Na cvičišti

Na cvičišti is a protected nature monument lying about two kilometres northeast of Mikulov, in the Břeclav district of the South Moravian Region. It covers 54.5 hectares at elevations between 242 and 300 metres above sea level and received legal protection on 5 August 2016. The site is also part of the Natura 2000 network.

Where does the name come from and what happened here before?

The name translates roughly to "at the training ground," a direct reference to the site's former use. From the 1950s onward, this area functioned as a military training ground known as Cvičiště B. For decades, military exercises, tracked-vehicle traffic and repeated soil disturbance had an unexpectedly positive side effect for nature: they prevented the land from turning into forest and kept a mosaic of non-forest habitats at various stages of succession. Once military activity ceased, the area began losing this ecological value fairly quickly — without ongoing disturbance, shrubs and trees started reclaiming the open ground, pushing out species tied to dry, open habitats. This decline is precisely what led to the site being placed under protection and included in Natura 2000.

What habitats does the reserve contain?

The landscape is a mosaic of broad-leaved dry grasslands, steppe meadows and ruderal vegetation, interspersed with fragments of shrub and woody growth. Among the grasses, tor-grass (Brachypodium pinnatum) and cock's-foot (Dactylis glomerata) dominate. This range of habitats — from bare, disturbed ground to encroaching scrub — is a direct legacy of the former military disturbance and underpins the site's high biodiversity.

Which animal species live here?

Roughly 40 specially protected animal species have been recorded in the reserve, most of them invertebrates. The area is believed to hold the largest known population in the country of the pan-European protected moth Hypomecis punctinalis. Birds are well represented too, with around 40 species recorded; the hoopoe (Upupa epops) is notable, as the richest breeding population of this species in the whole of the Czech Republic nests in the neighbouring Milovice Forest, which borders the reserve.

Why is this site significant?

Na cvičišti illustrates how, somewhat paradoxically, past military use can sustain biodiversity by keeping habitats in early successional stages that would otherwise quickly disappear under natural regrowth. Today the site needs active conservation management to substitute for the disturbance regime the military once provided, in order to preserve the open character of the landscape that rare steppe-grassland species depend on.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Na cvičišti located? About two kilometres northeast of the centre of Mikulov, in the Břeclav district of the South Moravian Region.

How large is the protected area? It covers 54.5 hectares, at elevations from 242 to 300 metres above sea level.

Since when has the site been protected? It gained legal protection on 5 August 2016 and is also part of the Natura 2000 network.

What was here before it became a nature reserve? From the 1950s, the site served as a military training ground called Cvičiště B.

What species are worth looking out for? Mainly rare invertebrates, including the moth Hypomecis punctinalis, and among birds, the hoopoe.