JIHOVYCHOD - Geography and history
The region of Jihovychod lies in the south of Czech Republic and is composed by two kraje, Vysocina and Jihomoravsky. The region of Jihovychod covers 13 990 km2 representing near 18 % of the Czech Republic's total area.
The Vysocina kraj
The name of the Vysocina kraj derives from the name of the Ceskomoravska vrchovina (Bohemian-Moravian Highlands), a hilly, undulating countryside situated between the two historical lands of the Czech Republic. Vysocina reaches over 800 meters in altitude, in the two distinct mountain ranges of Zdarske vrchy in the north of the region and Jihlavske vrchy in the south-west. The main European water divide, echoing the former frontier between Bohemia and Moravia, divides the region into two parts almost equal in area. Bordering the South-Moravian Region to the east, the South-Bohemian and Middle Bohemian Regions to the west, and sharing a border with the Pardubice Region to the north-east, the region is situated in the very heart of the Czech Republic. The economy of the region's eastern part is influenced by the neighbouring urban centre of Brno, while the north-eastern part is within the sphere of influence of the capital of Prague.
With mean annual temperatures of 5-7 degrees centigrade, Vysocina is one of the colder regions of the Czech Republic. The original virgin forest was transformed by human activity into an undulating cultivated steppe, with low hills and valleys and a wealth of woods and groves. A mass of cultivated forest covers most of the highest areas of the region. The many streams form a number of ponds, which fulfil functions from economic to recreational to landscaping. The lack of large ore deposits has spared Vysocina from devastation due to mining activity.
The history of the region has, to a great extent, been influenced by natural conditions. Medieval colonization, as well as the industrialization of the 19th century, affected the area of what is the present region later than was the case in the Bohemian and Moravian lowlands. Although this situation was to blame for Vysocina's traditional position among the poorer of the country's regions, the region was, on the other hand, spared environmental pollution and the devastation of large areas by developing industry. This is perhaps why Vysocina now ranks among the fastest-developing regions in the Czech Republic.
Natural conditions scattered the population of Vysocina into over seven hundred towns and villages, interconnected by a rich network of roads. Small villages near the local centre, which is usually a quiet small town with a population of three to ten thousand, are typical of Vysocina. There are only four towns with population over twenty thousand; Jihlava, the regional capital, has a population of fifty thousand. The increasing standards of living and mobility lead to the expectation that this situation will prove to be an asset. People in Vysocina are able to enjoy the advantages of living in the countryside while being guaranteed an easy access to modern facilities offered by local urban centres. More than half of the region's population are able to reach the regional capital within thirty minutes.
History has provided Vysocina with a number of monuments, three of which, the historical centre of Telc, the Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk at Zelena Hora near Zdar nad Sazavou and the Jewish Ghetto together with the St. Prokopus Basilica in Trebic have been classified as international UNESCO monuments. The landmarks left by history complement the way people have changed the countryside, completing its beauty.
The Jihomoravsky kraj
The Jihomoravsky kraj consists of the districts of Blansko, Brno-city, Brno-district, Breclav, Hodonín, Vyškov and Znojmo. The region's metropolis is the city of Brno - the largest Moravian city and the second largest city in the Czech Republic (it's population was 384 700 in 1998). The number of inhabitants together with the city's economic importance place it unambiguously above other cities in the region.
The kraj's geographical position is one of its advantages. It is placed on the historical route between the North and South of Europe. It borders Austria and Slovakia. Natural conditions within the region vary and impact the way they are used as well as the way of life. Within the region, the following types of landscape dominate: the southern edge of the Czech and Czech-Moravian Highlands, the Boskovická Furrow, the Brno Massive, the Moravian Karst and the Drahanská Higlands; the Moravian Vale (the Dyjsko-svratecký and the Dolnomoravský vales and the Vyškov Gate) and the Carpathian Highlands (the South-Moravian Carpathians - the Pálava and Dunajovické Hills), the Central-Moravian Carpathians (the
Zdánický Forest and the Litencické Hills) and the White Carpathians with its foot-hills. Natural qualities of individual parts (from the point of view of mineral resources, fertility and suitability for agriculture and forestry, potable water resources, transport permeability or habitability of land and its character) impact human activities and potential use of the land. These qualities remarkably influence development opportunities of the region as a whole as well as its individual parts.
Over the course of history the Southern Moravia Region and its centres became an economically important area. The development probably started in the south-eastern part within the Great Moravian Empire along two axes - along the Morava River and from Breclav via Brno to Blansko and Boskovice. The first written records in existence of present day district towns date back to the 11th century. Since this time it has been possible to track the growth of their local importance. At the end of 11th century the most important towns of the region were Brno and Znojmo. The only Moravian town to match their importance at that time was Olomouc.
The development of the latter axis was faster due to developing transport connections between Brno and Vienna. The first railroad connecting these two places was opened as soon as in 1839. Economic development supported the growing of importance of Brno before the first world war. The development of Moravia was dynamic between the two world wars. Even the break-up of Austro-Hungarian Empire did not impact the lively economical exchange between the region and Austria and Vienna.
The "Iron Curtain" broke all natural economic ties of the southern border of Moravia, and it slowed down the development of industry and business on the border area and had many severe economical impacts.
The development of agriculture has not only geographical but also historical roots. It was slowed down severely in the 50s and 60s due to collectivisation of farms. In spite of all this agriculture remained a highly productive part of the economy.
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