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Magazine
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The Region of South MoraviaThe Region of South Moravia is located in the sunny, southeastern part of the country along the borders with Austria and Slovakia. Its capital is Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the trade fair center of Central Europe and the home of many important institutions including a number of diplomatic missions. The region is an important economic area, with is fruit orchards, vineyards and wine production maintaining high European standards. More than 96% of all the vineyards in the Czech Republic are concentrated in South Moravia. Numerous firms involved in the processing of grapes and wine production are also located here. Traditional rural folklore makes up a valuable and interesting part of the region's cultural heritage. Folklore includes music, dance, dialects, folk costumes, arts and crafts and trades. The countryside between Brno and Slavkov was the site in 1805 of the Battle of Austerlitz - also known as the "Battle of
Three Emperors" - where Napoleon defeated an Austro-Russian alliance. Two sites in South Moravia have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The first was the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape, which is considered the largest artificially created landscape in Europe. Spread out between the villages of Lednice and Valtice is a landscape complete with parks and ponds, many Romantic buildings and numerous nature preserves (including the Lednice Pond). The Tugendhat Villa in Brno is the most important European building designed and built by the outstanding German Functionalist architect, Ludwig Miese van der Rohe. It is one of the most important examples of Functionalist architecture in the world. In addition to the Lednice-Valtice complex, South Moravia is home to two UNESCO Biosphere Reserves: Pálava and the White
Carpathians. One of the Czech Republic's four national parks - the Podyjí National Park on the Dyje River - is located here.
The Moravian Karst is a protected landscape region with hidden valleys, caves and abysses. The Region of South Moravia is primarily known in Japan for performances by the Brno National Theater and the Brno State Philharmonic. Japanese artists are regular participants in the Brno International Biennale of Design. The largest investor of Japanese capital in the region is the firm Alps Electric Czech in Boskovice, who manufactures keyboards for notebooks and television and satellite electronics. 1. Name of Region: South Moravia South Moravia Regional Government Offices The Region of ZlínThe Region of Zlín is located in the easternmost part of the Czech Republic. It enchants visitors with its variety. The region offers in a relatively compact area a wide range of natural and cultural riches - on offer in this concentrated form are mountains, formal gardens, spas, vineyards and a variety of religious monuments and historically important buildings. The Region of Zlín covers what was once a part of the Great Moravian Empire. It was here that St. Cyril and St. Methodius, the patrons of Europe, preached and developed the first system of writing for Slavic languages (known as Glagolitic). The religious reformer and "teacher of nations" Jan Amos Comenius (Komenský) was born and worked in the area around the town of Uherský Brod. In modern history, the unique Functionalist project of the shoe-manufacturing magnate Tomáš Baťa stands out. Baťa developed an entrepreneurial concept for the urban development of his factory and the surrounding town of Zlín. Among the world famous architects to have contributed to this project were František L. Gahura, Le Corbusier, Jan Kotěra and Vladimír Karfík. The basilica in Velehrad is an important historical monument as well being an important pilgrimage site, with thousands of pilgrims visiting annually. The city of Kroměříž (known as the "Athens of the Haná") is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Another unique area is Pustevny, with its alpine chalets and tourist cottages designed at the turn of the twentieth century by the architect Dušan Jurkovič. This same architect designed the spa of Luhačovice - the most important spa center in the region. Both were designed in a striking architectural style known as the "Folk Art Nouveau." The natural jewels of the region are the White Carpathian Protected Landscape Region (a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve where more
than 700 species of plants can be found) and the Beskyd Mountains, with its rugged countryside dotted with typical Moravian
Wallachian cottages. There are many important social events in the region, including the Zlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth, the Summer Film School in Uherské Hradiště and the recently reestablished Zlín Fine Arts Salon, which follows in the tradition of Baťa's famed tradition of artistic salons in the 1930s. The region's most important assets include folk crafts (basketry and carving), handmade glassware, horse breeding, spas, quality university education (Tomáš Baťa University) and world-famous musical ensembles (the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic and the Hradišťan folk music ensemble). Slivovitz (a brandy distilled from plums) and wine are typical products for this region. 1. Name of Region: Zlín The Regional Authority of the Zlín Region The Moravian - Silesian regionThe Region of Moravia-Silesia is a region of contrasts and opportunities. Following the discovery of seams of anthracite coal here in 1763, northern Moravia and Silesia became the industrial heart of the Czech lands. Beginning in 1994, coal mining was hit by a massive decline; however, this new era has brought with it new opportunities. In the former "steel heart of the republic" a mining museum has replaced closed mines. This industrial heritage has also left the region with unusual architectural monuments. An important historical event here was a find of coal in the ashes of a prehistoric hearth atop Landek. This represents
unique evidence of the first use of coal by human beings (23,000 years ago). Coal was used by mammoth hunters and this find
has indelibly impacted the fields of archaeology and mining. The Moravia-Silesia Region is very well known for its many technological monuments, e.g. the Technical Museum of Automobiles
in Kopřivnice, the Railroad Car Museum in Studénka, the Mining Museum in Ostrava-Petřkovice, the Michal Mine in Ostrava, and the
Dolní Vitkovice factory grounds in Ostrava. The region is dominated by the massif of the High Jeseník Mountains, with the highest point in Moravia, Praděd (1,491 meters). The mountains move down into the alpine plateau of the Low Jeseník Mountains. Together they form the Jeseník Protected Landscape Region. The Beskyd Protected Landscape Region, covering the crests of these mountains, is the largest park of its kind in the Czech Republic, covering an area of 1,160 km2. The Odra River valley is another area with rare and unique features of natural beauty. The Lachian traditions, which have been preserved in the areas around Hukvaldy and Štramberk, are living evidence of the rich heritage of folklore in the region. Silesian folklore traditions are kept alive in the area around the city of Český Těšín. A strong folk tradition, whose dominant features are wooden buildings, churches, chapels and bells, remains today in the colorful Beskyd Mountains. Music festivals are an integral part of the region's cultural life. Among those well known internationally are the Janáček's
May Festival, Janáček's Hukvaldy, Beethoven's Hradec, the Colors of Ostrava world music festival and the Spectaculo Interesse
puppet festival. 1. Name of Region: The Moravian - Silesian Region The Moravian - Silesian Region Regional Authority |
