Statistická ročenka Karlovarského kraje

Characteristics of the Karlovarský Region

The Karlovarský Region is in particular famous for its spas. There are not only one of our most famous spas Karlovy Vary but also Mariánské Lázně, Františkovy Lázně, Lázně Kynžvart and Jáchymov in the Region. The spa in Kyselka is not currently in operation, however a reconstruction is under way and it should serve the public in future again. Along with mineral springs the region is rich with its natural mineral waters of which the most famous is Mattoni. In connection with spas what is also very popular are the spa wafers loved not only by local inhabitants but predominantly by spa guests from all over the world. Karlovy Vary apart from this are also famous for its herbal liquor Becherovka and the art of glassmakers from the Moser Company. The city Chodov was made famous by peach-blow, exported to the whole world. Among the cultural aspects it is mainly the International Film Festival Karlovy Vary that offers the meeting of domestic and foreign creators.

The Karlovarský Region is located in the west of the Czech Republic and was formed by the split of the Západočeský Region to form the Karlovarský and Plzeňský Region. In the north and west there is the state border with Germany, in the east its neighbour is the Ústecký Region and in the south the Plzeňský Region. Along with the Ústecký Region it forms the Northwest cohesion area, the so-called NUTS 2. The mountains Krušné hory are stretching along the national borders across these two regions. The highest point is Klínovec (1 244 m above sea level) in the Karlovy Vary District as well as the lowest point of the region (320 m above sea level), which is on the river Ohře on the borders of the region. The river Ohře is also the most important river in the Karlovarský Region and the whole area belongs to its basin. Other important rivers are Teplá, Rolava, Bystřice and Svatava. The most popular of these is the river Teplá, which flows into the river Ohře in Karlovy Vary and runs through the valley Karlovy Vary where most of the hot springs rise to the surface. These flow into the river and enable the formation of a kind of aragonite known as sinter and pisolite, both eliminated from hot Karlovy Vary springs for centuries. Their water has a lot of minerals and gases, mainly carbon dioxide dissolved. Artistic and commemorative items, tasteful paperweights, ashtrays are made from the bigger pieces, pieces are also garnished into box covers and probably the most popular are sinter roses. Among other natural resources the most important are reserves of brown coal in the area of Sokolov and further ceramic clay that led to a high number of porcelain manufactures almost all over the region. However the biggest contribution to the world’s response to our region have mainly reserves of mineral and healing waters, that enabled the origin of the above mentioned spas.

The region is formed by 3 districts – the Cheb, Karlovarský and Sokolovský Districts with a total of 132 municipalities, which are further divided into 518 parts. With its surface area the Karlovarský Region is one of the smallest, it takes only 4.2% of the whole CR. The most spacious district is the Karlovarský District (49% of the region) with the biggest number of municipalities (55) and the biggest share of living inhabitants (40%). The Sokolov and Cheb Districts are comparable as for the number of municipalities and space area.

There are 28 towns in the region; the biggest number is in the Sokolov District (10), however it has got less inhabitants (74 456 inhabitants) than 9 towns of the Cheb District (76 221 inhabitants) and the Karlovarský District (94 149 inhabitants). As at 31 December 2005 there were 307 274 inhabitants in municipalities of the Karlovarský Region, which is 3.0% of the CR’s population. The most populated is the Karlovarský Region, where as at 31 December 2005 there were 120 778 inhabitants in total, of which 48.7% (61 984) were women. With the population size the Karlovarský Region ranks on the 26th place in the Czech Republic. In the Sokolov District there were 93 379 persons and in the Cheb District 90 117 persons (52nd and 54th place in the CR).

Our region ranks on the last place with the absolute number of births (3 025 persons) and deaths (2 983 persons). If we, however, compare the number of births per 1 000 inhabitants (9.9 persons) then our Region ranks on the 6th place in the CR. With the number of deaths per 1 000 inhabitants (9.8 persons) the Karlovarský Region reached the smallest share and there is the smallest number of deaths. Along with the Liberecký Region (44 persons) only the Karlovarský Region (31 persons) reached a positive value of the natural increase of the population for 2005. This was however not the case for the increase due to migration. In 2005, 3 211 persons moved in to the Karlovarský Region and 3 556 moved out of the region, the balance hence being negative (-345 persons). This results ranks the Region on the last but one place behind the Moravskoslezský Region where migration also had a negative balance. Even though the natural increase in the Karlovarský Region is positive, the total increase is negative (-314 persons) and ranks the Region on the 12th place in the CR.

The environment in the Karlovarský Region shows significant differences. Even though it has the biggest share of forestation (50.7%) the worst situation is in the Sokolovský District where brown coal is extracted and there are several important industrial enterprises such as the power station Vřesová, judged as one of the biggest air polluters in the CR. From the total emissions (56 733t) produced in 2005 in the Karlovarský Region 86.5% falls on this district. Thanks to these high values our region is among the biggest air polluters in the CR along with the Ústecký and Moravskoslezský Regions. On the other hand the Karlovarský Region is right behind the Hl.m.Praha Region with the share of inhabitants connected to the public sewerage system (91.4%) and the share of cleaned waste water discharged (99.6%) ranks our Region also right behind the Hl.m.Praha Region.

Registered unemployment rate in the end of 2005 was 10.28% (12th place in the CR) and compared to 2004 it dropped by 0.47 percentage points. The lowest unemployment rate was in the Cheb District (8.14%) then in the Kralovy Vary (10.06%) and Sokolov Districts (12.73%). In 2005 there were 18 017 (709 less than in 2004) unemployed job applicants per 1 206 job vacancies. The Karlovy Vary District had the most applicants (7 181 persons), then the Sokolov District (6 544 persons) and the least the Cheb District (4 292 persons). The biggest representation among the unemployed had job applicants with basic education (8 841 persons, i.e. 49.1%) and vocational education (6 043 persons, i.e. 33.5%). With regards to the age of the unemployed, the biggest representation had the 50 – 54 age group (14.2%) and 20-24 age group (13.7%). The average age of job applicants (38.2 years) increased compared to the previous year by 1.5 years.

In 2005 there were 57 construction enterprises in total in the region with the smallest share of supply contracts for construction work. In spite of this 1 149 dwellings were completed i.e. by 646 more than in 2004 and the region ranked itself on the 3rd place in the CR (1.3 dwellings) in the number of completed dwellings per 1 000 inhabitants (3.8 dwellings). Within the Region the biggest number of dwellings per 1 000 inhabitants was built in the Cheb District (5.3 dwellings) and this district ranks on the 5th place among the districts in the CR. When we compare the number of completed dwellings in multi-dwelling houses per 1 000 inhabitants, the Karlovarský Region (2.1 dwellings) is right behind Hl.m.Praha (4.3 dwellings) and compared to districts the Chebský (3.6 dwellings) and Karlovy Vary (2.5 dwellings) Districts are right behind the Praha-západ District (5.9 dwellings).

Tourism is in the Karlovarský Region one of the most important industries. It is the target destination for guests from the CR and abroad mainly due to our spas. In 2005 there were 304 587 guests in our region with the average length of stay 7.4 days, which is within the CR (4.3 days) the biggest number of days. If we recalculate guests per 1 000 inhabitants of the region, we get 1 936.5 guests, the second highest value following the HL.m.Praha Region, which has traditionally the best position in tourism in the CR. The share of foreigners, who visited the Karlovarský Region last year is 68.8% and as the only region along with the Hl.m.Praha Region it recorded a higher number of foreign guests than domestic guests. Our region is the number one in the CR (3 939.8 guests) in the number of over night stays per 1 000 inhabitants (12 450.2 guests).

In 2005 health care in the Karlovarský Region was secured by 5 hospitals, 589 offices of physicians and other 137 health establishments. In total there were 1 109 doctors, of which 1 078 in non-state health establishments. In 2005 there were 80 pharmacies and dispensaries in the Karlovarský Region.

In connection with the spa tourism there is an adequate amount of cultural facilities and memorial zones on the territory of the Karlovarský Region. In total there are 11 theatres, 26 cinemas and more than 60 museums and galleries. These are completed with the offers of the spa symphonic orchestras and some of the festivals; the best known is the International Film Festival Karlovy Vary, which took place already for the 41st time this year. Among other cultural events belong for e.g. the Loket’s Cultural Summer, Chopin Festival Mariánské Lázně and Canoe Mattoni. This year, in cooperation with Germany, a Nature exhibition without borders took place in Cheb and Marktredwitz, which was supposed to revitalize parts of suburban land area that was ecologically overloaded. On these areas resting zones will be formed; these will, also after the end of their construction, serve as the recreation place of inhabitants and visitors of the city.