The Environment Ministry has launched the process of declaring Krusne hory (Ore Mountains) a protected landscape area (PLA), the Environment Ministry announced on Monday. The new PLA, in the north west of the country on the border with Saxony, would be the largest in the Czech Republic, with a proposed area of about 1,200 square kilometres.
According to the Environment Ministry website, there are now 26 protected landscape areas in the Czech Republic, covering 14.42% of the country’s territory. The ministry expects to declare Krusne hory as a PLA in about mid-2026.
“The area contains, for example, extensive wetlands and peat bogs protected by the Ramsar Convention, but despite this, the entire large mountain range remains the only one in the Czech Republic that is not a protected area, which should now change. There is partial European protection, but the state-level protection has been lacking so far,” said Environment Minister Petr Hladik (KDU-CSL).
Municipal and regional authorities will now have 90 days to submit their objections, which are expected to be incorporated by the end of next year.
Hladik appreciated that the creation of the PLA has the support of municipalities throughout the planned area. “These municipalities officially supported the declaration in July after a consensus was reached,” he said. The Karlovy Vary and Usti nad Labem regions also support the designation of the Krusne hory PLA, their representatives said.
According to the Environment Ministry, the PLA should protect mainly preserved landscapes with large areas of peat bogs, close-to-nature forests on the slopes of the mountains, and a mosaic of forests, meadows, pastures, and buildings on the plateaus.
The territory of the Krusne Hory Protected Landscape Area is designated from the town of Kraslice in the west to the village of Petrovice, near Usti nad Labem in the east. It will be divided into four zones, graded according to the degree of protection.
The idea of declaring Krusne hory a protected area dates back decades, the Environment Ministry said. “With the start of the preparation of the European Natura 2000 protected areas system, a full-scale review of natural values in the form of habitat mapping was carried out in Krusne hory, and the results only confirmed the uniqueness of the natural area,” the ministry added.
Nature and landscape protection in the Czech Republic is also ensured by four national parks, which cover 1.5% of the country’s territory. These are the Sumava National Park, the Podyji National Park, the Ceske Svycarsko National Park, and the Krkonose National Park. The state is planning to add the Krivoklatsko National Park, which will cover about 16% of the current protected landscape area of the same name.
