South Bohemia

(Jihočeský Kraj), an administrative region in Czechoslovakia, in the Czech Socialist Republic. Area, 11,300 sq km. Population, 676,000 (1976). The capital is České Budĕjovice.

South Bohemia, which occupies the southern part of the Bohemian Massif, is dominated by hilly plains with elevations of 300–600 m. The Šumava Mountains and Nové Hrady Hills lie in the south and southwest. The principal river is the Vltava. Much of the area is covered by forests. An industrial and agricultural region, South Bohemia accounts for 3.3 percent of Czechoslovakia’s industrial output and 8 percent of its agricultural output.

Concentrated in and around České Budĕjovice are the leading, and traditional, sectors of industry, including the lumber, wood-products, and pulp and paper industries and furniture production. Pencils are manufactured at the famous Koh-i-noor factory. A machine-building industry has developed, with production of motorcycles and machine tools in Strakonice, precision machine tools in Sezimovo Ústi, low-current machinery in Tábor, ventilating equipment in Milevsko, and sewing machines in Sobĕslav. Light industry is represented by the manufacture of textiles in Strakonice and Jindřchův Hradec, garments in Trĕboň, knitwear in Pisek, and synthetic fibers in Planá. There is also a food-processing industry. České Budĕjovice, the principal industrial center of the region, employs more than one-fifth of the industrial work force.

Agriculture is dominated by the cultivation of field crops—grains, potatoes, and forage crops; more than half of the cultivated land is planted to grains, mainly rye and oats. South Bohemia has large areas of mountain meadows and pastures. Dairy cattle are raised in the region. There are pond fisheries. A hydroelectric power plant is located on the Vltava River.