In the Czech Republic, a statutory city () is a municipal corporation that has been granted city status by Act of Parliament. It is more prestigious than the simple title ("town"), which can be awarded by the cabinet and chair of the Chamber of Deputies to a municipality which applies for it.
Differences of statutory city Statutory city status is partially ceremonial; the mayor is called , rather than the of other municipalities. Statutory cities are allowed to subdivide into self-governing city boroughs (sg. ) or city parts (sg. ) with their own elected councils; such a statutory city has to issue a statute () that delimits power to boroughs. However, only seven statutory cities have done so. Cities Brno, Plzeň, Ústí nad Labem and Pardubice are divided into city boroughs, and Liberec has only one city borough with rest of the city being administered directly. Brno is divided into city parts, and Opava has eight city parts with rest of the city being administered directly. Also the capital of Prague, while not being de jure statutory city, is subdivided into similar self-governing boroughs.
History The model is derived from its common origin in Austria-Hungary. Until 1928, 11 cities in the Czech lands received the statutory city title: Prague, Liberec, Brno, Jihlava, Kroměříž, Olomouc, Uherské Hradiště, Znojmo, Opava, Frýdek, and Bielsko (which became a part of Poland in 1920). On 1 December 1928 their count was reduced to five (Prague, Liberec, Brno, Olomouc and Opava). In 1942 Plzeň became a statutory city.
Between 1949 and 1967, the institute of statutory cities was canceled by reform in self-government and the establishment of regions. Only Prague remained a de facto statutory city. After 1967, several cities received similar position as Prague (Brno, Plzeň, Ostrava and Ústí nad Labem), but the statutory city title was not used.
The concept was renewed after the fall of communism by the Act on Municipalities in 1990, which established 13 statutory cities in addition to Prague, the capital city which is still a de facto statutory city.
Unlike Austria, before districts of the Czech Republic were abolished only the three largest cities (Brno, Ostrava and Plzeň) constituted a district () on their own; the others were a part (though always a capital, except Havířov) of a district with smaller municipalities. As the prestige associated with statutory city status grew, 12 additional statutory cities were created by the Act on Municipalities in 2000Act on Municipalities (2000); Předpis č. 128/2000 Sb. Zákon o obcích (obecní zřízení) and its four later amendments.
There are only two statutory cities, Havířov and Třinec, that are not seats of their eponymous districts.
List Since August 2018, there are 26 statutory cities (plus Prague), comprising all the Czech cities over 40 thousand inhabitants (and Třinec):
Name Population Area (km2) Region Statutory city since Prague 1,407,084 496 Prague Brno 404,296 230 South Moravian 1990 Ostrava 280,853 214 Moravian-Silesian 1990 Plzeň 187,863 138 Plzeň 1990 Liberec 108,214 106 Liberec 1990 Olomouc 105,297 103 Olomouc 1990 České Budějovice 97,128 56 South Bohemian 1990 Hradec Králové 93,534 106 Hradec Králové 1990 Pardubice 92,713 78 Pardubice 1990 Ústí nad Labem 90,035 94 Ústí nad Labem 1990 Zlín 74,917 103 Zlín 1990 Kladno 69,728 37 Central Bohemian 2000 Havířov 67,998 32 Moravian-Silesian 1990 Most 63,160 87 Ústí nad Labem 2000 Opava 54,881 91 Moravian-Silesian 1990 Jihlava 53,686 88 Vysočina 2000 Frýdek-Místek 53,164 52 Moravian-Silesian 2006 Teplice 50,856 24 Ústí nad Labem 2003 Karlovy Vary 48,788 59 Karlovy Vary 1990 Karviná 48,937 57 Moravian-Silesian 2003 Mladá Boleslav 47,874 29 Central Bohemian 2003 Chomutov 46,560 29 Ústí nad Labem 2006 Jablonec nad Nisou 46,206 31 Liberec 2012 Děčín 46,003 118 Ústí nad Labem 2006 Prostějov 43,236 39 Olomouc 2012 Přerov 40,492 58 Olomouc 2006 Třinec 33,523 85 Moravian-Silesian 2018
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