Moravian Highlands is a cultural region in the western part of Moravia and middle part of present-day Czech Republic. The area forms eastern part of administrative region Vysočina and small parts of administrative regions Jihomoravský and Jihočeský. The region Moravian Highlands is divided into several subregions, with the main parts being Northern Highlands, Jihlava Highlands, Southern Highlands and Low Highlands (Czech: Podhorácko).

Its most important center is the town of Jihlava

Jihlava

Jihlava is a city in the Czech Republic. Jihlava is a centre of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava river on the ancient frontier between Moravia and Bohemia, and is the oldest mining town in the Czech Republic, ca. 50 years older than Kutná Hora.Among the principal buildings are the...

 which is located on the Moravia borders. Other important population centers include Velké Meziříčí

Velké Mezirící

Velké Meziříčí is a town in the Vysočina Region, Czech Republic. It is situated under the original Gothic castle in a valley framed by the hills of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands....

, Žďár nad Sázavou

Ždár nad Sázavou

Žďár nad Sázavou is a city in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has approximately 24,000 inhabitants and is the administrative capital of the Žďár nad Sázavou District. The city is a prominent centre of tourism, as a ski resort in winter and a popular destination for cycling and...

, Třebíč

Trebíc

Třebíč is a city in the Moravian part of the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic.Třebíč is situated 35 km southeast of Jihlava and 65 km west of Brno on the Jihlava River. Třebíč is from 392 to 503 metres above sea-level....

, Telč

Telc

Telč is a town in southern Moravia, near Jihlava, in the Czech Republic. The town was founded in 13th century as a royal water fort on the crossroads of busy merchant routes between Bohemia, Moravia and Austria....

, Dačice

Dacice

Dačice is a town in the southwest Moravia, currently belonging to the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has cca 8,000 inhabitants. It is notable as the home of the sugar cube, which was invented there in 1843 by Jakub Kryštof Rad....

, Slavonice

Slavonice

Slavonice is a town situated in the southwest of Moravia on the border with South Bohemia, Czech Republic, about a kilometre from the Austrian border with about 2,700 inhabitants...

, Moravské Budějovice and Moravský Krumlov

Moravský Krumlov

Moravský Krumlov is a town in the Znojmo District, South Moravian Region, Czech Republic. It has about 6,023 inhabitants .The city is named Moravský Krumlov to differentiate it from Český Krumlov , which is further west.The castle of Moravský Krumlov is home to the series of paintings by Alphonse...

.

Northern and western part of the region is a rolling, densely forested, hilly country with traditional wooden rural architecture. Their timbered cottages are contemporary used as weekend-houses. In harmony with the character of the landscape and the available local raw materials, priority was given to woodwork, iron ore and stone processing, and manufacture of glass and textile.

Southern Highlands agriculture was focused on cattle breeding and fish farming. Farming prevailed across the entire vast territory, especially in the fertile areas in the southern part of Low Highlands. Under difficult mountainous conditions, only resistant kinds of corn, fodder plants and especially flax and potatoes could survive.

External links

• http://www.kr-vysocina.cz/en/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=450028&id=1014&p1=1024
• http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hor%C3%A1cko