Abstract
The paper summarises the history of human settlement in the Sudetes from the Bronze Age. A more intensive stage was reached in the Middle Ages when settlers from the west established new villages deep in the mountain valleys. By the beginning of the 20th century the Sudetes were already overpopulated but after a near-complete ethnic replacement from a German to a Polish population in 1945–8, population continued to grow until the 1980s. However, the economic system was hardly sustainable by this time. There were many polluting industries in the region and massive transboundary pollution from adjacent areas of Czechoslovakia and Germany had a devastating effect on the forests. Moreover, subsidised state agriculture placed heavy pressure on vulnerable mountain grazings. Since 1989 there has been a process of deindustrialisation in the Sudetes and surrounding areas and, with the disappearance of the state farms and the reduction in subsidies, agriculture is now better adjusted to the natural potential and is complemented by a promising start with agrotourism. The population of the region is growing relatively slowly (0.8% per annum 1956–1999), with the rural areas now in decline. A sustainable future for the region is now a possibility, but while there is a consensus for continued environmental reconstruction, supported by alternative economies, this will have to be carefully managed in the years ahead when EU accession may bring heavier development pressures than those evident at the moment.
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Czetwertynski-Sytnik, L., Kozioł, E. & Mazurski, K.R. Settlement and sustainability in the Polish Sudetes. GeoJournal 50, 273–284 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007165901891
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007165901891