Historical Landscape Elements of Abandoned Foothill Villages—A Case Study of the Historical Territory of Moravia and Silesia

Abstract

During the second half of the 20th century, a number of settlements disappeared for various reasons, especially in the hilly landscapes of northern Moravia and in the Czech part of Silesia. Currently, in the relevant localities, it is possible to identify preserved original landscape structures (scattered greenery, water elements, original woody plants, terraces, etc.) and other historical landscape elements with heritage potential. The typical elements of the above-mentioned localities of abandoned settlements are agrarian stone walls that document previous agricultural land use. These structures are generally located outside the original building plots on the edges of previously farmed land. Another important historical element is the unused access roads to arable land, which are still visible in lidar pictures. Numerous elements of the extinct settlements also include the remains of building materials and local quarries of building stone. This paper presents and classifies the historical landscape elements and their typology and proposes a methodology for identification and documentation.