Zlín Region

The Zlín Region is divided into 4 districts:

Districts of Zlín Region    Kroměříž    Uherské Hradiště    Vsetín    Zlín

The Zlín Region was established on 1 January 2000 on the basis of the constitutional act No. 347 from 3 December 1997 on foundation of higher self-governing units. It was formed by a merger of parts of Jihomoravský Region (the Zlín District, the Kroměříž District and the Uherské Hradiště District), and the Severomoravský Region (the Vsetín District. The region has in total 307 municipalities of which 30 are towns. There are 13 municipalities with extended powers and 25 territorial districts of municipalities with authorized municipal office.[2] According to government statistics, the Zlín Region is the safest region in the Czech Republic; it has the lowest number of assaults, rapes, suicides and road accidents in the country.[3] Geologically the Zlín Region is within the Vizovice Highlands.

With its area of 3,964 km², Zlín Region is the fourth smallest region of the Czech Republic. The character of the region's territory is very diverse. While parts of the region are hilly, flat fertile areas of Haná and Slovácko stretch in the Kroměříž District and the Uherské Hradiště District. The Moravian-Silesian Beskids (in Czech: Moravskoslezské Beskydy) with its highest peak Čertův mlýn mountain (1,206 m) is situated in the northern part of the region and the Maple Mountains mountain range (in Czech: Javorníky) with its highest peak of Velký Javorník (1,071 m) is located in the east. Towards the south, forming the border with Slovakia, there is the White Carpathians mountain range (in Czech: Bílé Karpaty) with its highest mountain of Velká Javořina (970 m). The highlands of Hostýn-Vsetín Highlands (in Czech: Hostýnsko–Vsetínská hornatina) and Vizovice Highlands (in Czech: Vizovická vrchovina) pass south of the Moravian-Silesian Beskids mountain range. On the south-western part of the Region, there are Chřiby highlands with the highest point Brdo (587 m). The Upper Moravian vale (in Czech: Hornomoravský úval) passes through from the west among the highlands of Chřiby highlands and above mentioned hilly countries through the Kroměříž District up to the Zlín District. The Lower Moravia vale (in Czech: Dolnomoravský úval) passes through along the Morava River in the Uherské Hradiště District to South Moravian Region.

Most of the streams in the area flow to Morava River. The most important ones are the Bečva River in the northern part and the Olšava River in the southern part. Morava River is the biggest river of the Region flowing through both the vales from west to the south.

The region's climate is rather favourable. The average temperature of air was 9.8 °C in 2012 and the total amount of precipitation was 598.6 mm/m2.

Most of the soils in the region are poor in minerals (with the exception of potassium and magnesium) and humus. These are the brown earth of the highlands and the podzolic soils that locally pass to brown earth of the lower locations towards the south. In the vales, there are very fertile brown earth and chernozem. High-quality floodplain soils surround the Morava River. It is rather difficult to cultivate soil in a large part of the Region due to the steep land and variety of the terrain.[2]

Regional representatives voted in 2001 on a proposed name change to the region. The alternative Východomoravský kraj (East Moravian Region) was proposed, however a majority of voters elected to retain the region's existing name.[4]

Corporate Town of Zlín

As of 1 January 2019, the region had 582,921 inhabitants. The share of males on the total population was 49.0%. Average age was 43.1 years, along with Hradec Králové Region the highest in the Czech Republic.[5] The density of population of 147 inhabitants per km² exceeds the national average. The highest density of population occurs in the Zlín District (185 inhabitants per km²) and the lowest in the Vsetín District (125 inhabitants per km²).[5] The table shows cities and towns in the region with the largest population (as of January 1, 2019):[5]

Name	Population	Area (km²)	District
Zlín	74,997	103	Zlín District
Kroměříž	28,816	51	Kroměříž District
Vsetín	26,092	58	Vsetín District
Uherské Hradiště	25,212	21	Uherské Hradiště District
Valašské Meziříčí	22,217	35	Vsetín District
Otrokovice	17,876	20	Zlín District
Uherský Brod	16,493	52	Uherské Hradiště District
Rožnov pod Radhoštěm	16,420	39	Vsetín District
Holešov	11,606	34	Kroměříž District
Bystřice pod Hostýnem	8,169	27	Kroměříž District

Other significant towns in Zlín Region are Napajedla, Hulín, Staré Město and Slavičín.

Skyscraper "21" in Zlín

The economy in the region was and still is based primarily on capitalisation of input raw materials and semifinished products. In 2012, the total GDP reached 7,538 million EUR. The region’s GDP per capita was EUR 12,813 (88% of the national average), ranking seventh among the regions of the Czech Republic. Industrial potential of the region lies in manufacturing enterprises that represent 16% of total registered entities. They are mainly comprised by metalworking and wood-processing industries. However, they suffer from low level of modernisation of production compared to the rest of the Czech Republic. As of end 2012, the Zlín Region had 138,269 legal and physical entities out of which 14,379 had employees. 1,382 enterprises had 25 or more employees. The registered unemployment rate was 10.4%. Within the region, the highest unemployment rate was reported from the Vsetín District (almost 15%), while the lowest from the Zlín District (8.8%).[2]

Transport

Tomas Bata Memorial

A total of 17 km (11 mi) of motorway is present in the region.[6] The length of operated railway lines in the region is 359 km (223 mi).[6]

• Spa Luhačovice – Tens of thousands of visitors arrive every year to the biggest Moravian spa in order to relax and gain health. The spa has a long tradition of spa treatments of the respiratory system, digestive system, diabetes and locomotive organs. Very famous are the curative springs, favourable climatic conditions and also the typical architecture.
• Down-hill and cross country skiing is possible in Pustevny, Portáš, Velké Karlovice, the Chřiby highlands and Hostýn-Vsetín Highlands.
• Along the Morava River there is the Moravian cycle route, which is connected to the Austrian and Slovak cycle routes.
• Mountain climbers can practice in The Pulčín rocks, Lačnov rocks or Čertovy rocks.
• An original experience is the voyage on the Baťa canal (in Czech: Baťův kanál).
• Water reservoirs Horní Bečva, Bystříčka, Ostrožovská Nová Ves, Rusava, Pozlovice and Smraďavka.
• A worldwide appreciation is given to the Podzámecká and Květná gardens and archiepiscopal castle in Kroměříž, which are entered in the UNESCO List of World Cultural Heritage.
• Holešov with its museum of Jewish culture
• The gothic castle Buchlov, the baroque castle in Buchlovice and Velehrad pilgrimage place
• The monument of Great Moravia in Staré Město
• The Valašské museum in nature and open-air museum in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm
• Area of buildings in Pustevny, the statute of pagan god Radegast and sculptural group of Cyril and Methodius in Radhošť
• The zoological garden with a castle in Lešná
• The Museum of footwear in Zlín.
• The events that document the ethnographic richness of the region are the Carnival in Strání, Ride of kings in Vlčnov or the Kopaničářský festival in Starý Hrozenkov. Every year the Summer film school takes place in Uherské Hradiště and the International film festival for children and the young in Zlín.[2]

• 
  The Buchlov castle
• 
  Čertovy skály in Lidečko, Vsetín District
• 
  Town square in Kroměříž
• 
  Jurkovič House in Luhačovice
• 
  Libušín chalet in Pustevny, Moravian-Silesian Beskids
• 
  Shah Synagogue in Holešov
• 
  Marian column in Uherské Hradiště
• 
  Wallachian Open Air Museum in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm
• 
  The office of Tomáš Baťa in Zlín

• Zlínský kraj Official website (in English)
• Zlínský kraj Official website (in Czech)
• Region statistics