Moravian Slovakia

Moravian Slovakia (Czech: Moravské Slovácko) or Slovácko is a cultural region in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic on the border with Slovakia (Czech: Slovensko) and Austria, known for its characteristic folklore, music, wine, costumes and traditions. The area forms part of both the Zlín and South Moravian administrative regions.

Its most important center is the town of Uherské Hradiště which is located on the Morava River. Other important population centers include Uherský Brod, Břeclav, Hodonín, Strážnice and Kyjov. In the 9th century the region of Moravian Slovakia was the centre of the Great Moravian empire.

Native Moravians speak Moravian dialects of the Czech language, and the dialects native to this region are influenced by neighboring Slovak speakers, hence the name "Moravian Slovakia." Due to these cultural and lingustic links to Slovakia many ethnographers until 20th century used to consider Moravian Slovaks as a people which politically belonged to Moravia and Lands of the Bohemian Crown but ethnografically and culturaly to the Slovak ethnic group. Historically, there were also significant numbers of German speakers who also influenced local speech.