The Vsetín region

The Vsetín region covers an area of 1143 sq. km and is situated in the northeastern part of  Moravia next to the Slovakian border. Typical of the Czech Republic (see below, topography statistics of Czech Republic), Vsetín has a diverse topography due to Moravia forming an important divide between the two principle mountain systems in Europe with the Bohemian Massif (of the Hercynian Platform) to the west and the Alpine-Carpathian System to the east.

Vsetín is thus a mountainous region that consists of more than 800 mountains and hills, with 30% of the region above 600m O.D.. These typical middle high mountains with rounded tops are covered with woods and over half of the Vsetín region is covered by woods.

The Bečva consists of two main river valleys, Rožnovská Bečva and Vsetínská Bečva, forming three mountain ridges (see Table 5 showing regional zoning of relief). To the north are the Moravskoslezské Beskydy with the highest peak of Radhošť (1129m O.D.) within Vsetín. The Rožnovská Bečva valley runs parallel to this (E-W) with its southern valley wall created by the Vsetínské Vrchy (Vsetín Hills) mountain ridge. The ridge begins at Bumbálka on the Moravian-Slovak border and covers a distance of about 40km in westerly direction, reaching Vsetín, separating the Rožnovská Bečva valley from the Vsetínská Bečva valley. The southern valley wall of the Vsetínská Bečva is formed by the Javorníky mountain ridge which stretches from Čadca in south-westerly direction and Hričovec (1016m O.D.) forming the Moravian-Slovak border.

     Vsetín (population in 1999: 30 728)

The town of Vsetín is situated at the foot of the Vsetín, Hostýn and Vizovice Hills and on the confluent of the Vsetín Bečva and Senice Rivers. Vsetín exists at least since 1308 and was situated on one of the trade routes leading from Poland to Hungary. The Thirty Years' War (ended 1648) greatly influenced the town's history with the suppression of a religious and social uprising leading to its burning down. People re-settled on the west bank of the Bečva and this village existed for 200 years under the name Dolní Vsetín. The land use at this time was mainly for agricultural purposes and some of the inhabitants were craftsmen . The first industrial activities in Vsetín started in the late 1830s and consisted mainly of a brewery, distillery and sugar refinery. Further industrial activities were developed with textiles, furniture production and glassworks . More recently the Zbrojovka company has developed in Vsetín and is one of the largest factories in the region. It produces weapons, measuring instruments and machines. The architecture of Vsetín includes a Renaissance castle and three churches.

    Valašské Meziříčí (population in 1999: 27 927)

Valašské Meziříčí is the second largest town in Vsetín and is situated in the foothills of the Beskydy Mountains, next to the confluence of the Rožnovská and Vsetínská Bečva rivers. In the past it was divided into two separate small towns. The first town, Meziříčí, was founded on the south bank of the Rožnovská Bečva and was first mentioned in historical documents in 1297 and 1377. The village of Krásno, situated on the north bank of the river, became a town in 1491 and was joined to Meziříčí in 1924. In 1850 Meziříčí became the administrative centre of the district and in the following years industry began to grow in Krásno . The glasswork industry started in 1855 and soon gained reputation in Europe and overseas. A hat factory was also built at around this time. The early weaving industry developed into a tapestry school - with its tapestries sold in the Czech Republic and abroad.

The glassworks further developed to produce pottery and eventually became a glass-painting factory. Other industries included the production of wooden boxes, wood wool and Brentwood furniture. Industrialisation has continued in Valašské Meziříčí to the present day with the foundation of a chemical plant (DEZA) and a factory for car equipment and medical electronics.

DEZA Corporation developed facilities for tar and benzol processing in 1963. In 1994 they stopped producing carbon black and transferred the facilities to CS CABOT at Valašské Meziříčí. This is a joint venture with CS CABOT who have the most sophisticated US carbon black technology.

Valašské Meziříčí became the educational centre of the region with a grammar school (founded 1871), training centre for teachers, and the Business Academy. Valašské Meziříčí has a rich architecture and has been designated "Wallachian Athens" because of this. Iťs architecture includes many ancient houses in the town square with Baroque or Renaissance fronts. Next to the square, located at the end of Křižkovského Street is the St. Mary's Parish Church, founded 15^th century. There is also the large Žerotín Castle, Empire Castle of the Kinsky (completed 1854) and wooden St. Trinity Church from the 17^th century.

    Meteorological parameters of Valašské Meziříčí

Valašské Meziříčí therefore has a pronounced difference in temperature between the winter and summer months with the average January temperature (an average of Januarys from 1957-1998) of -2.5°C compared with the average July temperature (an average of Julys from 1957-1998) of 17°C (see figures). Precipitation shows a similar trend of extremes with the average January total (an average of Januarys from1957-1998) of 35mm compared with the average July total (an average of Julys from 1957-1998) of 108mm (see figures).

In winter the precipitation consists mainly of snow which can be several metres deep in the more mountainous regions (see Plate 8, showing a depth of  90cm, nr. Malá Lhota). In this period ice forms on the rivers (see Plate ice-covered Bečva) and normally lasts for between 19-35 days with the first cover starting in December and completely thawing half-way through March. In summer most of the precipitation falls as rain.

    Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (population in 1999: 18 067)

The region of Rožnov is situated at the foot of the Moravian-Silesian Beskids and the Vsetín Hills. The town was founded sometime in the 13^th century and its people were mainly tradesmen, craftsmen and farmers. The Thirty Years' War also affected Rožnov with Turkish and Hungarian raids.

In 1840 cotton production replaced the older typical cloth-making industry, and there is still a traditional production of knitwear. Rožnov's importance has mainly come from tourism. The local air was said to have curative properties and in 1820 a medical institute was founded. Patients came from all over the world to this health resort. The main pull-factor for tourism today is its museum of traditional Wallachian wooden architecture, first opened in 1925 and is a showcase for Wallachian houses, farms and workplaces of the 18^th to 20 ^th centuries.