Naturism in Czechia: laws and customs

At a glance

What the law says

In Czechia no law bans being naked. The rule that may come into play is the administrative offence of "causing public outrage" (veřejné pohoršení, Act 251/2016, § 5) (e-Sbírka, Act 251/2016). The fine can reach 10,000 Czech koruna (CZK), 15,000 for a repeat offence (Zákony pro lidi).

For the Supreme Administrative Court, "outrage" requires three conditions together: the act takes place in public; as a rule, more than two people present at the same time are genuinely outraged; and the behaviour goes against the morals shared by society, not those of whoever is judging. In the case decided in 2004, a man had been fined 500 koruna in Prague for undressing in his own garden, after a complaint from neighbours he was in a dispute with. The court cancelled the fine and the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the municipality's appeal (NSS, 2 As 69/2003).

In serious cases there is the crime of výtržnictví: anyone who commits "gross indecency" or a disturbance in public risks up to 2 years in prison (e-Sbírka, Criminal Code § 358).

Where you can be naked

• Nudist beaches: whether a bathing area or recreation area opens to nudists is mostly up to its operator, not the municipality. The beach must be visibly signed and separate, but it does not need a wall (Radiožurnál). The Lhota lake, in Central Bohemia, is described by Deník as "the largest nudist beach in Czechia", with entry "only without swimwear" (Deník). At the Velký Bolevecký rybník, in Plzeň, there has been a nudist beach for decades (CNN Prima News).
• Naturist stays: you can find them in the list of naturist places in Czechia.

Tolerated beaches and bans

On official nudist beaches the code of ethics or the rules of the place apply, and nobody is photographed. On a regular beach, by contrast, an adult who takes off their swimwear can be fined, and the police could even treat it as the crime of výtržnictví. This is what the Plzeň municipal police explain (CNN Prima News).

It is not clear how unsigned nudist beaches are treated.

The local mood

In Czechia naked bathing in lakes and quarries is socially normal at well-known spots, a tradition that, according to the press, goes back at least to the communist period. At the nudist beach in Plzeň, one nudist says, "doctors, lawyers and even police officers come here" (CNN Prima News, 2025). It is also one of the most secular countries in Europe: at the 2021 census, more than two thirds of those who answered said they had no religion (ČSÚ, 2021 census).

The law only steps in if there is real outrage among those present, and the courts have even protected someone undressing in their own garden. The conflicts we know of are small and arise within the nudist beaches themselves.

Naturist associations

The national federation that is a member of INF-FNI, the international federation, is the Českomoravská federace naturistů (CMFN), the Czech-Moravian naturist federation (INF-FNI). We do not know whether places require a membership card: it is best to ask beforehand.

LGBTQ+ travellers

No legal risk: same-sex relations have been legal since 1962. Adoption by same-sex couples is not possible (ILGA World Database).