History of Using Hydropower in the Moravice River Basin, Czechia
Water-powered facilities (WPFs) have traditionally been a pillar of the economy and social development. Therefore, the state took an interest in having these objects recorded and mapped in relevant maps and registers. This article focuses on identifying and localizing WPFs in the Moravice River basi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/6/916 |
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| author | Marek Havlíček Aleš Vyskočil Martin Caletka Zbyněk Sviták Miriam Dzuráková Hana Skokanová Marta Šopáková |
| author_facet | Marek Havlíček Aleš Vyskočil Martin Caletka Zbyněk Sviták Miriam Dzuráková Hana Skokanová Marta Šopáková |
| author_sort | Marek Havlíček |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water-powered facilities (WPFs) have traditionally been a pillar of the economy and social development. Therefore, the state took an interest in having these objects recorded and mapped in relevant maps and registers. This article focuses on identifying and localizing WPFs in the Moravice River basin in the so-called Sudetenland, Czechia, between the years 1763 and 2021. Specifically, the evolution and (dis)continuity of the WPFs are assessed through an analysis of cartographic and archival sources, reflecting the wider socioeconomic and demographic context as explanatory variables. The cartographic sources included old military topographic maps of Austria-Hungary and Czechoslovakia from four periods (the mid-18th century, mid-19th century, end of the 19th century, and mid-20th century) on the one hand and two state water-powered facility registers from 1930 and 1953 on the other. The archival sources included funds from regional and state archives. The results show that the count of WPFs peaked during the 19th century, after which there occurred a steep decline caused by societal and economic changes, namely, the expulsion of the local German population, nationalization in the postwar period, and economic and organizational transformations in the socialist era. Special attention is paid to hydropower plants, whose evolution reflects the outlined economic processes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:14:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e72b99a8bf554d05831fdde346f4de90 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:14:21Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-e72b99a8bf554d05831fdde346f4de902023-11-30T22:49:08ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412022-03-0114691610.3390/w14060916History of Using Hydropower in the Moravice River Basin, CzechiaMarek Havlíček0Aleš Vyskočil1Martin Caletka2Zbyněk Sviták3Miriam Dzuráková4Hana Skokanová5Marta Šopáková6Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening, Lidická 25/27, 60200 Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Veveří 967/97, 60200 Brno, Czech RepublicT. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, Mojmírovo náměstí 2997/16, 61200 Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Veveří 967/97, 60200 Brno, Czech RepublicT. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, Mojmírovo náměstí 2997/16, 61200 Brno, Czech RepublicSilva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening, Lidická 25/27, 60200 Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Veveří 967/97, 60200 Brno, Czech RepublicWater-powered facilities (WPFs) have traditionally been a pillar of the economy and social development. Therefore, the state took an interest in having these objects recorded and mapped in relevant maps and registers. This article focuses on identifying and localizing WPFs in the Moravice River basin in the so-called Sudetenland, Czechia, between the years 1763 and 2021. Specifically, the evolution and (dis)continuity of the WPFs are assessed through an analysis of cartographic and archival sources, reflecting the wider socioeconomic and demographic context as explanatory variables. The cartographic sources included old military topographic maps of Austria-Hungary and Czechoslovakia from four periods (the mid-18th century, mid-19th century, end of the 19th century, and mid-20th century) on the one hand and two state water-powered facility registers from 1930 and 1953 on the other. The archival sources included funds from regional and state archives. The results show that the count of WPFs peaked during the 19th century, after which there occurred a steep decline caused by societal and economic changes, namely, the expulsion of the local German population, nationalization in the postwar period, and economic and organizational transformations in the socialist era. Special attention is paid to hydropower plants, whose evolution reflects the outlined economic processes.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/6/916water-powered facilitiesarchive sourcestopographic mapsmodern eraexpulsionsocioeconomic changes |
| spellingShingle | Marek Havlíček Aleš Vyskočil Martin Caletka Zbyněk Sviták Miriam Dzuráková Hana Skokanová Marta Šopáková History of Using Hydropower in the Moravice River Basin, Czechia Water water-powered facilities archive sources topographic maps modern era expulsion socioeconomic changes |
| title | History of Using Hydropower in the Moravice River Basin, Czechia |
| title_full | History of Using Hydropower in the Moravice River Basin, Czechia |
| title_fullStr | History of Using Hydropower in the Moravice River Basin, Czechia |
| title_full_unstemmed | History of Using Hydropower in the Moravice River Basin, Czechia |
| title_short | History of Using Hydropower in the Moravice River Basin, Czechia |
| title_sort | history of using hydropower in the moravice river basin czechia |
| topic | water-powered facilities archive sources topographic maps modern era expulsion socioeconomic changes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/6/916 |
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