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Ore mountains - region and history: Difference between revisions
Ore mountains - region and history (view source)
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==Geological history of the region== | ==Geological history of the region== | ||
The landscape of Northwestern Bohemia, with its Ore Mountains, Sokolov and North Bohemian coal basins, Central Bohemian Uplands and Egerland, is the result of millions of years of orogenetic processes. The Ore Mountains crystalline complex was formed during the Hercynian orogeny at the turn of the early Palaeozoic, when older rocks of various ages and origins were affected by metamorphic processes. They were, roughly speaking, sediments saturated with deep magmatic rocks, and deep magmatic rocks themselves. Depending on the nature of the original rocks and the intensity of the metamorphic processes, they were turned into orthogneisses, paragneisses, crystalline slates, crystalline limestones, schists, and phyllites. As part of the Bohemian Massif, the Ore Mountains crystalline complex belonged to the Hercynian European mountain system. The massif sank repeatedly and was lifted again in the Mesozoic. The associated erosion and accumulation processes fashioned it into a levelled peneplain by the end of the Mesozoic; its sheet was broken at the edges by the Saxon orogeny in the early Tertiary. The elevated plain of the Ore Mountains and the rift valley below it were formed at the northwestern breach of the Bohemian Massif; it was filled with lake sediments, containing brown coal seams in their older strata, in the course of the Tertiary. The deposition of massive layers of dead organic matter from the tropical vegetation of that era is probably linked to the repeated disastrous effects of volcanoes in the emerging Central Bohemian Uplands and Doupov Mountains. The landscape was then completed by the alteration of colder and warmer periods, effects of water, vegetation, and evolution of plant and animal species since the beginning of the Quaternary. The contribution of human activity to the landscape formation can only be recognized in the last millennium.<ref name = Riha>Říha,M., Stoklasa, J., Lafarová, M., Dejmal, I., Marek, J., Pakosta, P., Beránek, K. Environmental mining limits in North Bohemian Lignite Region. Praha 2005. Translation: Petr Kurfurst. | The landscape of Northwestern Bohemia, with its Ore Mountains, Sokolov and North Bohemian coal basins, Central Bohemian Uplands and Egerland, is the result of millions of years of orogenetic processes. The Ore Mountains crystalline complex was formed during the Hercynian orogeny at the turn of the early Palaeozoic, when older rocks of various ages and origins were affected by metamorphic processes. They were, roughly speaking, sediments saturated with deep magmatic rocks, and deep magmatic rocks themselves. Depending on the nature of the original rocks and the intensity of the metamorphic processes, they were turned into orthogneisses, paragneisses, crystalline slates, crystalline limestones, schists, and phyllites. As part of the Bohemian Massif, the Ore Mountains crystalline complex belonged to the Hercynian European mountain system. The massif sank repeatedly and was lifted again in the Mesozoic. The associated erosion and accumulation processes fashioned it into a levelled peneplain by the end of the Mesozoic; its sheet was broken at the edges by the Saxon orogeny in the early Tertiary. The elevated plain of the Ore Mountains and the rift valley below it were formed at the northwestern breach of the Bohemian Massif; it was filled with lake sediments, containing brown coal seams in their older strata, in the course of the Tertiary. The deposition of massive layers of dead organic matter from the tropical vegetation of that era is probably linked to the repeated disastrous effects of volcanoes in the emerging Central Bohemian Uplands and Doupov Mountains. The landscape was then completed by the alteration of colder and warmer periods, effects of water, vegetation, and evolution of plant and animal species since the beginning of the Quaternary. The contribution of human activity to the landscape formation can only be recognized in the last millennium.<ref name = Riha>Říha,M., Stoklasa, J., Lafarová, M., Dejmal, I., Marek, J., Pakosta, P., Beránek, K. Environmental mining limits in North Bohemian Lignite Region. Společnost pro krajinu, Praha 2005. Translation: Petr Kurfurst. Updated for the ISPoS summer school in September, 2011</ref> | ||
==Prehistory== | ==Prehistory== | ||
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In the architectural sense, the period of their emergence was associated with a shift from the Gothic style to Renaissance: numerous novel types of public buildings were invented, such as town halls, schools, markets, spas, as well as breweries, craft workshops, etc. As the towns evolved, there came a need for a certain regulation of locating the various functions within the settlement based on their nature, beauty or potential harm to their surroundings and people, according to guilds. Emerging hygiene and defence problems led to the emergence of first “urban designers” among locators, builders (stonemasons, bricklayers, carpenters), geometricians (surveyors), soldiers, fortification experts, and artists. Millers and pond-builders laid down the foundations for professional hydraulic management; charcoal burners, craftsmen, ore processors, weavers and other processing trades were forming the core of future manufactures and then industries. The development of towns and villages, new construction projects and trades were generating demand for the production of timber, construction stone, ceramic clays for bricks and ceramics, metallic ores, and sand. This was now changing not only the vegetation groundcover, but also its soil profile and the rock environment: the landscape character started to change. Mine spoil banks were a new land formation around mine galleries and shafts; the first intentional water transfers occurred and races for mills and sawmills were dug; wetlands and fields were drained and watercourses were canalized and bridged; a selected “imperial” road network was upgraded to allow heavier cart traffic and horse-swapping posts were built. Still, however, this was a harmonious, small-scale and variegated mosaic of natural and manmade elements in the landscape, ecologically stable, with adverse human impacts on the environment limited to tiny locations, measurable on an are scale.<ref name = Riha></ref> | In the architectural sense, the period of their emergence was associated with a shift from the Gothic style to Renaissance: numerous novel types of public buildings were invented, such as town halls, schools, markets, spas, as well as breweries, craft workshops, etc. As the towns evolved, there came a need for a certain regulation of locating the various functions within the settlement based on their nature, beauty or potential harm to their surroundings and people, according to guilds. Emerging hygiene and defence problems led to the emergence of first “urban designers” among locators, builders (stonemasons, bricklayers, carpenters), geometricians (surveyors), soldiers, fortification experts, and artists. Millers and pond-builders laid down the foundations for professional hydraulic management; charcoal burners, craftsmen, ore processors, weavers and other processing trades were forming the core of future manufactures and then industries. The development of towns and villages, new construction projects and trades were generating demand for the production of timber, construction stone, ceramic clays for bricks and ceramics, metallic ores, and sand. This was now changing not only the vegetation groundcover, but also its soil profile and the rock environment: the landscape character started to change. Mine spoil banks were a new land formation around mine galleries and shafts; the first intentional water transfers occurred and races for mills and sawmills were dug; wetlands and fields were drained and watercourses were canalized and bridged; a selected “imperial” road network was upgraded to allow heavier cart traffic and horse-swapping posts were built. Still, however, this was a harmonious, small-scale and variegated mosaic of natural and manmade elements in the landscape, ecologically stable, with adverse human impacts on the environment limited to tiny locations, measurable on an are scale.<ref name = Riha></ref> | ||
==Natural potential utilized: curative | ==Natural potential utilized: curative spas== | ||
The beautiful and variegated landscape went hand in hand with rich cultural heritage – heritage of towns and villages, numerous castles and chateaux, monasteries, churches, parks and arboreta, and lakes – in consequence both the extent and quality of the settlements and the economic development of the region increased. When residual manifestations of volcanic activity through numerous thermal and mineralized springs and spouts were discovered, another type of settlements typical of this region emerged: curative spas. They further increased the variety in the landscape character and exploitation of the natural resources. This was accompanied by the specific architecture and building types: spa houses, buildings for temporary guest accommodation, colonnades and promenades, gyms and casinos, open-air theatres, theatres and concert halls, riding schools, park gazebos, maintained walking paths with vistas and resting facilities, and landscaped compositions of spa town surroundings.<ref name = Riha></ref> | The beautiful and variegated landscape went hand in hand with rich cultural heritage – heritage of towns and villages, numerous castles and chateaux, monasteries, churches, parks and arboreta, and lakes – in consequence both the extent and quality of the settlements and the economic development of the region increased. When residual manifestations of volcanic activity through numerous thermal and mineralized springs and spouts were discovered, another type of settlements typical of this region emerged: curative spas. They further increased the variety in the landscape character and exploitation of the natural resources. This was accompanied by the specific architecture and building types: spa houses, buildings for temporary guest accommodation, colonnades and promenades, gyms and casinos, open-air theatres, theatres and concert halls, riding schools, park gazebos, maintained walking paths with vistas and resting facilities, and landscaped compositions of spa town surroundings.<ref name = Riha></ref> | ||