Relict boundary as a tourist attraction/destination: A case of the Bohemian-Moravian historical land boundary
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Boundaries have long been in the attention of geographers. Currently, they are also increasingly discussed in the context of tourism. State borders and sub- and supra-state boundaries may be seen as tourist attractions/destinations. Scholars focus mainly on current state borders, while the boundaries with the political function in the past – relict boundaries – are much less studied. The relict boundaries such as the Great Wall of China, Hadrian’s Wall, the Iron Curtain, or the Berlin Wall are highly used in tourism. Motivations of people to visit the boundaries differ. Concerning the relict ones, cultural-historical motives may often prevail. Depending on the boundary length, a visit to it can also be understood as a sports activity, as evidenced by trails along Hadrian’s Wall or the Iron Curtain, for example. The abovementioned relict boundaries are attractive in that they served as defensive. However, this paper aims to point out that even the „peaceful“ borders (without a defensive function in the past) can attract tourists. An example of such a boundary is the Bohemian-Moravian historical land boundary. It served as an administrative border from the Middle Ages until 1948, when the Czech lands in then Czechoslovakia were abolished by the new communist government and divided into smaller regions. The paper introduces the attractions along the about 450km-long Bohemian-Moravian boundary and analyses its tourist potential based on an online questionnaire survey. More than 76% (of 357) respondents stated they would visit the educational trail along the Bohemian-Moravian boundary. Marking this boundary for tourist purposes can thus contribute to the diversification of the tourism offer in the Czech Republic and relief of crowded destinations such as Prague or some mountains in the Czech borderland. It can also bring rural development to the so-called inner periphery. Marking the Bohemian-Moravian boundary will also foster awareness about this historical/relict boundary, which is currently very fuzzy (fueling a resistance identity of some Moravians) due to administrative reforms after 1948. The case study of the Bohemian-Moravian boundary might be an inspiration to use also other historical/relict boundaries, perceived as heritage, in tourism. |
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