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The paper evaluates the first 15 editions of the European Countryside magazine in relation to the EURORURAL conferences and international projects of the Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology of the Mendel University in Brno.

The study evaluates the regional development potential of a specific rural micro-region with regard to its qualitative aspect. It aims to set a general strategy for further development. The method is a geographical analysis using the migration balance as an indicator of the region’s attractiveness for housing. Main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were identified. Generally accessible statistical data was used. The proposed strategy is to support the development of the human capital. In addition to the generally valid recommendations for the development of rural areas, it is always necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the geographical location, path dependency, natural, economic and social potential, the state of the environment, cultural factors or other specifics. The regional and local decision-making levels play an important role in this process.

The article deals with the state of social farming in Czechia, which is obviously in its infancy. The main barriers to development are the character of Czech agriculture, which is radically based on large-scale production and deliveries to large customers, insufficient cooperation of individual ministries and too narrow conception of the problem as care farming. At the same time, we can expect increasing demand for this type of management in the future. Some ideas for improving the situation are presented, the most important of which is the recognition of social farming by the public administration and the creation of a legal framework for its development.

Czech Republic is facing housing insecurity and cities are challenged by a shortage of housing supply. The issue of housing affordability can be demonstrated on the cities of Brno and Vienna, which are connected by a close geographical position and a similar urban development in the 19th century. After 1918 (the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), the Austrian capital Vienna has focused on a continual support of social housing. The development of housing in the Czechoslovak city of Brno was changing and influenced by the period of socialism. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the housing development in Brno and Vienna has been therefore, after a politically different period, comparable again. Vienna has a similar historical development to Brno, and in the long term, it represents an adequate comparative study due to a successful social housing policy. In this paper, we mobilize a comparative study of broader city centres. The development of housing is monitored in the parameters of demographic trends. The paper reviews comparable demographic data obtained from databases of the office for national statistics of Austria and the Czech Republic: population development and population ageing expressed as a percentage of the population aged 65+ to the population aged 0-14. The study demonstrates the importance of these two indicators of demographic changes, which can reflect the attractiveness of housing for different groups of residents. The results show that in both cities, there is a population decline in historical city cores. While in the vicinity of the historical core of Vienna, there is moderate population growth, a similarly uniform trend cannot be observed in Brno.

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.

Analyses of the changes in the presence of persons in different central and residential parts of urban areas are subject to evaluation in this paper. Case studies of the cities of Brno, Ostrava and Zlín during the day and night are highlighted. Data from a provider of mobile phone services were used for the analyses. It appears that the data can be important for the comparison of different urban structures. The results demonstrate that the organisation of urban structure affects the number of visitors and thus the area attractiveness. It was confirmed that the number of mobile phone users in the city cores is higher than the number of permanent residents. The greatest differences between the day and night in the city cores were found in Brno, a concentric city with the most important central functions among the cities studied. Differences between the day and night in residential areas were not as large as expected. City neighbourhoods in Brno showed some specific rhythmicity.

The paper connects culture, tourism and rural development. It tries to make an overview of various forms of cultural tourism in Czechia. Attractions of cultural tourism are identified and ranked according to their cognitive function. Their list includes cultural heritage in spheres of archaeological sites, architecture, arts, folklore, pilgrimages, technical works, cultural events or protected landscape areas. The culture of wine in Southern Moravia has been chosen as an example. Its analysis was elaborated using the Importance/Performance Analysis. Czechia has great potential for the cultural tourism development in rural areas but it seems to demand a great deal of work when one needs to be constantly reconciling the changing interests of tourists with the potential of the regions. One of the important goals is to attract tourists into rural areas and thus limit their concentration in the most attractive places. Rural cultural tourism seems to be a significant aspect in this respect. The part of the study is the example of the adaptation of the current situation with COVID-19 to properly support the development and cultural potential of domestic tourism in South Moravian region in relation to the economic impacts on international tourism.

The problem of municipalities under 200 inhabitants is discussed. There are 1,500 such municipalities (24%) in the Czech Republic. Many of them came to existence after 1989 when the independence of communes was considered part of the democratisation process regardless of the population number. This paper aims at a statistical evaluation of municipalities with fewer than 200 inhabitants and presents their geographical distribution, demographic development and analysis of their aging. In general, 70% of these very small municipalities have been growing since 2001. The smallest of them have the highest percentage of the population decline and are the most endangered by aging. Very small municipalities with the highest population growth are situated mainly in the vicinity of larger towns, the ones with the highest population decline are located mainly in peripheral areas at the border of regions.

The paper is aimed at an attempt to define a smart village in the Czech conditions. It argues that the principles of smart villages are very similar to the concept of sustainability. The analysis deals with preventing rural exclusion, promoting digital technologies for the management of the rural infrastructure, teleworking in rural areas and using ICT for participation and governance. This approach is documented in the case of the South-Moravian Region. It was concluded that it was not so much coverage or accessibility of digital technology that was the main barrier of more intensive use of the smart village concept but rather the lower qualification level and conservatism of rural population is. It is suggested that more attention should be paid to increasing the digital literacy of rural people.

The paper describes the development of Mendel University in Brno and its Faculty of AgriSciences during last 100 years. It shows the present state of the University and Faculty, including facilities used for educational, scientific and other activities. The journal European Countryside owned by the University has been established 10 years ago. It is a highly cited per review periodical in the field of rural development. This special number gave the opportunity to the members of the Advisory Board to co-celebrate the anniversary by means of their own topic related scientific article.

The paper discusses the concept of the quality of life and its measuring. It tries to explain its peculiarities in the rural space considering different levels of education, professional activities, mobility, ways of dwelling, access to the social and technical infrastructure. The subjective perception of both urban and rural people to the rural quality of life can be manifested in moving in and moving out. The main shortages of the rural quality of life can be seen (by rural people) in a poor access to the prestigious and well-paid jobs and to a richer social life. The main advantages of the rural way of life are generally evaluated (by urban people) by better access to the nature. A promotion of the local identity is considered as an important tool for improving the rural quality of life (besides of a solution of infrastructural problems), considering the enormous difference among European rural areas of a big differentiation of the European countryside. The last part of the paper summarizes the contributions of the special number.

The authors argue that differentiation of various types of countryside is more important than to look for the definition of the rural against the urban. The paper is aimed at a typology of the Moravian countryside. Based on multifunctional (both hard and soft) data, Moravian micro-regions were divided into four categories – progressive, deficit and suburban countryside and predominantly urban micro-regions. Each of the categories has its own characteristics, threats, and needs. The authors stress that the approach of regional politics and both European and national subsidies have to take into account different categories of rural micro-regions. However, particular decisions have to be made in the intersection of the lowest regional level and the bottom-up approach expressed by community lead local development.

Czechia lost more than 3,000,000 inhabitants as a result of the WW II. Germans displaced from the borderland formed the largest part. The newcomers after 1945 were of a different character – without any relation to their new settlements. This population formed a special social milieu familiar with the socialist way of thinking and that of a suppressed middle class. The consequences of it are seen in demographic, economic, environmental and social areas. After 1989, the factories in the borderland were mostly closed down, armies left the territory, people were not prepared to start their own businesses. Large-scale landscape protection formed a new barrier. Tourism is not able to substitute for the decrease in employment. The hope in cross-border collaboration has been overestimated.

The paper analyses the position of small towns in the Czech settlement system. It deals with the definition of small towns, their geographical positions, demographic characteristics and functions in the national settlement system. A typology of small towns aimed at individual pillars of their sustainability is one of the results of the paper. The article discusses the position of small towns as part of the urban world and their position as a part of the countryside. It concludes that small towns are functionally important as rural centres. However, differences between urban and rural seem to be less important than differences among individual types of the Czech countryside (suburban, intermediate, inner periphery, borderland).

Příspěvek je zaměřen na současný stav pozemkových úprav v Česku. Výzkum vychází z dotazníkového šetření, distribuovaného elektronicky do obcí a k relevantním subjektům (zemědělské organizace, rolníci) v územích, kde pozemkové úpravy proběhly, probíhají nebo jsou připravovány. Individuální rolníci a představitelé obcí vnímají pozemkové úpravy jako opatření k průchodnosti krajiny, její ochranu před erozí a záplavami. Pro podniky jsou pozemkové úpravy důležité kvůli ujasnění vlastnických otázek a obnovení potřeb krajiny. Asi polovina respondentů je přesvědčena, že opatření přinášejí spíše pozitiva, zatímco 41% v nich spatřuje především problémy. Negativa, spojená s pozemkovými úpravami spočívají především v časových prodlevách a náročné administrativě; v případě podniků také v komplikacích s obhospodařováním půdy. Nicméně 75% malých rolníků a obcí a 62% zemědělských podniků mají zájem na pozemkových úpravách. Hlavní rozdíly mezi malými rolníky a zemědělskými podniky spočívají v postoji ke snižování rozlohy pozemků a jejich rozdělování společnými zařízeními.

The paper deals with the macrostructural and microstructural landscape changes in six selected microregions in Moravia and eastern Bohemia. Changes of the landscape macrostructure were evaluated based on the statistical data from 1845, 1948, 1990 and 2013. Changes of the landscape microstructure were compared on the base of old maps, aerial images and field experiences. According to the available data the area of an arable land was the largest in 1845. Since then it has been decreasing – more in mountain areas, less in lowland ones where it was replaced by forests, grasslands and urban areas, depending on the vegetation period, physical character and vicinity of urban centres. Results show that the microstructure recorded great changes during the communist period: large expanses of fields, irrigation and drainage measures, windbreaks, non-rural buildings in the countryside. Contemporary changes are connected mostly with urbanisation of the landscape.

Jihomoravské pohraničí bylo studováno jako příklad periferního venkova. Je definováno souborem obcí, jejichž katastrální území se dotýkají státní hranice. Pohraničí je významně diferencováno v závislosti na přírodních podmínkách, historickém vývoji a subjektivních okolnostech. Období po roce 1990 lze charakterizovat propadem výrobního sektoru, rozvojem služeb, pozitivním migračním saldem (s několika výjimkami), zvýšeným důrazem na ochranu přírody a krajiny, stoupající nezaměstnaností a nízkým standardem formálního vzdělání. Silné stránky spočívají v udržované a v řadě případů přísně chráněné krajině, vhodné sídelní struktuře s relativně velkými obcemi, vhodných podmínkách pro zemědělské aktivity, rozvoji balneologie a významnou tranzitní polohou centrální části pohraničí. Slabé stránky zahrnují zejména výrazně sezónní charakter cestovního ruchu (pouze krátká letní perioda), podprůměrné vzdělání obyvatel, špatný stav místních komunikací, vystavení území erozi. Příležitostmi jsou možnosti přeshraniční spolupráce, podpora mimoprodukčního zemědělství, poptávka po odpovídajících formách cestovního ruchu, podpora malého a středního podnikání. Ohrožení je chápáno jako nebezpečí dalšího odchodu mladých a vzdělaných lidí, možná devastace životního prostředí intenzivním zemědělstvím a nižší ekonomická konkurenceschopnost. Strategie mohou spočívat v preferování ekonomického rozvoje nebo v zaměření na kvalitu života místní populace.

Tourism is one of the world's most affected sectors by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article deals with the assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the visitation of the South Moravian Region, including important cultural and natural sites, based on the analysis of empirical statistical data in the last decade and the calculation of the year-on-year change in attendance between 2019 and 2022. According to the results, the number of visitors to the South Moravian Region in 2020 fell by almost half, including a decrease of a quarter of visitors to cultural monuments compared to 2019. On the other hand, visits to natural areas with no restricted access increased by a fifth after 2020, but natural areas with restricted access fell by more than 40%. From 2021, attendance of the South Moravian Region began to increase slightly, and in 2022, it reached ninety percent of the level before 2019, including attendance at cultural and natural sites. The results of the research confirmed the growing trend in visitors to the South Moravian Region, including cultural and natural monuments, which were significantly influenced by the impact of COVID-19 on tourism after 2020, with a recovery of tourism in 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents and discusses the visible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cultural tourism in Czechia, Europe. The pandemic has caused or accelerated certain changes. Mainly urban destinations focusing on foreign tourists (e.g., Prague) were affected by the pandemic. However, despite the significant decline in tourism as an industry, the seeds of positive changes can be traced. For example, domestic tourists have discovered the appeal of the rural regions of their homeland. The trend has started to evolve from mass tourism to a more individual one. The decline of the workforce in tourism will likely result in the increase of more self-service forms of activities. Even though e-tourism cannot replace real experiences, it will contribute to a more deliberate selection of tourist destinations and services. Therefore, investing in a higher quality infrastructure should be a priority. The latest observations show that the main obstacle is insufficient cooperation among local stakeholders, such as entrepreneurs, public administration, or individual government departments. Czechia???s fundamental drawback is the lack of clear distinction of whether culture tourism falls into the economic sector or the cultural sphere. [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]