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17 pages, 13626 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Extinct Settlements and Their Reflection in the Land-Use Changes and Historical Landscape Elements

by Veronika Peřinková, Hana Vavrouchová, David Kovařík, Tomáš Mašíček, Antonín Vaishar and Milada Šťastná

Land 2022, 11(12), 2313; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11122313 - 16 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2551

Abstract

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. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Landscape Ecology)

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24 pages, 11830 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

History of Using Hydropower in the Moravice River Basin, Czechia

by Marek Havlíček, Aleš Vyskočil, Martin Caletka, Zbyněk Sviták, Miriam Dzuráková, Hana Skokanová and Marta Šopáková

Water 2022, 14(6), 916; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14060916 - 15 Mar 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3107

Abstract

Water-powered facilities (WPFs) have traditionally been a pillar of the economy and social development. Therefore, the state took an interest in having these objects recorded and mapped in relevant maps and registers. This article focuses on identifying and localizing WPFs in the Moravice River basin in the so-called Sudetenland, Czechia, between the years 1763 and 2021. Specifically, the evolution and (dis)continuity of the WPFs are assessed through an analysis of cartographic and archival sources, reflecting the wider socioeconomic and demographic context as explanatory variables. The cartographic sources included old military topographic maps of Austria-Hungary and Czechoslovakia from four periods (the mid-18th century, mid-19th century, end of the 19th century, and mid-20th century) on the one hand and two state water-powered facility registers from 1930 and 1953 on the other. The archival sources included funds from regional and state archives. The results show that the count of WPFs peaked during the 19th century, after which there occurred a steep decline caused by societal and economic changes, namely, the expulsion of the local German population, nationalization in the postwar period, and economic and organizational transformations in the socialist era. Special attention is paid to hydropower plants, whose evolution reflects the outlined economic processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Energy Use of Rivers in the Historical Context and Water Return to the (Urban/Agricultural) Landscape)

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18 pages, 3192 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Depopulation and Extinction of Villages in Moravia and the Czech Part of Silesia since World War II

by Antonín Vaishar, Hana Vavrouchová, Andrea Lešková and Veronika Peřinková

Land 2021, 10(4), 333; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10040333 - 25 Mar 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4568

Abstract

A thousand villages disappeared in Czechia during the course of historic development. There are two basic causes of the disappearance of villages: artificial human intervention (planned changes or hostile liquidation) and gradual depopulation due to remoteness and poor conditions for development, possibly in combination with natural disasters. The greatest number of extinct villages is related to the period after World War II, when many villages in the borderland, from which the German population was displaced, were demolished or abandoned. The aim of the article is to clarify the causes of the extinction of villages, its impact on the landscape and on the settlement system, as well as the possibilities of preserving the historical and cultural memory of extinct places. Finally, the danger of extinction of villages at the present time is discussed. This article points out that it is currently not necessary or effective to have the dense network of settlements that was present in the Middle Ages, when the population density was conditional to the limited technological potential of agriculture and transport. The main argument for preserving villages is their spiritual and cultural value, and their genius loci. However, this can be preserved without keeping the physical structure. At this time, the smallest settlements are changing from being permanently inhabited, to becoming second homes sites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues)

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