North Bohemia

(Severočeský Kraj), an administrative and territorial unit (region) in Czechoslovakia, in the northwestern Czech Socialist Republic. Area, 7,800 sq km. Population, 1.1 million (1973). The capital is Ústí nad Labem.

To the west and north, along the border with the German Democratic Republic, are the Krušné Hory (Erzgebirge or Ore Mountains), the Lužické Hory (Lausitzer Gebirge or Lusatian Mountains), and the Jizerské Hory (Isergebirge or Jizera Mountains), which reach elevations of more than 1,000 m. To the south and east the mountains decrease in elevation, gradually giving way to rolling foothills and eventually to a fertile, arable plain watered by the Elbe River and its tributaries.

North Bohemia is one of Czechoslovakia’s most advanced industrial regions. It produces much of the country’s fuel and energy and accounts for approximately one-eighth of the country’s industrial production. Approximately 50 percent of the work force is employed in industry, and 10 percent in agriculture. North Bohemia produces most of the country’s lignite, at Most, Litvinov, Duchcov, and Bilina. Steam power plants at Tušimice, Prunéřov, Počerady, Komořany, Ervěnice, and elsewhere produce electric power. North Bohemia has a chemical industry—for example, at the Czechoslovak-Soviet Friendship Plant in Záluží, and at Ústí nad Labem and Lovosice. Liberec and its environs, Ústí nad Labem, and Děĝín have machine building. Since the institution of people’s rule, old branches of industry have been completely rebuilt and thoroughly modernized—for example, the textile industry, which is located for the most part in the northern foothills, and the glass industry, which is centered in Nový Bor and Jablonec, known for the production of costume jewelry.

Agriculture in North Bohemia is noted for horticulture and the growing of hops, especially in the famous žatec hops-growing region. Wheat, barley, and sugar beets are grown in the valleys of the Elbe and Ohře rivers, and rye, forage grasses, and potatoes in the foothills and Liberec and Kutná Hora basins. Cattle are raised primarily for meat and partly for dairy products. The Elbe is navigable; the largest wharves are at Ústí nad Labem and Děčin.