A small steppe grassland reserve in the Kokořínsko Protected Landscape Area, protecting warm-loving flora and rare butterflies.
Na Oboře
Na Oboře is a small Czech natural monument (přírodní památka) located in the cadastral area of Chodeč u Mělníka, in the Mělník District of the Central Bohemian Region. The protected site lies roughly one kilometer north of the hamlet of Chodeč, within the broader Kokořínsko, Máchův kraj Protected Landscape Area, and consists of four separate south-facing slopes covered by dry grassland and shrub vegetation.
The reserve is set on loess deposits and, in one part, on sandstone bedrock, creating a warm and mineral-rich substrate that supports xerothermic steppe communities unusual in the Czech landscape. Because of this habitat, the site shelters several protected and rare plant species, including orchids, gentians, and bellflowers, alongside a notable insect fauna that includes the critically endangered Rebel's blue butterfly.
Although Na Oboře covers only a few hectares, it plays an outsized role in regional biodiversity conservation. Its combination of steppe vegetation, scattered shrubs, and exposed soils offers a refuge for heat-loving species that are otherwise rare in Bohemia, making the monument a small but ecologically important part of the national network of protected areas.
