The engineering landscaping in an historical area of central Europe

Abstract

Vaníček, V. and Hrabal, A., 1974. The engineering landscaping in an historical area of Central Europe. Landscape Plann., 1: 57–79. The territory of Central Europe displays abundant natural and cultural values that have been transmitted from the past and now furnish evidence of the development of human civilization, the recent historical epoch included. Despite the high degree of cultivation attained in the countryside the varied pattern is still predominant in the greater part of the territory. Any metamorphic interference resulting from human activity with its general appearance, scenery, productive and inhabitable values should therefore be performed skilfully, on the basis of verified economic indicators and with due regard to ecologic principles. Should the environment serve well the needs of the coming generations it is highly imperative to preserve it in a healthy and valuable condition in both productive and aesthetical respects. In compliance with the complex concept as outlined above the planning, and even realization, of engineering landscaping in South Moravia, Czechoslovakia, has been carried out. On an area of about 1 200 km 2 which extends to the north of the Danube River within the area between Vienna and Brno, between the Carpathians in the east and the Bohemo—Moravian Highlands in the west, some natural phenomena have accumulated that have no counterpart in other regions of Central Europe. Thus, there are large complexes of very old floodland forests; archaeological finds including the famous idol of womanhood— the Věstonice Venus; nature reserves with migratory species of the water fowl; world-known hunting grounds; and particularly the Pavlov Hills, a protected landscape area which, due to its geological and morphological character and typical coenoses, occupies a specific position in the region. But there is another feature typical of the entire territory— the unbalanced conditions of its water conservancy. On the one hand, the region is affected by spells of drought, while on the other, the waters of local rivers overflow the banks nearly annually to flood the nearby flatland on an area of as much as 25 000 ha. The territory under study is a region characteristic of a number of contrasting problems, and as human environment it is not yet fully under control. Therefore, a most important project of engineering landscaping has been initiated. It is expected that realization of the project will remove the two major contrasting problems—drought and excessive moisture (floods), which, subsequently, will create favourable conditions for a further intensification of the agricultural and silvicultural production, for a general recovery and accessibility of the entire region and thus for its cultural, recreational, and inhabitable values. The key work in the entire complex of engineering landscaping is to be seen in the system of 3 dammed lakes to be constructed at the confluence of the Dyje, Jihlava, and Svratka Rivers, beneath the Pavlov Hills. This system of reservoirs is expected to hold roughly 120 million m 3 water utilizable for irrigating the planned 54 000 ha of fields, meadows, orchards and vineyards, apart from the several thousands of hectares under floodland forests. Moreover, the number of people preferring recreation on the banks of the newly constructed reservoirs to other recreational opportunities is estimated to reach as much as 120 000 daily. To serve this purpose, construction of the reservoirs and regulation of the rivers are to be supplemented by plantations of attractive vegetation. All of the planned transformations of the landscape have been based on thorough scientific analyses and designs along the lines of which all subsequent activity associated with the construction is to be channelled. Among other things, a general project has been worked out indicating the principles of taking care of the landscape in the South Moravian region and, via competition, seven teams of specialists have been busy with treating this space in a complex way from the aspects of town-and-country and landscape planning, and even from the futurological point of view. Moreover, the preparation of a special statute is under way for this region to be gazetted as the model area of complex landscaping. This precaution is believed to provide conditions for implementation of a creative and protective managerial policy on the studied area, in a similar way as has been done for instance on the areas of National Parks; a difference being that not only the required conservation of Nature and natural resources will be channelled along indicated lines, also the development of new values in the landscape will be included, all based on the approach considered to be optimum in both economic and ecologic respects. The engineering landscaping as a whole is treated so as to be in harmony with both the long-term plan of the country's national economic development and the principles of ecology, while duly respecting the ecosystems, and totality and conservation of the environment as well.