Sites of natural interest
Come and get to know the most important karst area in Central Europe - the
Moravian Karst. In orographic terms it is part of the Drahany Highlands (along
with the Adamov Highlands and Konice Highlands). The Moravian Karst is the
largest and most typically karstic area in the Czech Highlands. Typologically
this is mesokarst, i.e. incomplete karst with relatively pronounced development
of surface and underground phenomena. The most characteristic karst features
include plateaux, sinkholes, plunges and springs, not to mention caves and
depressions, important archaeological sites and remarkable flora and fauna.
The Moravian
Karst was declared a protected landscape area in 1956, as only the second such
area in the country to be given this status. The most interesting locations in
the karst include the national nature reserves Vývěry Punkvy (The Punkva
Springs), Býčí Skála (Bull Rock) and Rudické Propadání (The Rudice Depression).
Rakovec Valley, through which an educational trail runs, is also an important
location. There are wetlands here with alder and ash trees, the only place where
the flowers snowflakes grow in the Vyškov region. An artesian well is one of the
items of interest to be seen along the educational trail. The principal
landscape feature in the Drahany Highlands are extensive remnants of levelled
surface, which was formed primarily in the Tertiary period. The streams and
rivers in the headwater areas form wide shallow valleys. The greatest altitude
in the vicinity of our cycle path is around 600 metres above sea level on the
flat summit near Senetářov, on which the Kojál television transmitter stands -
one of the tallest manmade structures in the Czech Republic (339.5 m).
The Moravian Karst
Blansko is known as the gateway to the Moravian Karst, whose unique and
individual character attracts tourists from all over the world.
Of the
more than one thousand caves here, four are open to the public. The greatest
attraction in the Moravian Karst is undoubtedly the Punkva Caves, which offer a
unique boat ride along the underground River Punkva and a sightseeing
trip opening out into the bottom of the Macocha Gorge. Catherine Cave is also an
attractive destination for families with children, most notably for its
extensive stalactites and stalagmites. You can get to both caves from Skalní
Mlýn (Rock Mill) in the Moravian Karst. The Balcarka Cave in Ostrov u
Macochy, in contrast, attracts visitors with its unusual variety of colour and
its intricate labyrinth of passages and cupolas. The last of the cave systems
open to the public are the Sloupsko-Šosůvské Caves, falling under the
authority of Sloup in the Moravian Karst,
which conceal
wild and monumental formations alternating with delicate multiform stalactites
and stalagmites. These are also the only caves accessible to those in
wheelchairs.
Reservation of tickets to the caves:
Skalní Mlýn Central Information Service - tel. 516 413 575,
uismk@cavemk.cz
The Rudice Depression
The dominant feature of the middle part of the Moravian Karst - the
Jedovnice waters disappear underground here, coming back to the surface after a
long journey through the mysterious underground near the distant Býčí Skála
(Bull Rock) twelve kilometres away. It also boasts the deepest dry gorge in the
Czech Republic (153 metres) and a system of waterfalls 86 metres high. Certain
areas are open following agreement with the local speleological organisation.