A protected landscape area on the border of Bohemia and Moravia, declared in 1970 and marked by a harmonious cultural landscape with peat bogs, ponds and remnants of primeval forest.
The Žďárské vrchy Protected Landscape Area lies at an altitude of 490 to 836.3 m above sea level. [1] It was declared on 25 May 1970, with effect from 30 July of the same year [1]. According to the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic (AOPK ČR), the purpose of the area is "the preservation of a harmoniously balanced cultural landscape with a significant share of natural ecosystems" [1].
History of settlement and land use
Before medieval colonisation the territory was covered by extensive primeval forests that were hard to pass through [1]. The region was settled in the 13th and 14th centuries, largely through the nobility and the monks of the Žďár monastery [1]. At the start of settlement the forest was cleared by burning, creating farmland, above all pastures [1]. Since 1800, with a single exception, no new municipalities have been founded in the area, so the number of settlements reached its present state [1].
Mining, industry and water management
Although mineral deposits in the area were neither numerous nor rich, the development of the landscape was shaped by ironworking and glassmaking, which required large amounts of wood and repeatedly affected the condition of the forests [1]. Hammer mills arose along watercourses, and ore deposits were accompanied by mining settlements [1]. Remains of surface iron ore mining are found at Ransko, especially near the Ranská jezírka ponds, and remains of a glassmaking settlement with an educational trail are at České Milovy [1]. The building of numerous ponds in the area was also connected with hammer-mill production and the need to retain water [1].
Condition of the forests and farmland
In 1930 a heavy snowfall struck the local forests and devastated practically all the forest complexes of the protected landscape area [1]. Its consequence is the present predominant species and age composition of the forests, consisting mainly of spruce stands about ninety years old [1]. Farmland was most affected by the collectivisation and industrialisation of agriculture in the middle of the 20th century, accompanied by the regulation of watercourses, land drainage and the removal of field boundaries, copses and old sunken lanes [1]. The AOPK ČR, together with local owners, is trying to restore these small elements of the original agricultural landscape [1].
Protected sites and nature
The area contains fifty small-scale specially protected sites: four national nature reserves, ten nature reserves and 36 natural monuments [1]. Part of the Natura 2000 network is formed by 21 sites of Community importance [1]. The national nature reserves are Dářko, Radostínské rašeliniště, Ransko and Žákova hora [1]. The Dářko and Radostínské rašeliniště reserves are extensive peat bogs formed at the end of the Ice Age, with Dářko described as an example of peat pine forest with the occurrence of mountain pine [1]. Radostínské rašeliniště was considerably affected by peat extraction, carried out since the 19th century [1]. The oldest small-scale protected site in the area is the Žákova hora national nature reserve, which preserves the legacy of the original primeval forests in the form of islands of fir-beech stands [1][2].
Character of the landscape
The landscape is characterised by rocks and peat bogs formed by frost and melting snowdrifts of the last Ice Age [2]. Forests alternate with small fields and meadows, separated by stony balks [2]. Villages are adorned with black-and-white timber houses and linked by sunken lanes with avenues and wayside shrines [2]. The landscape contains brooks, rivers and ponds created since the Middle Ages, and in spring small meadows spared from intensive farming come into bloom [2]. It was precisely for this mosaic of cultural landscape that the area was declared a protected landscape area in 1970 [2].
Visitor information
The administration of the Žďárské vrchy Protected Landscape Area runs the Žďárské vrchy Nature House in the village of Krátká, where, according to the AOPK ČR, it provides information on natural sights, places attractive to tourists and events in the area and its surroundings [2].