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This article focuses on the typology of countryside architectonical forms in the region of South-Moravia in southeastern Czechia and on the expression of village identity through architecture in case study villages. Original folk architecture has been altered by new types of constructions built in rural areas since the 1950s, followed by a more recent wave of new architectural forms that have developed since the 1990s. The number of architectural types in case study villages was predominantly calculated using the panoramic sceneries on mapy.cz. The coefficients of countryside identity were allocated to architectural types based on basic folk house features. The value of countryside identity is higher in smaller villages except for suburbanized settlements of the regional capital of Brno. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the changes to the industrial structure of small Moravian towns as these towns are part of the settlement structure that connects urban and rural systems. Small towns (of up to 15,000 inhabitants) are the most industrialized part of the Czech settlement system. They were the subject of capitalist industrialization in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as socialist industrialization in the second half of the twentieth century. Therefore, the research question asks how the small-town sector coped with the transition to a post-productive society and how small towns were differentiated during this process. Population censuses were the main tool used to gather data for comparison. Today, small towns have preserved, in particular, less innovatively demanding industries, which have been pushed out of large and medium-sized cities. At the same time, they are undergoing a process of post-productive transformation which is associated with a massive transfer of job opportunities to services, but they can also become starting points for cultural tourism in rural areas. However, their future development will be very differentiated depending on their location concerning regional centres, on the quality of human and social capital and also on their historical pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the question: why do two destinations with extremely valuable cultural heritage gain attractions have completely different tourism traffic results? The main aim of this paper was to find the various causes of this inequality. The comparative method was used and Lednice and Dolní Kounice in Southern Moravia were selected as case studies. Statistical data and strategic documents on regional and local levels were analysed. The study showed significant differences in the strategic conceptual plans. Dolní Kounice was a more popular destination for suburban tourism for the inhabitants of Brno, the historical heritage was only an added value. In the case of Lednice, the use of its heritage for tourism was one of the main development priorities. This paper further noted that cultural tourism is often seen as a sector of the economy rather than a part of the culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Regional Development Strategy of the Czech Republic 2021+ set aside economically and socially endangered rural regions. This paper aims to analyse the situation of these regions in the South Moravian Region in more detail to specify individual threats and possible approaches to rural development. In addition, the paper seeks to determine whether these regions are significantly differentiated internally, allowing the neediest areas to be focused on for growth. The research used geographical analysis and synthesis methods to identify the two most peripheral microregions as the most endangered. Their most significant strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were summarised, and possible strategies for further development were indicated. Although the conditions and development assumptions in the two microregions were different, the significance of tourism development was indicated as the most important direction in one case and as a second direction in the other. • The Czech Republic's Regional Development Strategy 2021+ outlined endangered areas. • The endangered rural areas in the South Moravian Region were analysed in detail. • Only the most peripheral parts of the designated regions are at risk. • Regardless of the general strategy, each of the micro-regions must be managed separately. • The development of cultural tourism is one of the promising possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is aimed at the variability of historical landscape elements on the territory of the selected extinct settlements, to classify and to evaluate their development in the context of changes in anthropic pressure between the years 1945 and 2022, focusing on the Moravian-Silesian Region. The article presents a methodology for identifying physically extinct settlements and historical landscape elements by using statistical data, historical and current maps and field verification. Territorial dispersion and classification according to cases of the extinction, and according to individual landscape elements are elaborated. Research has confirmed a link between the cause of the settlement's demise: the expulsion of German residents and proximity to the state border, a military training area, the construction of water reservoirs, mining and development projects, and surviving groups of historical landscape elements. The results can serve as a methodology for research in other areas. On a practical level, they can be used for landscape planning, territorial dispersion of tourism, and educational purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the second half of the 20th century, a number of settlements disappeared for various reasons, especially in the hilly landscapes of northern Moravia and in the Czech part of Silesia. Currently, in the relevant localities, it is possible to identify preserved original landscape structures (scattered greenery, water elements, original woody plants, terraces, etc.) and other historical landscape elements with heritage potential. The typical elements of the above-mentioned localities of abandoned settlements are agrarian stone walls that document previous agricultural land use. These structures are generally located outside the original building plots on the edges of previously farmed land. Another important historical element is the unused access roads to arable land, which are still visible in lidar pictures. Numerous elements of the extinct settlements also include the remains of building materials and local quarries of building stone. This paper presents and classifies the historical landscape elements and their typology and proposes a methodology for identification and documentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural tourism in Czechia. It points out that the catastrophic scenarios of the decline in tourism mainly concern urban destinations focused on foreign tourism. In contrast, rural destinations create an alternative. Some of them have even shown an increase in tourism in the 2020 summer season as compared to 2019. However, this new orientation requires investing in infrastructure, marketing and regional cooperation. Highlights Paper investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural tourism in Czechia. The decline in tourism mainly affected destinations focused on foreign tourists. Czech countryside gained domestic tourists due to natural, gastronomic and local attractions. The specificity of COVID 19 new outbreaks is its local or regional limitation. The COVID-19 epidemy has created an opportunity for the development of rural tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses the possibilities of development of one of the most peripheral micro-regions of Moravia on the basis of the theory of sustainability. It notes its above-average focus on agriculture and tourism, which is linked to seasonality, lower education of the population, depopulation and higher unemployment. The settlement structure with predominantly very small villages conditions a worse infrastructure, which is partially balanced by a high-quality natural environment. Possible solutions are seen in the focus on qualitative development and support of social capital. The transition to post-productive development and counter-urbanization gives to regions of this type new opportunities associated with the development of housing and tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the recent population development of Moravian rural micro-regions. It divides all 72 micro-regions into four categories according to the relation of natural demographic balance and net migration in the period of 2012–2016. It showed that all size categories of the Moravian rural municipalities till 5000 inhabitants are gaining population by migration whereas small towns lose inhabitants. No relation between the demographic type of the countryside and unemployment was observed. It shows, that the Moravian rural areas are not depopulating in general, its demographic development does not depend on the unemployment. However, the Moravian countryside is differentiated. There are some extremely peripheral parts of Moravia often lacking any real urban centre, where the depopulation is the problem. Depopulating micro-regions can be found in the northern, south-western and eastern periphery of Moravia. Such territories should be solved individually according to the local conditions. • The paper investigates the recent population development of 72 rural micro-regions. • Only the most peripheral micro-regions without any town centre are threatened. • Rural unemployment is in no case higher than the indicator in the related town centre. • The Moravian countryside is not depopulating, neither ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The perception of the landscape has changed in relation to the transformation of the countryside from an agricultural space to a multifunctional space. The aim of this paper focuses on evidence of landscape values in the territory of Podolí u Brna, a suburban village on the fringe of the city of Brno. The main question driving this research is whether it is possible to find important landscape values in a territory undergoing intensive suburbanization and what changes in individual landscape values are caused by the process of suburbanization. Historical maps, documents and aerial photographs were analysed. The results confirmed that an intensively cultivated suburban landscape with transport infrastructure has both historical and contemporary values with six landscape values being identified. It was also confirmed that new technological barriers have originated in such a landscape. The protecting of landscape values is an important factor in creating and maintaining a local identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bohemia and Moravia are historical lands, which constitute Czechia (together with a small part of Silesia) since the 10th century. Two entirely different settlement systems can be identified in Czechia: the centralistic Bohemian sett lement system surrounded by a ring of mountains, and the transitional and polycentric Moravian settlement system. The two lands were physically divided by a border forest. Although they have belonged always to the same state, their autonomy was relatively high until the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918. In 1948, a new administrative division was introduced, which did not respect the border between the two lands. Bohemia and Moravia kept their importance as different cultural units only. The main research question addressed in this paper is how the Bohemian and Moravian identities are perceived by the people today and whether it makes any sense to consider the historical lands seriously when rethinking the idea of the Europe of regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally presupposed that the infrastructure and availability of services of general interest (like schools, medical care, social services and also public transport) impact on present demographic development in rural areas, namely depopulation and aging. Such services affect the quality of life of local people and sometimes they perform a vital necessity. It is possible to say that the absence of the mentioned services should be compensated by an effective system of public transport. In other case, especially those people who are not able to use individual cars due to the age, health, legal conditions or financial situation are bequeathed on an assistance of the family or neighbors or they stay cut off and excluded. This paper is aimed at the verification of the presupposition in the case of the South-Moravian Region – NUTS 3 region occupying the south-eastern part of the Czech Republic, bordering with Austria and Slovakia. The research method lies in analysis of the frequency, travel time and fare of public transport system and its comparison with demographic development in rural areas, especially in the peripheral ones. The results are discussed in view of the system of central places in the region and present urbanization processes like suburbanization, counterurbanization and reurbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]