Obec (plural: obce) is the Czech and Slovak word for a municipality (both in Czechia, Slovakia and abroad). The literal meaning of the word is "commune" or "community". It is the smallest administrative unit electing representatives. An obec is composed of cadastral areas ("katastrální území/katastrálne územia"). Obec can have several minor parts, that are often standalone villages, but the government is in another village/town.
Under the current legislation in both Czechia and Slovakia, a town ("město/mesto") is strictly speaking no municipality ("obec") - a town is a former obec that has received town status after meeting some conditions. It is quite common however to denote both towns and municipalities in strict sense jointly as municipalities.
