Nad Blatinou

Nad Blatinou is a small natural monument (přírodní památka) located next to the village of Jeřice, in the Jičín district of the Hradec Králové Region in eastern Czechia. The protected area covers 6.26 hectares and was established to preserve a remnant of oak-hornbeam woodland in a landscape otherwise dominated by intensive farmland.

Why is this site protected?

The main reason for protection is a surviving patch of old-growth oak-hornbeam forest, a habitat type that has become rare in this part of the country. Centuries of intensive agriculture around Jeřice have stripped most of the surrounding landscape of natural woodland, making Nad Blatinou one of the few remaining fragments of this forest type for miles around. The site is also home to specially protected plant species under Czech law, which adds further conservation value to this modest patch of woodland.

Oak-hornbeam groves (in Czech, "doubravy" or mixed hornbeam-oak stands) are a forest community typical of lowland and sub-montane regions across Central Europe. Their canopy is usually dominated by oak and hornbeam, while the forest floor can support a rich spring-flowering understory that blooms before the tree canopy closes over. It is this combination of an aged tree stand and a diverse understory that gives such isolated woodland enclaves their ecological importance, particularly when the surrounding countryside is almost entirely under cultivation.

Who manages the reserve?

Nad Blatinou falls under the care of the Agentura ochrany přírody a krajiny České republiky (the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency of the Czech Republic), the institution responsible for overseeing the country's network of smaller protected areas. The agency is tasked with maintaining the condition of the tree stand and monitoring the populations of the protected plant species found within the reserve's boundaries.

Where exactly is it located?

The reserve sits immediately next to the village of Jeřice, in the Jičín district in eastern Czechia. Its approximate coordinates are 50.32°N, 15.69°E. Given its small size — under 6.3 hectares — this is an intimate site, visited mainly by local residents, nature enthusiasts, and anyone with an interest in the region's flora rather than by large numbers of tourists.

Frequently asked questions

How large is the Nad Blatinou area? The reserve covers 6.26 hectares.

What exactly is protected here? The protection covers a fragment of oak-hornbeam woodland along with the legally protected plant species found within it — a rarity in a landscape otherwise dominated by farmland.

Which region of Czechia is it in? Nad Blatinou lies in the Jičín district of the Hradec Králové Region, next to the village of Jeřice.

Who administers the site? The reserve is overseen by the Agentura ochrany přírody a krajiny České republiky (Nature and Landscape Protection Agency of the Czech Republic).

Is this a major tourist attraction? No — it is a small, low-key natural area rather than a developed tourist site with visitor infrastructure. Its main appeal lies in the rarity of the preserved woodland habitat within an intensively farmed landscape.