Dichtung and Wahrheit of spatial planning: Legal frameworks versus their application in Central Europe

The countries of Central Europe share a common tradition of urban planning and settlement, and their history of governance also shows a number of intersections. Many common features survived after the Great War, nevertheless the division of Central Europe by the Iron Curtain influenced the eastern part of the region dramatically. However, the return of open market to former socialist states was manifested also in legal environment, including the spatial planning system. Governments sought the inspiration in countries that experienced continuous development, but the differences in the legal and cultural environment led to dead ends in many cases . Eventually the main source of inspiration for spatial planning reform logically became the German-speaking countries of Central Europe. Overview in the initial part of the text, aim and method is clarified. Further on, tiers on which spatial planning tools are elaborated, with regards to specifics of unitary and federal states. Following this basic orientation, the legal frameworks in each of the countries in question are described and their specific features, namely their connection to the overall legal environment, are analysed. The conclusion shows certain gap between a first-sight similarity among the national spatial planning arrangement and its practice in spatial management, particularly on the local level of municipalities.