The centennial of Mendel University in Brno and its Faculty of Agrisciences (Editorial)

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.O

Social Farming in Czechia, Actors and Barriers

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.O

Smart Village and Sustainability. Southern Moravia Case Study

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.O

Sustainable Development of a Peripheral Mountain Region on the State Border: Case Study of Moravské Kopanice Microregion (Moravia)

The sustainability of rural areas is considered to be most threatened in peripheral, hardly accessible microregions with insufficient economical sources. The paper analyses one such rural area in the eastern part of Moravia from the viewpoint of individual economic, social, and environmental sustainability pillars. The area under study is the mountain territory on the border with Slovakia, which is under large-scale landscape protection. The area with very limited economic sources has been impacted with a change to the geopolitical situation after 1993 (from the centre of Czechoslovakia to the fringe of Czechia). It was stated that the environmental pillar is in the best of conditions; however, perhaps threatened with missing technical infrastructure in relation to the disposal of solid, liquid, and gaseous waste, the social pillar is improving in relation to the post-productive transition, whereas the economic pillar is the most fragile because of its dependence on exogenous jobs in surrounding towns. In general, the microregion seems to be sustainable at the moment. Long-term sustainability will depend on the general economic, demographic, and climatic development of the country and Europe.O

Regional identities of Czech historical lands

Bohemia and Moravia are historical lands, which constitute Czechia (together with a small part of Silesia) since the 10th century. Two entirely different settlement systems can be identified in Czechia: the centralistic Bohemian sett lement system surrounded by a ring of mountains, and the transitional and polycentric Moravian settlement system. The two lands were physically divided by a border forest. Although they have belonged always to the same state, their autonomy was relatively high until the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918. In 1948, a new administrative division was introduced, which did not respect the border between the two lands. Bohemia and Moravia kept their importance as different cultural units only. The main research question addressed in this paper is how the Bohemian and Moravian identities are perceived by the people today and whether it makes any sense to consider the historical lands seriously when rethinking the idea of the Europe of regions

Present consequences of the post-war migration in the Czech borderland for regional 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

Der Strukturwandel der Kleinstädte in Mähren

Kleinstädte sind ein sehr wenig untersuchtes Element des Siedlungssystems. In Mähren sind die Kleinstädte der einzige Städtetyp, der in letzten zehn Jahren nach der Einwohnerzahl als ein Ganzes wächst. Im Siedlungssystem Mährens spielen Kleinstädte bis jetzt eine Schlüsselrolle bei der Erneuerung des Landes. Dreizehn Fallstudien der Städte mit weniger als 15 000 Einwohner wurden in den Jahren 1999 bis 2001 bearbeitet. Im Zentrum der Aufmerksamkeit stand der Strukturwandel nach dem Jahre 1989. Veränderungen von Industrie und Arbeitsmarkt, Dienstleistungen, Fremdenverkehr und Umwelt wurden untersucht. Der Beitrag macht auf Besonderheiten der Lebensweise in Kleinstädten aufmerksam. Es handelt sich zum Beispiel um höhere gesellschaftliche Kontrolle und persönliche Sicherheit, unterschiedliche Gestaltung der Selbstverwaltung und der lokalen Kultur als in Groß- und Mittelstädten oder Einbindung der Bewohner in die Stadterneuerung. In der Zukunft ist eine weitere Differenzierung der Kleinstädte zu erwarten. Einige Kleinstädte können vielleicht ihre Zentralfunktion weiter ausnutzen, anderen müssen ihren Aufschwung in einer Spezialisierung suchen. Noch andere werden wahrscheinlich ihren urbanen Charakter verlieren. Nach der Zeit der Uniformität und Nivellierung ist die Frage der Identität und des Images einzelnen Kleinstädte sehr aktuell.Small cities represent a settlement system that has been largely neglected by research to date. Small cities are the only type of city in Moravia that have grown in terms of population figures in the last ten years. Until now, small cities have played a key role in Moravia in the renewal of the region. Thirteen case studies of cities with less than 15 000 inhabitants were processed between 1999 and 2001. The main focus of interest was on the structural transformation after 1989. The examinations centred on changes in industry and the job market, in services, tourism and the environment. The article draws attention to the peculiarities of lifestyles in small cities. For example, it deals with higher social control and personal security, different forms of autonomy and the local culture, as in large and medium- sized cities, and the integration of the inhabitants in urban renewal. In future, we can expect a further differentiation of the small cities. Some small cities may be able to continue to use their central function, while others must seek their growth in specialisation. Still others appear likely to lose their urban character. After a period of uniformity and levelling out, the question of the identity and image of individual small cities is extremely current

Cultural Tourism as a Possible Driver of Rural Development in Czechia. Wine Tourism in Moravia as a Case Study

The paper connects culture, tourism and rural development. It tries to make anoverview 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 elaboratedusing the Importance/Performance Analysis. Czechia has great potential for thecultural 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 isthe 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.O

Cultural Tourism as a Driver of Rural Development.Case Study: Southern Moravia

The main aim of the study was to find out whether cultural tourism could be a driver of rural development in the selected area and in general. In case yes, to what extent and under what conditions. Three districts in the South-Moravian Region, Znojmo, Břeclav, and Hodonín, situated in the rural borderland with Austria and Slovakia represented the study area. Both geographical and sociological methods were used to gather evidence for cultural tourism in that study. Firstly, attractiveness analysis of the area defined for cultural tourism took place. Next, factors influencing the potential for cultural tourism affecting rural development in South Moravia were evaluated. Finally, synergistic relations were discussed. In the territory, many forms of tourism intersect. Based on the results, it can be stated that cultural tourism can hardly be the main driver of rural development after the decline of agriculture because the region's economy has branched out in several directions. However, it can be an important complementary activity that yields both economic and non-economic benefits.O