Klatovy District

Klatovy District is divided into three administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence: Klatovy, Horažďovice and Sušice.

Klatovy District borders Germany in the southwest. The landscape is very rugged. Most of the territory has a foothill character, but along the state border, the landscape is mountainous, and in the northeast, the terrain is only slightly undulating. The territory extends into five geomorphological mesoregions: Bohemian Forest Foothills (centre and east), Bohemian Forest (south and southwest), Blatná Uplands (northeast), Švihov Highlands (northwest) and Cham-Furth Depression (small part in the west). The highest point of the district and of the entire Plzeň Region is the mountain Velká Mokrůvka in Modrava with an elevation of 1,370 m (4,490 ft). The lowest point is the river bed of the Úhlava in Červené Poříčí at 362 m (1,188 ft).

Klatovy District is the largest district of the Czech Republic. From the total district area of 1,945.6 km² (751.2 sq mi), agricultural land occupies 895.1 km² (345.6 sq mi), forests occupy 845.1 km² (326.3 sq mi), and water area occupies 34.3 km² (13.2 sq mi). Forests cover 43.4% of the district's area.^[1]

The area is rich in rivers. Both sources of the Otava River, Křemelná and Vydra, originate here. The Otava then continues to flow across the eastern part of the district. Similarly important is the Úhlava, which also springs here and flows through the western part of the district. The other important rives that springs here are Regen and Úslava.

The largest bodies of water are the Nýrsko Reservoir with an area of 148 ha (370 acres)^[3] and the fishpond Kovčínský rybník with an area of 106 ha (260 acres).^[4] Two of the few natural lakes in the country, Černé jezero and Čertovo jezero, lie within the district.

In the south is located a large part of the Šumava National Park. The territory in the southwest falls under the protection of the Šumava Protected Landscape Area.

The largest employers with headquarters in Klatovy District and at least 500 employees are:^[7]

There are no motorways passing through the district. The most important road is the I/27 (part of European route E53) from Plzeň to the Czech-German border via Klatovy.

The most important monuments in the district, protected as national cultural monuments, are:^[8]

• Rabí Castle
• Švihov Castle
• Velhartice Castle
• Červené Poříčí Castle
• Týnec Castle

The best-preserved settlements and landscapes, protected as monument reservations and monument zones, are:^[9]

Five of the ten most visited tourist destinations of the Plzeň Region are located in Klatovy District. The most visited tourist destinations are the Rabí Castle, Velhartice Castle, Klenová Castle, Kašperk Castle and Švihov Castle.^[10]