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The name of the Vysocina Region derives
from the name of the Ceskomoravska vrchovina (Bohemian-Moravian
Highlands), a hilly, undulating countryside situated
between the two historical lands of the Czech Republic.
Vysocina reaches over 800 meters in altitude, in the
two distinct mountain ranges of Zdarske vrchy in the
north of the region and Jihlavske vrchy in the south-west.
The main European water divide, echoing the former frontier
between Bohemia and Moravia, divides the region into
two parts almost equal in area. Bordering the South-Moravian
Region to the east, the South-Bohemian and Middle Bohemian
Regions to the west, and sharing a border with the Pardubice
Region to the north-east, the region is situated in
the very heart of the Czech Republic. The economy of
the region's eastern part is influenced by the neighbouring
urban centre of Brno, while the north-eastern part is
within the sphere of influence of the capital of Prague.
Vysocina boasts its pristine environment. The natural
as well as the transport conditions in the region have
attracted mainly businesses that do not pollute the
environment. Any new investments are based on established
strict environmental standards. The D1 (E55) motorway
can clearly be identified as the most serious air-polluting
factor in the region; compared with other regions, soil
contamination is negligible in Vysocina. The region
may be regarded as an island of health wedged between
the three urban centres of Prague, Brno, and Vienna.
This is why, among other reasons, the Vysocina Region
was the first to become a member of the Association
of Healthy Towns and Regions, and acquired the official
title "The Healthy Region".
Natural conditions scattered the population of Vysocina
into over seven hundred towns and villages, interconnected
by a rich web of roads. Small villages near the local
centre, which is usually a quiet small town with a population
of three to ten thousand, are typical of Vysocina. There
are only four towns with population over twenty thousand;
Jihlava, the regional capital, has a population of fifty
thousand. The increasing standards of living and mobility
lead to the expectation that this situation will prove
to be an asset. People in Vysocina are able to enjoy
the advantages of living in the countryside while being
guaranteed an easy access to modern facilities offered
by local urban centres. More than half of the region's
population are able to reach the regional capital within
thirty minutes.
History has provided Vysocina with a number of monuments,
three of which, the historical centre of Telc, the Pilgrimage
Church of St. John of Nepomuk at Zelena Hora near Zdar
nad Sazavou and the Jewish Ghetto together with the
St. Prokopus Basilica in Trebic have been classified
as international UNESCO monuments. The landmarks left
by history complement the way people have changed the
countryside, completing its beauty.
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