Ovčáry (Kolín District)

Ovčáry (German: Owtschar) is a municipality and village in Kolín District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 900 inhabitants.

Ovčáry
Municipality
Church of Saint James the Great
Flag Coat of arms
Ovčáry Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°3′46″N 15°14′22″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Central Bohemian
District	Kolín
First mentioned	1273
Area
• Total	10.37 km2 (4.00 sq mi)
Elevation	215 m (705 ft)
Population  (2025-01-01)[1]
• Total	904
• Density	87/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	280 02
Website	www.ovcary-obec.cz

Geography

Ovčáry is located about 4 kilometres (2 mi) northeast of Kolín and 50 km (31 mi) east of Prague. It lies in the Central Elbe Table lowland within the Polabí region. The highest point is the hill Horka at 249 m (817 ft) above sea level. The brooks Hluboký potok and Sendražický potok flow through the municipality.

History

The first written mention of Ovčáry is from 1273, when it was owned by the Strahov Monastery. From 1436 to 1850, the village was part of the Kolín estate.^[2]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 748 —     1880 771 +3.1% 1890 807 +4.7% 1900 871 +7.9% 1910 954 +9.5%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 966 +1.3% 1930 932 −3.5% 1950 831 −10.8% 1961 817 −1.7% 1970 757 −7.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 722 −4.6% 1991 672 −6.9% 2001 664 −1.2% 2011 815 +22.7% 2021 841 +3.2%
Source: Censuses[3][4]

Economy

In Ovčáry is the larger part of Kolín–Ovčáry Industrial Zone, known mostly for the factory of the automobile manufacturing company TMMCZ.^[5]

Sights

The main landmark is the Church of Saint James the Great. It was built in the neo-Gothic style in 1906–1908, when it replaced an old Gothic church.^[6]