Historical Landscape Structures and Their Importance for Landscape Character

Abstract

This paper deals with studying and mapping of historical landscape structures, specifically with the so-called „unintended landscape composition“, i. e. with such a landscape structures that did not arise with the compositional intent, but by means of economic exploitation. They are therefore not the result of landscape architects’ suggestions, but rather the reflection of the normal way of life in Bohemia and Moravia.The most important feature of the landscape are ground plan types of settlements and their “pluzinas” (ploughlands). According to the compactness of the settlement and the spatial arrangement of plots and objects, the settlements were put to different ground plan types. Also pluzinas (ploughlands) – supporting hinterland of settlements – we divide by size, shape and spatial arrangement of plots into different types. Because a settlement and ploughland have always been forming a single functional unit, we shall consider their mutual relationship, especially ownership relationship of ploughland with individual homesteads in a settlement. The result is the definition of areas with the same type of settlements and ploughlands, i. e. the area with the same type of land use, the area with the same landscape character.Knowledge of historical type of pluzinas (ploughland) should be the fundamental basis for planning the landscape – when designing comprehensive landscaping. Likewise, knowledge of the historical type of settlement should be used in town & country planning so that the future development of settlements respects the historical context of a given area. Then it is possible to harmoniously integrate the new development into the landscape without brutally interfering it, as it happened in many places and still happens.

Keywords

• historical structure of landscape
• concept of landscape arrangement
• historical types of rural settlements and their pluzinas (ploughlands)