Evolution of cultural landscape in the Northern Bohemian Coal mining Region on the background of socio-economic transformations

The NW part of Bohemia belongs to the most intensely exploited territories, both from the functional and ecological standpoints. In a sense, it is an open air laborarory, offering many topics to be discussed, researched and solved. The author strives to give a sociogeographical outline of the current state, with respect to the landscape evolution. This picture focuses on historical developments in recent decades as well.Rapid economic expansion of the examined territory started in the second half of the 19th century, having followed the pre-industrial period. A similar abrupt change of social and economic structures occurred 100 years later, in the post-war period. It was the growth of open-cast brown coal mining and corresponding activities (especially coal-fired plants) which resulted in large scale environmental disturbances, affected the settlement system and harmed the health of the population. Thus, further economic and ecological development should be based on a reclamation of the previous state.