South Moravia

(Jihomoravský Kraj), an administrative region in Czechoslovakia, in the Czech Socialist Republic. Area, 15,000 sq km. Population, 2,005,000 (1976). The capital is Brno. The topography is dominated by hilly plains; low mountains with elevations to 837 m occur in some areas. In the north lies the Moravian Karst (Moravsky Kras) region with the famous Macocha Gorge. The principal river is the Morava.

An important industrial and agricultural region, South Moravia accounts for 11.5 percent of Czechoslovakia’s industrial output and approximately 17 percent of its agricultural output. Small amounts of natural gas and petroleum are extracted, and there is mining of hard coal, at Rosice and Oslavany, and lignite. Among the principal industries are machine building, whose products include heavy and precision machines, and metalworking. Brno is the largest industrial center, manufacturing industrial equipment, boilers, turbines, tractors, bearings, and electrical engineering products. Other industrial cities are Kuřim, Adamov, Blansko, Gottwaldov, Jihlava, and Žd’ár.

Of particular importance to the national economy are the textile industry, with large-scale production of woolens in Brno, the clothing industry, and the knitwear industry, centered in Prostějov and Jihlava. The leather and footwear industry, with the Svit enterprise in Gottwaldov, accounts for about one-half of the country’s footwear production. The region also has wood-products, furniture, food-processing, chemical (the manufacture of plastics), and rubber (the production of tires) industries.

Agriculture is dominated by the cultivation of grains (primarily barley, which is used in brewing, and wheat), sugar beets, and forage grasses. Grapes, fruit, and vegetables are also grown. Livestock are raised for meat and dairy products throughout the region, and commercial poultry farms exist in all areas.