A forested ridge of old-growth oak woodland on the northern edge of Brno.
Přírodní park Baba
Přírodní park Baba is a protected natural area covering roughly 8.89 square kilometers on a forested ridge just north of the city of Brno in the Czech Republic. The park stretches across the cadastres of Kuřim, Jinačovice, and several Brno city districts, with the larger portion lying in the Brno-venkov district and a smaller section in Brno-město. Its defining landscape is an approximately six-kilometer-long wooded elevation that rises between the Brno neighborhoods of Bystrc, Komín, and Medlánky to the south and the town of Kuřim to the north.
The park's ecological identity is closely tied to its centuries-old oak-dominated woodland, primarily composed of sessile oak, alongside spruce, pine, beech, hornbeam, and birch. Open clearings and a network of meadows break up the canopy, supporting orchids, lilies, and other rare and protected plant species. Baba is also notable for its cultural-historical layer: five historical boundary stones stand along the cadastral boundary between Jinačovice and Brno, marking centuries-old territorial divisions within the landscape.
The protected area was declared in the early 1990s, reflecting a broader wave of regional nature conservation efforts during that period. Today it serves as a green recreational buffer between urban Brno and the countryside to the north, valued for its biodiversity, hiking trails, and proximity to the city.
