Moravia is a country in the east of the Czech Republic. It is one of the three historical countries of the Czech Republic. The name of the country is derived from the Morava River. The name Morava is of pre-Slavic origin. It has the meaning of water, swamp. Moravia borders on Bohemia to the west.
In the north, it borders on the Polish part of Kladsko and the Czech/Moravian Silesia. In the east, Moravia borders on Slovakia. To the south it borders Lower Austria.
The largest city in Moravia is Brno. Other important settlements are Olomouc, which is the second historical capital of Moravia next to Brno and the seat of the archbishopric, Ostrava (part of Moravian Ostrava), Jihlava, Zlín and Kroměříž. Jihlava and Ostrava lie on the former provincial borders (Moravian-Bohemian and Moravian-Silesian).
Most of Moravia is made up of hills and uplands. The highest mountain is Praděd, 1492 metres above sea level, located in the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains. Other important mountain ranges are the Moravian-Silesian Beskydy, the White Carpathians and Králický Sněžník. Moravia is separated from Bohemia by the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands.
The most important rivers are the Morava, the Dyje, the Svratka, the Bečva and the Jihlava, which flow through the extensive lowland areas of southern and central Moravia. These are the Dyje-Svratecký úval, the Dolnomoravský úval and the Hornomoravský úval.
