Antonín VAISHAR, Margit WERNER
Regional Geography – The Future Of Geography!.
The problems of regional geography as a geographical discipline are discussed in this paper. On the one hand, difficulties are seen to exist in the traditional descriptive character of education and, on the other hand, in methods of regional synthesis that are not clearly defined, especially in terms of relations between physical and human aspects of regions. The situation is further complicated by tendencies to refine specialisations in individual geographical sciences. The future of regional geography is seen as connected to the future of geography in general. Modern regional geography, in this sense, must not be a simple set of old and new findings from partial geographical sciences, but rather it must be a bridging geographical discipline dealing with regions and using specific methods, including GIS. Relations between the natural and social aspects of regional development are considered to be of key importance. The main objective of this paper is to define a relative balance between the specific features and the general characteristics of regions. It is necessary to construct a theory of regional geography, using the partial theories of regionalization, hierarchy of regions, regional typology, and partial synthetic approaches in geography.

Barbara ŽIŽKOVÁ, Tomáš PÁNEK
The Geomorphological Transformation Of The Hodslavický Javorník Brachysyncline (The Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts., Czech Republic).
An evaluation of the relationships between the specific geological structure of the Western part of the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mountains and Quaternary relief formation processes, is examined in this paper. In the past, the origin of many landforms was associated with either the Tertiary planation or Pleistocene periglacial processes. Based on modern methods using a multidisciplinary approach, however, the area is now interpreted as a product of the selective denudation of flysch rocks. Deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSDs) are one of the more dominant processes shaping brachysyncline relief, namely its outer escarpment. As far as the morphometry is concerned, the area studied is one of the least exposed elevations within the Silesian unit, yet the slope failures are among the largest in the Flysch Carpathians. This proves that geological structure is the main factor determining the occurrence of DSGSDs in the Silesian unit of the Carpathians. In the Holocene, the slope failures greatly influenced the dynamics and morphology of river valleys, which is documented by several examples of valley damming by landslides.

Grzegorz JANKOWSKI
Changes In Time And Space Of Pond Farming In The Area Of Rudy Wielkie (Poland).
The development of pond farming in the area of Rudy Wielkie (Silesia, Poland) since the turn of the 14th Century, is discussed in this article. Originally, there were a very large number of ponds, but about 300 of them were destroyed during the Hussite wars in the 15th century. Research in this area, on changes in the pattern of water reservoirs in time and space, generally starts by analysing J.W. Wieland’s map of 1736. The most important historical source is the German map Meßtischblätter von Deutschen Reiche of 1883-1923. The comparative analysis of archives and records collected during field research indicated the existence of 32 reservoirs, differing in size and function, and 32 objects of hydro-technical architecture, in the form of earth constructions (that is transverse dikes – damming water in reservoirs, and side dikes – keeping water in ponds).

Jan MUNZAR, Mathias DEUTSCH, Libor ELLEDER, Stanislav ONDRÁČEK, Eva KALLABOVÁ, Mojmír HRÁDEK
Historical Floods In Central Europe And Their Documentation By Means Of Floodmarks And Other Epigraphical Monuments.
The floods that affected the Czech Republic and neighbouring countries in Central Europe in July 1997 and in August 2002, were considered extreme natural disasters. Most people were taken aback by them, as high waters of similar impact had not occurred for more than one hundred years – the nation’s flood memory was lost. The objective of this paper, in terms of its historical and geographical focus, is to present a sample based on the original documentation of surviving traces of previously flooded areas, recorded in the field. The records on water level culmination marks on buildings and bridges, memorial plates and landmarks built to flood victims, are actually some of the infrequently-used types of information for the documentation and reconstruction of historical floods, which contribute to the restoration of flood history. There are 33 examples of localities with flood marks or with other epigraphical relics from Central Europe documented in this study. Of those, the majority (17) originate from the Czech territory, whilst the others are from Slovakia (4), Poland (2), Germany (5) and Austria (5). In hydrological terms, ten of the 33 are situated in the Labe (Elbe) R. basin in Bohemia, four in the same river basin in Germany, and one in the Rhine basin in Germany. The Morava River watershed is represented by four localities, and the Danube R. watershed by five localities in Austria and by four in Slovakia. Finally, for the Odra(Oder) R. basin in Moravia or in the Czech part of Silesia, there are two localities, as well as one in Bohemia (Broumov / Stěnava R.) and two in Poland.