Obec is the Czech and Slovakword for a municipality. The literal meaning of the word is "commune" or "community". It is the smallest administrative unit that is governed by elected representatives. Cities are also municipalities. The council is called "obecní zastupitelstvo/obecné zastupiteľstvo" or "zastupitelstvo města/mestské zastupiteľstvo" or "zastupitelstvo městyse", the office is called "obecní úřad/obecný úrad" or "úřad města/mestský úrad" or "úřad městyse". An obec can have its own flag and coat of arms and is composed of one or more cadastral areas. An obec can have several settlements or parts whether villages or hamlets.
There are 2891 obcí in Slovakia as of 2008. After meeting certain conditions such as population over 5000, being well accessible, having cultural or economical significance and having an urban style of settlement an obec can be declared a town.
The number of municipalities in the Czech Republic is 6,254. Whole area of the republic including mountains, forests and national parks is divided into municipalities. Smallest municipalities are shaped only by one small village, some by two or more villages or by the town and several villages. Mostly a municipality has the same name as the settlement where is the municipal office, but there are many exceptions: some municipalities have double name, some municipalities have a name which have no its settlement and some municipalities have the office in other part than in the "nominal". The smallest Czech municipalities are Závist and Karlova Studánka. The lowest number of the population has Vysoká Lhota and Čilá, many small municipalities have populations only of tens. Typicalrural municipality has hundreds of inhabitants. The biggest are Prague, Brno, Ostrava and by extent is the fourth Ralsko. Every city, town or market town is a municipality . Cities can have self-governing subdivisions, so-called city parts or city circuits which have standing partly similar to small municipalities. Some of municipalities have extended competencies of delegated state administration for the territory of the municipality and for surrounding municipalities. A statutory city, a town and a market town are currently above all ceremonious honorary degree. Some municipalities have such title for historic reasons, though they are small. Smallest towns are Přebuz and Loučná pod Klínovcem. The law makes it possible to restitute by request a status of city or town for every municipality which lost it. But a municipality which want to acquire status of town firstly, must have population over 3,000 and the improvement in status is subject of assessment by chairman of the parliament. For market town definite population are not a condition. The biggest of cities are "statutory cities" and can have self-governing subdivisions. A special type of municipality is the capital Prague, which has simultaneously a status of municipality and a status of region and which is treated by special law.
