BRNO’S CENTRE GEOTRAIL
The term geodiversity probably makes you think of rocks, soil, and water or maybe attractive rock formations or beautiful caves. It might seem we normally see geodiversity in natural areas most often used for hiking and education. But you can also find geodiversity in cities – wonder where? The answer is pretty easy: everywhere! In cities, geodiversity includes interesting rock formations and also old quarries and sandpits, distinctive landforms that help to shape the city or form an inseparable part of the cityscape, building and decorative stones used for local buildings and statues, and last but not least water features.
Brno sits on the edge of two large, European-scale geologic provinces: the older, Paleozoic Bohemian Massif, consisting of igneous and metamorphic rock, and the younger Cenozoic Western Carpathians, composed mostly of sedimentary rock. The differences in the rock types can be seen in the landforms and landscape. The northern and central part of the city is rugged with hills and deep valleys – these are the rocks of the Bohemian Massif: hardier, rigid, and in places broken by mountain formation. In contrast, the southern part, made mostly of sand and clay, is flat, soft, and featureless. It is therefore possible to find within a relatively small area almost all geologic time spans (from the Precambrian through the Quaternary) and various landforms.
The geotrail leads you through several interesting places in the Brno centre and shows you that geodiversity has its place within the city.
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Parts of tour
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Brno Centre Geotrail – Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
When placing important buildings in a city, distinctive elevated places are usually chosen.
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Brno Centre Geotrail – Rocky outcrop under Petrov
A long time ago (probably 750 million years ago), Brno lay at the bottom of an ocean, or, more exactly, on a mid-ocean ridge
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Brno Centre Geotrail – Denis Gardens
From the lookout in Denis Gardens, you can easily see the difference between the rugged part of Brno and the flatter southern part
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Brno Centre Geotrail – Water under Petrov (Studánka Park and the Fountain of Health)
The spring in Studánka Park is one of several fracture springs under Petrov
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Brno Centre Geotrail – Pellicova – using local materials for walls
By the end of Pellicova street, you might notice a wall made of striking red and purple stones
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Brno Centre Geotrail – 10-Z Bunker
This nuclear fallout shelter was built during World War II and today serves as a tourist attraction and cultural space.
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Brno Centre Geotrail – Gazebo on the north slope of Špilberk
From the northern lookout pavilion, you can look out across the rugged landscape of north Brno, dominated by the former quarry on Hády
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Brno Centre Geotrail – Pillow lava by the pond on Špilberk
The small outcrops of dark metabasalt that can been found on Špilberk are often incorporated into the castle walls, as can be seen in the moat
Tell your friends about Brno Centre Geotrail!
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