The paper examines the spatial structure of industrial production in the urban environment of two Central European cities, Wroclaw and Brno, and their changes during the transformation from centrally controlled to capitalist economies. The study used mapping techniques to analyse the spatial distribution of industrial activities, focusing on the representation of industrial sectors and major industrial enterprises in both cities. The research aimed to evaluate the spatial impacts of deindustrialization on the urban environment and subsequently interpret the functional and structural changes in the cities. Standard methodological procedures in regional sciences, including descriptive statistics and ArcGIS visualization, were employed. The results revealed similarities and differences in the transformation of the two cities and indicated the substantial scale of their post-industrial transformation. Major structural changes have occurred since the 1990s. The last two decades have been directed towards creating modern post-industrial environments while retaining the significant and visible industrial heritage.
In the modern world, tourism is a very dynamically growing industry with significant impact on the eco-nomic prosperity of many regions or even countries. The paper presents the geotourism potential of the 12 show (com-mercial) caves in Poland before and during the current pandemic time. Survey results demonstrate that caves are major geotourist attractions. In 2019, they were visited by a total of almost 950,000 people. The attendance might have exceed-ed even a million if the popular Mroźna Cave in the Tatras had not been temporarily closed to visitors due to a rockfall in winter period 2018/2019. In 2020, all the show caves combined were visited by a more than 390,000 people, which amounted to about 41% of the total attendance recorded for 2019. The most visited cave proved to be Smocza Jama (Dragon’s Den) in the centre of Kraków, which recorded almost 422,000 visitors in 2019. A preliminary assessment of the attractiveness of the caves as geosites is given. The most attractive caves as geosites were identified as: Bear Cave, Upper Wierzchowska Cave, and Bat Cave. It is possible to confidently assert that the celebration of the International Year of Caves and Karst (IYCK) in 2021–2022 will increase interest in caves and translate into a revival of cave tourism.
The article presents a geotourism valorisation of selected quarries located in different mountainous regions in southern Poland, diverse in geological and tectonic terms. The regions of Kłodzko (with quarries Kletno I, Krzyżnik, Sinica, Czarne Urwisko, Szczytna Zamek) and of Cieszyn Foothills (quarries Na Jasieniowej, Na Mołczynie, Grota na Rudowie, Nad Kalembianką, Ondraszkowa Dziura) were proposed as a case study. The survey describes the most exposed disused quarries of marble, gneiss, sandstone, teschenites and Cieszyn limestone of high natural and cultural significance. As a result of the geotourist valorisation, the analysed geological objects were given point score under various criteria (educational value, scientific value, visual value, location/accessibility value, cultural value, geo-infrastructural value and the value of legal protection). It was found that the discussed quarries reveal high natural and educational value, and they are very significant in education and promotion of geologically attractive areas.
Celem artykułu jest zaprezentowanie militarnych obiektów Półwyspu Helskiego, które odegrały kluczową rolę podczas obrony we wrzeniu 1939 r. Badaniem objęto dwa rejony Półwyspu Helskiego – Ośrodek Oporu Jastarnia i Rejon Umocniony Hel, w których krajobrazie zachowało się wiele fortyfikacji. W artykule wskazano lokalizację poszczególnych elementów umocnień obu obszarów oraz podano ich charakterystykę militarną i przeznaczenie. Obiekty te w późniejszym okresie były rozbudowywane na potrzeby wojska, natomiast w momencie rozformowania jednostki wojskowej straciły swoją rangę. Stały się miejscami zainteresowania miłośników militariów, co przyczyniło się do rewitalizacji obiektów i udostępnienia ich do celów kulturowych.