in use. The establishment of a new large river port in Pardubice along with adjacent trading area significantly promotes this kind of freight transport. In the summer 2000, river transport was commenced on a regular seasonal basis to operate on the route Kunětická Hora – Pardubice – Přelouč.
Regarding education, there was reported the total of 333 nursery schools in the Pardubický Region, with 14 757 enrolled children. Other educational establishments comprise: 65 special schools (334 classes, 3 143 pupils), 240 basic schools (2 425 classes, 53 563 pupils), 20 grammar schools (6 681 pupils), 45 secondary technical schools (9 893 initial study pupils), 31 secondary vocational schools (8 921 pupils) and 11 higher professional schools (1 233 initial-study students). Last, but not least, there is the University of Pardubice comprising three faculties.
As for health care, the Pardubický Region involved the following establishments in 2000: 10 hospitals (2 536 beds), seven out-patient establishments, six associated out-patient establishments, four District or Regional health establishments, four specialised therapeutic institutions (1 002 beds), eight therapeutic institutions for long-term patients (567 beds), two institutions for infants, three creches (43 places), 42 social care establishments (3 982 places) and 125 pharmacies and health care goods shops. Besides the establishments mentioned above, there are other various independent health establishments in the Region (e.g. GP’s consulting rooms, specialist’s consulting rooms, establishments run by a person with non-medical university education, independent laboratories, etc.). The 2000 F/T equivalent number of physicians was 1 537 (993 physicians at non-government establishments). There were 330 inhabitants per physician in 2000.
The Pardubický Region has a great potential for the development of tourism. One can find there lowland as well as mountainous landscape, agreeable climate as well as many places fit for bathing, water sports, hiking, cycling tourism and winter sports. Agrotourism is winning popularity throughout the whole Region (in the foothill areas, in particular), especially the estates devoted to traditional horse breeding play a primary role. To be specific, the Mount Králický Sněžník area, for instance, both on the Czech and Polish side of the border offers many possibilities of international co-operation as well as unique natural surroundings that should be preserved for future generations. The area has a great potential in terms of recreation activities, which has not been fully acknowledged yet. Both the Czech Republic and Poland see the area as quite peripheral and problematic regarding economic development. It is the development of tourism that could tackle the undesirable economic situation in the area to a certain degree. In 2000, there was the average total of 372 accommodation establishments in the Pardubický Region, providing service to 329 232 guests. The average number of overnight stays was 4,5 and the average length of stay 5,5 days.
Various cultural activities logically go hand in hand with tourism. The most important cultural attraction is perhaps the Castle of Pardubice where there are to see the exhibits of the Východočeské muzeum (Museum of East Bohemia) and the Východočeská galerie (Gallery of East Bohemia). Other cultural attractions include Muzeum loutkářských kultur (the Puppet Museum) in the Chrudim District, and Památník dr. Emila Holuba – Africké muzeum (the Dr. Emil Holub Memorial - Museum of Africa) in Holice. In addition, The Pardubický Region is also a Region of music. It is not only Pardubické hudební jaro (the Pardubice Music Spring) and famous Komorní filharmonie (the Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra) representing our country at the international level, but also Smetanova Litomyšl (Smatana’s Litomyšl), the festival of classical music, or other music festivals held in Polička. Východočeské divadlo (the Theatre of East Bohemia) in Pardubice is the most well-known theatre with a permanent ensemble. Přelouč has hosted for several years the awarding ceremony of Cena Františka Filipovského (the Prize of František Filipovský) for dubbing.
Regarding sports activities, the Pardubice Horserace Course, where the Velká Pardubická Steeplechase is held, is the most well-known. Motor sports fans are certain to recall the speedway race Zlatá přílba České republiky (the Golden Helm of the Czech Republic). Moreover, the Pardubický Region ranks on the top in connection with other sports, too. It is the ice hockey with the Pardubice extra league team breeding players of international quality; it is the tennis courts frequently remembered by almost every Czech famous tennis player, because it is the training campus for juniors in Pardubice that opens professional career for talented youth.
Regarding the Pardubický Region in the light of the European Union, there is the currently operating CBC Phare Program, which started in 1994. An important achievement is that in 2000 the Program was enlarged to involve the CR-Poland border area and that within the scope of the program a fund of small-scale non-investment projects was created for the first year of the operation, applying to the Euroregion Glacensis border Districts and amounting to EUR 105 thousand. Thus, the Pardubický Region, with some of its municipalities involved in the Euroregion, has the opportunity to take part.