PR Šance, Prague

Šance is a nature reserve ev. no. 738 on the territory of the capital city of Prague, situated primarily on the hill of the same name, 385 m above sea level. On the northern side, the reserve stretches across the Kálek valley with the Závistský brook and also occupies the southwestern part of the adjacent Čihadlo hill. In the south-east, the reserve crosses the Točenský brook in the Točenská gorge and passes from the Brdská vrchovina to the Pražská plateau. The entire area of 198.2 ha is managed by the Prague City Council. The reserve was declared on July 1, 1982, thanks to the discoveries made by František Antonín Nickerl, an important entomologist of the 19th century. On 28 March 1991, the reserve was renamed by Decree No. 3/91 of the City Hall. The decree established the "Modřanská rokle - Cholupice" rest area, which includes the nature reserve. On 5 November 2013, the extension of the Šance Nature Reserve to include the Břežanské údolí site was approved, mainly to protect the habitat of the European butterfly - the costivale butterfly. This extension added the site to the NATURA2000 list. In order to comply with the legislation, the original establishing legislation had to be repealed and the nature reserve was redesignated. Šance is located on the right bank of the Vltava River and is the smaller of the two parts of the Celtic oppidum Závist.

The reason for the protection is mainly the protected species of animals and plants occurring on the rocky slopes in the valley of the Břežanský brook. Natural oak forests are also protected, occurring here in several types. Attention is also paid to the natural treelessness in the form of acidophilous grassland and heathland and the unusual geological profile.

There is a nature trail through the area, which was established by the Association for the Protection of Nature and Landscape of the Czech Republic with funds from the Municipality of the capital city of Prague. Prague, with the contribution of the Forests of the Czech Republic, the Konopiště Forest Plant.