The District of Ždár nad Sázavou spreads across 1,672 sq. km at the highest altitudes of the BohemianMoravian Uplands, including the highest peak of Devět skal (836 m.) Covered with spruce trees in the north, the district is cut apart by the European water shed between the North and Black Seas. Stříbrná studánka (Silver Fountain) on the top of the Žákova hora (810 m) is one of the springs of the Svratka River, the district's longest water stream. Beside the Sázava which issues out of the Velké Dářko lake (206 hectares) and the Oslava River, there are many tiny streams and brooks all over. The countryside is characteristic of many ponds-Sykovec, Medlov, Milovy, etc., which are used economically as well as for the recreation. The Bohemian-Moravian Uplands att racts tourists, skiers and artists. Many painters had ties to this part of the country-Chitussi, Slavíček, Kremlička, Kaván, Blažíček, Jambor, Lacina, Lukášek, Kopáček-and there are more among our contemporaries -Hanych, Zezula, Smažil. The country gave birth to outstanding sculptors, like Jan Štursa and Vincenc Makovský, and the glazier's tradition founded by the Beránek family is also worth mentioning. Products of the glass work of Škrdlovice are renowned home and abroad.

Nové Město na Moravě is a well-known centre of travel, culture and sports in the geometrical centre of Czechia in the BohemianMoravian Uplands. People seeking rest and regeneration are coming and returning. The countryside is perfect for walking tours in summer und winter, for biking trips, winter sports, swimming, fishing, mushrooming and mountaineering while agrotourism is developing in recent years. The town has much to shozu -building sights, beautiful fountains of stone, and many sculptures, most of them made by the famous natives Jan Štursa and Vincenc Makovský. Horácké Museum presents the history of town and country, waking,; up memories of the past iron and glass making fame, of the weaving trade and of the traditional wood-working and ski manufacturing. Occupying the château, the Horácká Gallery shows local history of a stripe of land which has produced many artistic souls and attracts others to come and draw inspiration. The picturesque countryside mirrors itself in music and literature as well. The annual fair of July, Nova Civitas, is a festival of crafts and there are similar events at the nearby Olešná. An important chapter of Nové Město and around is ski racing. This sport has been glorified by the recently introduced international competition of the cross-country sküng World Cup combined with the local Golden Ski race.

Golf course near the township of Svratka (population 1,650) seated at an altitude of 632 m in the valley of the river that bears the same name, in the Ždárské Vrchy highland. The region has been inhabited since the l3th century, belonging to the Rycmburk Domain. Most outstanding of all the owner families were the Berkas of Dubá and Lipá. As conditions zvere never favourable for agriculture, boom of crafts started in the l8th century, especially the pottery, match-making, stove-making and weaving, along with iron and glass works around. The trend continued throughout the l9th century. Cultural boom came between the world wars when painters start ed coming to let themselves inspire by the nature; let us mention the names of Antonín Slavíček, Otakar Nejedlý, Rudolf Kremlička, František Kaván. The country also inspired writers like Tereza Nováková; Miroslav Bureš and Josef Věromír Pleva were born here. Svratka's monuments of history are the John the Baptist's Church dating back to the l3th century, with ancient belfry and parish nearby; St Wenceslas's statue, the memorial of fallen soldiers in the square, and original architecture in the oldest part of Račany. Svratka is a wellknozun holiday area with the ŽĎAS and ROJANA accommodation facilities and TJ MARS hostel, hotel Mánes and the famous restaurant U Šillerii. Many hiking paths issue out of Svratka. The country is fine for cross-country sküng. Also available is a football stadium and a skating rink.

The St Lawrence's Church is presiding over the Masaryk Square as well as the whole town of Bystřice nad Pernštejnem. Built in the l3th century, it went through many changes, zvas heavily damaged by the 1841 fire and then redeveloped in the baroque style as we know it today. The church closes the lower end of a long square with the former town hall, nozv the Bystřinka Museum. St Lawrence's counterpart is the former Evangelical Church built in the Gothic style in 1615 that sits on a hilltop above the medieval town. While this church serves mainly for funerals, St Lazurence's and the parish are centres of religious life of Bystřinka, a traditional stronghold of religiousness, like all the rest of the Uplands. The oldest serious record of Bystřice nad Pernštejnem dates back to 1238. The settlement was founded in a forestral country some 50 km north-west of Brno, in the shallow valley of the Bystřice, one of the Svratka's tributaries, at altitudes of 500-800 m. The countryside around is typical for the Uplands fields and meadows, with ponds now and then. The old, l3th-century settlement was econo mic centre of the freshly colonised region. The important date was 1580, when Bystřice uas promoted to a city by Emperor Rudolf II with new freedoms. Today, Bystřice is the heart of a region of some 35,000 inhabitants. Its modern history has been tied to uranium mining. And the future lies in finding a balanced combination between natural and human resources that are dreaming in this rough, but beautiful country