Churches Influenced by Underground Mining in the Karvina Region Used for the Purposes of Geotourism

Abstract

The article aims to point out the mutual relations between underground mining and its manifestations on the ground surface. For the purpose, churches in the Karvina Region were selected. The buildings have been affected by over 200-year long extraction of hard coal. Some of the buildings have been influenced from the start of the mining activities, others later on Thanks to the combined effects of the historical significance of the monuments and their diversion from the vertical axis, the buildings have become even more interesting. Moreover, they clearly document how the anthropogenic mining activities influence the built-up area. Some of the buildings have been preserved to date, some had to be demolished, unfortunately. Nowadays, the monuments are becoming significant sites of geotourism interest. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.