Extinct Settlements and Their Reflection in the Land-Use Changes and Historical Landscape Elements

Abstract

The paper is aimed at the variability of historical landscape elements on the territory of the selected extinct settlements, to classify and to evaluate their development in the context of changes in anthropic pressure between the years 1945 and 2022, focusing on the Moravian-Silesian Region. The article presents a methodology for identifying physically extinct settlements and historical landscape elements by using statistical data, historical and current maps and field verification. Territorial dispersion and classification according to cases of the extinction, and according to individual landscape elements are elaborated. Research has confirmed a link between the cause of the settlement’s demise: the expulsion of German residents and proximity to the state border, a military training area, the construction of water reservoirs, mining and development projects, and surviving groups of historical landscape elements. The results can serve as a methodology for research in other areas. On a practical level, they can be used for landscape planning, territorial dispersion of tourism, and educational purposes.