Podyjí National Park () is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

in the

South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region (; , ; ), or just South Moravia, is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia. The region's capital is Brno, th ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Adjacent to Austria's Thayatal National Park on the border, together they are referred to as the Inter-National park. Podyjí is one of the Czech Republic's four national parks. It protects near-natural forests along the deep Dyje River valley. The well-preserved state of the

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

of the park is cited as being unique in

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

Legal status

Podyjí National Park is one of the four national parks of the Czech Republic. It has an area of and buffer zone of . It was formally declared a national park on 1 July 1991 by government order no. 164/1991.

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

(IBA) has included this park under its criteria C6, covering a larger area of . In February 2025, a new director, Pavel Müller, will take up his duties.

Geography

Podyjí National Park lies in an elevation range of . Its habitats include forest, grassland, arable land, shrubland, rocky areas and inland wetlands. The park is drained by the Dyje River, which flows for a length of through the park in a thickly-forested valley within the Českomoravská vrchovina uplands. The river valley's depth measures up . Land use has been established for nature conservation and research, forestry and agriculture. Park trails lead to the castle ruins of Nový Hrádek, Hardegg

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

, and Vranov nad Dyjí Chateau.

Wildlife

The park's valley is home to 77 species of plants, which include oak woods ( acidophilous and

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

type),

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

, and

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

. Some of the perennial flowering species are '' cyclamen'', '' mulleins'', and '' pasque flower''. The upper plateau, which was denuded by logging and converted to cultivable land, contains grasslands. Along the riverbeds, reed-beds or

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

shrubs are noted. Eighteen species of orchids have been recorded. 152 species of bird have been recorded in the park. The IBA trigger species recorded are Syrian woodpecker ''(Dendrocopos syriacus)'' and Barred warbler ''(Sylvia nisoria)''. The faunal species recorded consist of 65 species of

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

s. There are seven species of

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s, which include a tree snake and green lizard.

Viticulture

Šobes (or Hora Šobes, English: ''Šobes Hill''), one of the oldest and most renowned vineyard tracks in the Czech Republic, is situated in the park. In 2014, the company ''Znovín Znojmo'' which owns 70% of the vineyards at Šobes, started efforts to place the area on the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. Šobes contains approximately 12 hectares of vineyards.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Podyji National parks of the Czech Republic Protected areas established in 1978 Geography of the South Moravian Region Tourist attractions in the South Moravian Region Central European mixed forests 1978 establishments in Czechoslovakia