Vojenské cvičiště Bzenec

Vojenské cvičiště Bzenec is a nature reserve in South Moravia, sitting between the towns of Bzenec and Strážnice on the site of a former military training ground. It's a place where military history and one of the region's most unusual natural landscapes meet — open sand dunes scattered with pine trees, rising out of the Dolnomoravský úval lowland.

How did the army shape this landscape?

The training ground was established in 1882 alongside the construction of army barracks in Bzenec. To create it, the military cleared part of a pine forest known as Bzenecká Doubrava, opening up a stretch of land for exercises. Over the following century the site passed through the hands of several armies: the Austro-Hungarian army, the Czechoslovak army, the Czechoslovak People's Army, and, to a lesser extent, the Army of the Czech Republic, right up until the 1990s. Soldiers were garrisoned in the Bzenec barracks until 1998, when the military finally left the town for good.

Why did the dunes survive here?

Ironically, it was the constant military use of the land that kept it from reverting to forest. While the surrounding countryside gradually grew back into woodland, the training ground stayed open — vehicle traffic, marching troops, and exercises prevented dense tree cover from taking hold. As a result, the site still preserves exposed, wind-blown sands with scattered pine growth, a landscape type that has become rare across the Czech Republic.

What makes the reserve ecologically valuable?

The sandy soil and open terrain created ideal conditions for specialized plant communities adapted to dry, nutrient-poor ground — so-called psammophilous (sand-loving) vegetation. This vegetation is one of the main reasons researchers and naturalists take interest in the site. Just as important is its invertebrate fauna: the reserve is a significant refuge for rare and protected species of insects and spiders, which depend on dry, sun-exposed sandy patches — a habitat increasingly hard to find in Moravia's intensively farmed landscape.

When was the site protected, and why?

The ecological value of the former training ground was formally recognized in 1994, when the area was designated a "přírodní památka" — a Czech protection category for smaller but ecologically significant sites. Since then, the reserve has been actively managed to keep the sandy areas open, since without intervention natural plant succession would gradually overgrow the dunes and erode the very features that make the site valuable.

Where exactly is the reserve located?

Vojenské cvičiště Bzenec lies in South Moravia, along the road connecting Bzenec and Strážnice, within the Dolnomoravský úval — a broad lowland along the Morava River valley known for a warm, dry microclimate that favors this kind of sandy habitat.

Frequently asked questions

Can visitors walk through the former training ground? Yes, as a protected nature reserve it is open to walkers, though visitors are expected to stick to marked paths and avoid disturbing the habitats of the rare species living there.

How does this site differ from a typical Moravian forest? Its open, sandy character sets it apart — instead of dense woodland, the landscape features scattered pines and exposed dunes, a direct legacy of decades of military use.

Is the site still used by the military? No. The army left Bzenec and its barracks for good in 1998, and the training ground itself has been under nature protection since 1994.

Why is this location significant for entomologists? Its dry, sandy, sun-exposed terrain is rare in the region and supports protected insect and spider species specially adapted to harsh, arid conditions.