Czech Republic Guide
North Moravia
Despite its historical status as the heartland of the Czech Republic's coal and steel industry, North Moravia (Severní Morava) is not the never-ending conglomeration of factories that its critics would have you believe. In fact, the north boasts some of Moravia's wildest and most varied countryside, including the Jeseníky, the region's highest peaks, which brush up against the Polish border to the north. To the east, near the border with Slovakia, the villages of the Beskydy are a treasure-trove of Moravian folk culture. Wooden houses and churches are dotted along the valleys, and a range of traditional timber buildings has been gathered together and restored in the republic's largest open-air museum in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm.
The region's two largest cities typify North Moravia's contradictions: Ostrava, the country's largest mining and steel town, is a place rich in industrial heritage whose considerable charms – like its no-holds-barred nightlife – are not immediately apparent; Olomouc, on the other hand, the old medieval capital on the banks of the River Morava, is easily Moravia's most attractive and relaxing city, unambiguously postcard-pretty.
Highlights
1 Olomouc With its cobbled squares, fountains and Baroque churches, Moravia's most handsome city is the perfect base from which to tour the region.
2 Ostrava nightlife An exploding number of bars and clubs has transformed Moravia's erstwhile home of heavy industry into the Czech Republic's undisputed Friday-night capital.
3 Wooden churches in the Beskydy The densely wooded countryside of the Beskydy boasts the largest concentration of wooden churches in the Czech Republic.
4 Štramberk Hilly Beskydy village with a remarkable array of wooden architecture in situ.
5 Rožnov pod Radhoštěm The country's largest and most impressive open-air museum or skanzen.