národní přírodní rezervace Tabulová

Tabulová National Nature Reserve is one of the most distinctive corners of the Pavlov Hills (Pavlovské vrchy) in South Moravia, spread across the municipalities of Klentnice, Bavory, and Perná in the Břeclav district. The protected area covers just under 110 hectares, with elevations ranging from 288 to 458 metres above sea level. It sits within the Pálava Protected Landscape Area, and the reserve itself overlaps with the Natura 2000 site known as Stolová hora.

Why is it called Tabulová?

The hill is also known as Stolová hora, or "Table Mountain" — a name that comes straight from its flat, levelled summit. This tabletop plateau is technically an abrasion platform, shaped back in the Miocene epoch when the hill rose above the sea like a small island and waves gradually planed off its top. Today the western side drops away in near-vertical limestone cliffs, making it one of the more striking landscapes in the Pálava region.

What does the reserve protect?

The area was established to safeguard a mosaic of habitats typical of South Moravia's limestone hills: warmth-loving oak forests, scree-slope woodland, rock vegetation, and narrow-leaved dry steppe grasslands, alongside visible karst phenomena on the surface. This combination makes Tabulová one of the botanically richest sites in the Czech Republic — researchers have recorded 552 species and subspecies of vascular plants here, 42 of which are legally protected.

The reserve is the only original, naturally occurring site of Ethiopian sage (Salvia aethiopis) in the entire Czech Republic. Alongside it grow species such as Lumnitzer's pink, the large-flowered pasque flower, and sand iris. Among the fauna, the reserve is home to rare insect species tied to its steppe communities, including grasshoppers characteristic of this kind of dry, rocky habitat.

What is the history behind this place?

Human presence on Tabulová goes back a long way — in the 7th century BCE the hill held a fortified settlement belonging to the Hallstatt culture, specifically the Velatice-Podolí group. On the neighbouring Růžový vrch, which is also part of the reserve, stand the ruins of Sirotčí hrádek castle, a silhouette recognisable from a considerable distance and one of the visual landmarks of the Pálava skyline.

It's worth noting that today's reserve is the result of merging three separate nature reserves originally established in 1988 (Tabulová, Růžový vrch, and Kočičí kámen). In 2000 they were reunited into a single protected area, keeping the original three-part name.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the Tabulová reserve located? It lies within the municipalities of Klentnice, Bavory, and Perná in the Břeclav district, right in the heart of the Pavlov Hills on Pálava.

What makes Tabulová different from other hills in the area? Above all, its distinctive flat summit — the result of ancient marine abrasion — and the fact that it is the only natural habitat of Ethiopian sage in the Czech Republic.

Are there traces of earlier settlement within the reserve? Yes, the hill once held a fortified Hallstatt-period settlement, and the ruins of the medieval Sirotčí hrádek castle still stand on Růžový vrch.

How many plant species occur in the reserve? Researchers have documented 552 species and subspecies of vascular plants, including 42 protected species.