Šumvald, Olomouc, Czech Republic

The municipality of Šumvald with its 1,600 inhabitants is located in the north-east of the Czech Republic in the Olomouc Region, near the cities of Uničov and Olomouc. It extends over a total area of over 2,100 hectares, seven percent of which is settled while 93 percent are agricultural and natural. For its current and future development, Šumvald has defined four main topics in its community development program, which has been running since 1998. They are implemented with different actions and projects: development of community facilities, maintenance and expansion of community infrastructure, ensuring environmental quality and climate protection, and promoting association and community life.

After the political and social changes in 1989, the missing technical infrastructure was initially created, such as supplying the community with gas pipes to replace solid fuel heating systems, which had led to significant air pollution. Another focus was the construction of a municipal sewage treatment plant.

After the local elections in 1998, a holistic, participatory development process was started, which continues to this day and led to visible and tangible changes. A newly developed land use plan serves as the basis, which enabled the further development of the municipality. A first priority was to reconstruct and care for community property and to set up the missing social infrastructure.

The municipality offers comprehensive basic service, which includes two grocery stores, a drugstore, a hardware store and a family doctor and a dentist who work in the “House of Services”. In addition, the supply is secured by the proximity to the cities and through the network with neighboring communities. Building a regional bridge to the neighboring communities is an important development element for Šumvald. This is also shown by its active membership in the Uničovsko micro-region, in which 13 other municipalities are committed to the region. In addition, the municipality is a member of the MAS Uničovsko (local action group), which cooperates with social and economic partners in order to jointly exploit and further develop the potential of the region. For example, a cycle path between Šumvald and Uničov (2014) and between Šumvald and Libina (2020) was realized as an important inter-municipal project. They represent an important transport connection between the neighboring communities and enable the population to cycle to work in a climate-conscious manner.

A particular focus of community development is on the area of environmental, nature and climate protection. Waste separation plays an important role and awareness of the protection and preservation of nature is conveyed in elementary school. In 2014 and 2015, during the renovation of the school building built in 1911, the topic of climate protection and adaptation was taken into account resulting in thermal insulation of the roof and walls and the installation of a heat pump. The water supply is secured by connecting to the regional water supply network, the public water pipes were completed from 2019 to 2021.

In 2020, Šumvald was hit by a severe flood event that caused major damage to private and public buildings, squares, roads and infrastructure. The community has dedicated significant financial and human resources to reconstruction. Not least because of this experience, the municipality is heavily involved in preventive flood protection. The bed of the river, which runs through the municipality and potentially floods during high water, was enlarged and designed to be more natural. In addition, work is being done on preventive flood protection through tree planting campaigns. The great solidarity and voluntary commitment of the population became particularly clear during the flood crisis and not only helped to mitigate the effects on the built environment, but also on social and societal issues.

The social bridge has always been of great importance for the sustainable development of the municipality and the local quality of life. Numerous clubs from the areas of sports, culture, art, music, fire brigade, church, children and youth work as well as the preservation of the natural basis of life fill the place with vigor and connect the generations. The municipality supports the lively association life, for example by providing a renovated building in the village center that offers space for various activities and houses a museum of the history of Šumvald.

Šumvald has a kindergarten and a primary school with a comprehensive range of education and care, including a school kitchen, foreign language classes and a computer room. They are important anchor points in the social sphere and essential for the quality of life in the community. They build bridges between young and old, between the population and the school community, as school leisure activities are managed by the residents. In addition, they also offer space for social life, since there are multifunctional usage concepts for the gymnasium and school kitchen, for example, so that they can also be used to feed the elderly. This makes it even more important that the school location has been secured long-term.

In summary, it should be emphasized that the municipality has succeeded in noticeably improving the quality of life of the people in the village with a holistic, participatory and cooperative development. The next goals are to create living space for young people and families, to convert a centrally located building into a cultural barn and to further strengthen social life.

Evaluated: 2022