Moravian Slovakia - Mährische Slowakei

Folk architecture in Moravian Slovakia - entrance to a wine cellar in Kyjov

The Moravian Slovakia (Czech and Slovak Slovácko or Moravské Slovácko) is a region in the southeast Moravia. It borders on the south-east Záhoria (Slovakia) and in the south to that Weinviertel (Lower Austria). In the east, the area is bounded by the White Carpathians and the state border with Slovakia. In the north-west and north, the demarcation to the neighboring areas is fluid and not precisely defined. In the northwest the region ends on Mars Mountains, in the north the transition to Moravian Wallachia runs smoothly at Zlín-Otrokovice. Belonging to this region is not only defined geographically, but above all by the traditions, music, costumes, dialect and viticulture.

Due to its location, Moravian Slovakia is very suitable for day trips from Vienna, Brno or Bratislava and, in addition to the Unesco World Heritage, has it Lednice-Valtice cultural landscape numerous other attractions to offer as well.

Regions

places

  • Uherské Hradiště (Hungarian Hradisch) forms together with the two neighboring cities Staré Město u Uherského Hradiště (Old Town in Hungarian Hradisch) and Kunovice (Kunowitz) a small-town agglomeration area of ​​approx. 40,000 inhabitants.
  • Břeclav (Lundenburg) - important railway junction at the border triangle between the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia, 25,000 inhabitants
  • Uherský Brod (Hungarian bread),
  • Hodonín (Goeding)
  • Strážnice (Straßnitz)
  • Kyjov (Gaya)

The two larger cities are located on the outskirts of Moravian Slovakia Zlín and Mikulov (Nikolsburg), which are usually no longer attributed to the region.

Other goals

background

nature and landscape

Lednice chateau with park and palm house

Centuries of farming, viticulture, fruit and vegetable growing on partly very productive soils and in higher elevations through pasture farming has created and shaped the landscape as it exists today.

In Moravian Slovakia there are White Carpathian Mountains (Bílé Karpaty) and the Pollau Mountains (Pálava) two UNESCO biosphere reserves and with the Lednice-Valtice cultural landscape a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The White Carpathians, the highest point of which is 970 m Velká Javořina is located on the border with Slovakia, occupy an area of ​​715 square kilometers. The area with its extensive slopes, species-rich meadows and groups of individual trees was elevated to the status of a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1996. The Pollau Mountains, a smaller area with an area of ​​83 square kilometers, were recognized as a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1986.

In the 19th century, numerous industrial companies sprang up on the wide March and Thaya plain along the KuK Nordbahn (Vienna-Krakow), which opened in 1837. It was one of the industrial core countries of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and world-class products are produced here to this day (e.g. shoes from Baťa in Zlín or turboprop aircraft in Kunovice

Costumes

The Costumes are very colorful and differ from place to place. Only wide, white and embroidered shirts for men are uniform, from light beige to blue to black-colored trousers and vests, as well as jackets and coats in the same color, and a mostly smaller hat with usually only a slightly pronounced brim. The women wear colorful skirts, wide, white and mostly embroidered blouses and usually a headscarf.[1]

The costume is still mostly worn today for celebrations of (village) life, sometimes by older women in very rural areas even on ordinary Sundays. Since the velvet revolution and the epochal change of 1989 in the Czechoslovakia - after a phase of state support and protegation in the late 1940s and 1950s and the subsequent decline of folk art - a revival of traditions from below began in the 1990s, which continues to this day and is also cultivated by the next generation.

language

The official language in Slovácko is Czech. The vernacular is the Moravian dialect, which differs slightly from the Czech in the Bohemian part of the country. The Moravian-Slovak dialects spoken here form a transition to the Slovak language and thus represent an important link in the North Slavic dialect continuum, which extends from the Sorbs to Russia. More German loanwords have survived in the dialect than in standard Czech, and some Slovak loanwords have also found their way into the country. The pronunciation is partly similar to Slovak.

Foreign language skills are widespread in the region, with most people having at least a rudimentary command of German or English - many of them even both languages. The younger generation can usually speak English very well, while older people tend to speak German.

getting there

By plane

  • Kunovice Airport is located in the area, but it has no regular service; but a lot of demand and excursion flying
  • The nearest scheduled airports are in Brno, Bratislava and Vienna.

By train

By bus

In the street

By bicycle

Well-developed long-distance cycle paths along the March and Thaya rivers.

mobility

  • The train routes mentioned in the chapter Getting here are also used by regional trains
  • Roads are well-developed interurban roads with mostly little traffic.

Tourist Attractions

  • The Lednice-Valtice cultural landscape is considered to be the largest composed landscape unit in Europe and perhaps even the whole world. At the instigation of the Princes of Liechtenstein, a large landscape park with castles was built on an area of ​​almost 200 square kilometers between the early 18th and mid-19th centuries Lednice (Eisgrub) and Valtice (Feldsberg) as well as some more distant buildings. In 1996 the area was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
  • Open-air museum for South Moravia in Strážnice.
  • Archaeological Museum of Dolní Věstonice: At the site of the Venus from Dolní Věstonice shows life at the time of the Ice Age.
  • National memorial Mikulčice-Valy: Finds from the 7th to the 9th century are reminiscent of the Great Moravian Empire
  • Great Moravian Memorial "Na Valách" was built over the foundations of a church from the 9th century - Staré Město u Uherského Hradiště
  • Folklore Museum in Uherské Hradiště

activities

Customs and events

Ride of the kings in Vlčnov, 2007 - the king
Couple in folk costume
  • Hody In most localities but also in districts of larger cities, a decorated tree similar to the maypole is planted at different times, mostly in late summer or autumn. májka set up and then held various dance choreographies and associated rituals according to established, traditional rules.
  • Ride of the kings (jízda králů). Widespread in the 19th and early 20th centuries, this tradition only exists in five villages in South Moravia. According to the story, the tradition goes back to the flight of the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus after a lost battle, who is said to have escaped his enemies unrecognized in women's clothes.
  • Horňácke Slavností: Meet in mid-July every year Velká nad Veličkou Musicians and dancers of regional, traditional folk music and their listeners. It is announced (usually very quickly 2-3 months in advance) on the website of the municipality of Velká nad Veličkou http://obecvelka.cz/ under "Kulturní a společenské události" (German: "Cultural and social events").

Sports

Hikes in the low mountain ranges and bike tours along the March and Thaya are popular with locals and tourists alike. Since the small ponds and lakes reliably freeze over in winter, ice hockey is also popular.

music and dance

Music plays an essential role in maintaining tradition and a typical band from Moravian Slovakia includes double bass, violin and Cymbal (Dulcimer), occasionally also a clarinet, and smaller or larger choirs sing, both with instrumental accompaniment and with instrumental accompaniment a cappella. Folklore groups also perform traditional folk dances at events. The recruit dance Verbuňk, which comes from the 18th century, has been part of the intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO since 2005.

kitchen

Alois Kalvoda: Slovácko - Pohled k sv. Antonínku (view of St. Anthony's Chapel). Oil on canvas, 1906
  • Wine: The Slovácká vinařská podoblast is one of the four Moravian wine-growing sub-regions, almost every village has extensive vineyards and wine cellars. Both red and white wine are produced, both of which are partly of high quality, with white wine dominating. The most important white wine varieties are Müller Thurgau, Grüner Veltliner (Zelený Veltlín), Pinot Blanc and Riesling (Rízling), red wine varieties St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch. The cultivation is often still in smaller quantities for personal consumption, but in recent years it has also been increasingly used for sale and export. Typical of the region is a small, stemless wine glass in the shape of a cup with a capacity of around 5 cl. In autumn there are wine festivals and tastings in many places. It is also during the harvest season (August to October) Burčak (semi-fermented grape juice; Sturm, Federweißer) very popular and is often sold on the roadside.
  • Fires: Plum brandy or Slivovitz (Slivovice) and apricot brandy (Meruňkovice) are typical fruit brandies of the region with around 40% to 60% alcohol. There are around 200 licensed small distilleries for fruit growers (Pěstitelské pálenice).
  • Trdelník: The Baumkuchen was first introduced in the late 18th century Skalica, a Slovak town just across the border, and has since spread throughout the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Due to its proximity to Skalica, the production of Trdelník is also widespread in Moravian Slovakia, especially at festivals on charcoal fires.

nightlife

  • Important parts of the nightlife include the wine cellars and wine taverns in the small towns, as well as folk festivals and Kirtage. In the few urban settlements there is a small, manageable range of nightspots.

security

The security situation does not differ from that in the other rural regions of the Czech Republic, Slovakia or Austria.

health

There are hospitals, among others. in Břeclav, Hodonín and Uherské Hradiště. Medical care corresponds to the standard in the rest of the Czech Republic.

climate

The Pannonian climate is predominant in Moravian Slovakia and roughly corresponds to that of Eastern Austria. The winters are rather dry and from December to February there is mostly continuous light frost. The summers are hot and there are frequent heat thunderstorms.

literature

Web links

  • slovacko.cz - Guide through the region (in Czech, German and other languages)
  • malovanykraj.cz - Folklore magazine about Moravian Slovakia (Czech)
  • slovackemuzeum.cz - Homepage of the Folklore Museum in Uherské Hradiště
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  1. ↑hradiste.cz - Illustrations of the costumes in the individual communities