Giant Mountains
The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše, or Karkonosze, are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system. The Czech–Polish border, which divides the historic regions of Bohemia and Silesia, runs along the main ridge. The highest peak, Sněžka, is the Czech Republic's highest natural point with an elevation of.
On both sides of the border, large areas of the mountains are designated national parks, and these together comprise the Krkonoše/Karkonosze Transboundary Biosphere Reserve under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. The source of the River Elbe is within the Giant Mountains. The range has a number of major ski resorts, and is a popular destination for tourists engaging in downhill and cross-country skiing, hiking, cycling and other activities.
Names
The range has been called the Giant Mountains in English literature since at least 1719.The Czech name "Krkonoše" is first mentioned in a 1492 record of the division of the Manor of Štěpanice into two parts. The first map occurrence of the name dates back to 1518 to Klaudyán map of Bohemia, when it is referred to the mountains as "Krkonoss". The origin of the name is usually interpreted as a compound of "krk" or "krak", an Old Slavonic word for Krummholz – and "noš", derived from "nosit". Alternative linguistic theories mention a connection with the pre–Indo-European word Corconti, which is first listed by Ptolemy and refers to a pre-Celtic or Germanic people.
In Simon Hüttel's chronicle of Trautenau from 1549 the names Hrisenpergisches Gebirge, Hrisengepirge, Hrisengebirge, Risengepirge appeared for the first time, but in the following centuries several other names were still used too. Martin Helwig's map of Silesia mentions Riſenberg.
In 1380, Přibík Pulkava called the mountains the Sněžné hory. The Czech writer Bohuslav Balbín recorded in 1679 that the mountains were known under various names: Krkonoše, Rhipaeos Montes, Obrovski Mountains, Snow Mountains or Riesen Gebirge.
The modern names of Krkonoše, Riesengebirge and Karkonosze became widely accepted only in the 19th century.
Geography
The area of the Giant Mountains amounts to, within the Czech Republic and in Poland. While most of the Sudetes are middle-sized Mittelgebirge mountains, the Giant Mountains have a few characteristics of proper high mountains such as glacial cirques, small periglacial landforms and an elevation significantly above the tree line.The main ridge of the mountains runs from east to west and forms the border between these two countries. Its highest peak, Sněžka/Śnieżka, is the highest peak of the Czech Republic. The Silesian northern part, in Poland, drops steeply to the Jelenia Góra valley, whereas the southern Czech part slopes gently to the Bohemian basin. In the north-easterly direction the Giant Mountains continue to Rudawy Janowickie, and in the south-east to Rýchory. The pass Novosvětský průsmyk at Jakuszyce forms the western border with the Jizera Mountains.
The Bohemian ridge in the Czech Republic, running parallel to the main ridge, forms a second ridge. At Špindlerův Mlýn the river Elbe divides the Bohemian ridge.
The ridges are divided by the rivers Elbe, Mumlava, Bílé Labe, Velka Úpa, Malá Úpa and Jizera, which originates in the Jizera Mountains. The rivers on the Czech side often fall over steep edges into valleys formed by ice-age glaciers. The largest waterfalls on the southern side of the mountains are the Labský vodopád with a height of, Pančavský waterfall, Horní Úpský waterfall, Dolní Úpský waterfall and Mumlava Waterfall. The most important rivers on the Polish side are Kamienna, Łomnica and Bóbr. They also form impressive waterfalls, such as Kamieńczyk Falls, Szklarki Falls Wodospad na Łomnicy or Podgórna Falls.
The main ridge of the Giant Mountains forms the watershed between the North Sea and the Baltic. The rivers on the south side drain into the North Sea, those on the north side into the Baltic.
Highest peaks and peaks of interest
Flora
The river valleys and lower layers form the sub-montane zone. The aboriginal hardwood and mixed forests are largely replaced with spruce monocultures. Only the river valleys offer remnants of hardwood forests.The higher parts form the montane vegetation zone. Their natural coniferous forests have also in large parts been replaced by spruce monocultures, which are often heavily damaged due to air pollution and soil acidification. In many places, the forest is dead. This is due to the geographic location in the Black Triangle, a region around the German–Polish–Czech border triangle with many coal-burning power plants. The sulfur dioxide emissions, which are mainly responsible for acid rain, and the emission of many other concentrations have been greatly reduced since the beginning of the 1990s, but the forest die-back, which started in the 1970s and culminated in the late 1980s, could not be stopped entirely.
The clearing of forests in the surroundings of mountain huts created species-rich mountain meadows, which were maintained in alpine pasture farming. After the expulsion of Germans in 1945, this type of management largely came to a standstill and the mountain meadows were largely abandoned.
Above the timber line at about is the subalpine vegetation zone, which is marked by knee timber, mat-grass meadows and subarctic high moors. This habitat of special importance in the Krkonoše is a relic of Arctic tundra, which was typical in Central Europe during the ice age. At the same time, however, there was a connection to the alpine grasslands of the Alps, and plant species coexist here which are otherwise separated by several thousand kilometers, such as cloudberries. Some species evolved under the specific conditions of the Krkonoše unlike in the Alps or in the tundra, especially in Śnieżne Kotły. They are endemic, which means they only appear here.
The alpine vegetation zone, with large rocky deserts, can only be found on the highest peaks. Only grass, moss and lichen survive here.
Especially species-rich are glacial cirques such as the Obří důl, Labský důl and Důl Bílého Labe on the south side and the dramatic Śnieżne Kotły, Kocioł Łomniczki and the calderas of mountain lakes Wielki Staw and Mały Staw on the north side of the main ridge. The species-richest areas are called zahrádka. There are about 15 in Krkonoše, for example Čertova zahrádka und Krakonošova zahrádka.
National parks and nature reserves
On both the Czech and Polish side, large parts of the mountain range are protected as national parks and nature reserves.The Czech Krkonoše National Park was created in 1963 as the second national park in Czechoslovakia, making it the oldest national park in the Czech Republic. Its area is approximately, including not only the subalpine zone but also large parts down to the foot of the mountains.
Poland's Karkonosze National Park was created in 1959 and covers an area of. It covers the highly sensitive higher parts of the mountain range from an altitude of about and some special nature reserves below this zone.
The strict conservation regulations of the Polish national park prohibit reforestation of damaged and dead forests. On the Czech side, however, large-scale reforestation projects are common.
Climate
The climate of the Giant Mountains is marked by frequent weather changes. The winters are cold and snow depths above are not uncommon. Many parts of the mountains are covered with snow for five or six months. There is often dense fog at the higher altitudes. On average, mount Sněžka/Śnieżka is at least partly hidden in fog and/or clouds on 296 days, and has an average of about 0.2 °C, which is similar to places much further north, like Iceland. The main ridge is one of the most wind-exposed areas of Europe. On the northern side the Foehn wind is a frequent meteorological phenomenon. The annual precipitation ranges from about at the foot of the mountains up to on mount Sněžka/Śnieżka. The highest precipitation, at, is reached in the snow pits in the valleys at the foot of the main ridge.History
Since the Middle Ages, a state border has been established in the Giant Mountains, first between Poland and Bohemia, then between the Polish Duchy of Jawor and Bohemia, between Prussia and Austria, between Germany and Czechoslovakia, between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and then between Poland and the Czech Republic. Apart from minor adjustments, the boundary has survived unchanged to this day. It is disputed whether the Polish ruler Bolesław III Wrymouth crossed the Giant Mountains during his reprisal campaign against Bohemia in 1110. Until the establishment of Poland in the 10th-11th century the mountain range and its foothills were unpopulated, with deep, impenetrable forests. The Polish part was administratively part of the Wleń castellany. The first traces of human settlements probably appeared in the Duchy of Bohemia near two provincial paths between Bohemia and Poland in the 12th century. The town of Jelenia Góra and probably also Kowary existed nearby already in the 12th century, however, the oldest villages on the foothills on the Polish side were founded in the 13th century. Among the first native inhabitants were wood cutters, charcoal burners and hunters, and the first immigrants were gold prospectors.The first wave of colonization by Czech settlers in the Bohemian part goes back to the 13th century, but only includes the foothills; the mountain ridges were still unpopulated. The second wave of colonization of the foothills in the late 13th century was mostly by German settlers ; they first colonized the Polish northern part, where farming conditions were better, and later the southern Bohemian part along the Elbe and Úpa rivers. Many agricultural settlements, markets and handcraft communities and cities were founded at that time, and they formed a base for the further colonization of the mountain range.
In 1281, Duke Bernard the Lightsome granted the western portion of the Giant Mountains to the Knights Hospitaller from Strzegom, and in 1292, Duke Bolko I the Strict granted the Grzbiet Lasocki in the east to the Krzeszów Abbey, whereas the remainder of the Polish part of the mountains remained a ducal possession, but there were some small noble possessions.
The first people who explored the inner parts of the Giant Mountains were treasure hunters and miners looking for gold, silver, ores and valuable stones, mainly on the Silesian side. In the 14th and 15th centuries foreigners who spoke a non-German language came to the mountains. They were called "Wallen", and their journeys to the "treasure" deposits were recorded in so-called "Wallenbüchern". Mysterious orientation signs from these "Wallen" are visible to this day, especially on the northern side of the mountains.
In the 14th–16th centuries, miners, glassmakers, charcoal burners, woodcutters and shepherds settled in the mountains. The first glassworks reportedly was established in the Cicha Dolina at the foot of the Grzybowiec mountain on the Polish side already in the 13th century, yet it certainly operated in the 14th–16th centuries. In the mid-14th century, there were also glassworks in Szklarska Poręba and Vysoké nad Jizerou. Later on, glassworkers from Bohemia also moved to the Silesian part of the mountains.
In 1511 German miners from the region around Meissen in Saxony started working in Obří Důl, directly below mount Sněžka/Śnieżka, and at the same time many other mines were opened in other central parts of the mountains, like Svatý Petr, now part of Špindlerův Mlýn.
In the 1530s,, a Carinthian aristocrat and royal senior captain of King Ferdinand I, appeared in the Krkonoše and obtained the entire dominion of Vrchlabí. His enterprising spirit was crucial for the further development of the area. For the supplement of the miners he founded many smaller towns in higher parts of the mountains. Further down in the valleys iron work furnaces were built, and water wheels provided the energy required. Due to the intensive economic activity the first deforested enclaves on hillsides and on the peaks appeared during this period.
By order of Christoph von Gendorf, widespread timber cutting for the silver mine in Kutná Hora started in many places, which caused irreparable damage. These orders led to the third wave of colonization, which fully affected the mountain ridges. In 1566 he invited lumberjacks from Alpine countries to settle in his domain. These people from Tyrol, Carinthia and Styria changed the character of the mountains and shaped the cultural landscape significantly. Hundreds of families, especially from the Tyrol region, created another group of inhabitants who spoke a different German dialect and brought another domestic culture to the Krkonoše. On the mountain hillsides they founded new settlements, laid down the basis for later farming by breeding cattle and built wooden dams to retain the water.
In the 17th century Albrecht von Wallenstein acquired parts of the mountains, and the town of Vrchlabí served as a base for armament of his army. The Thirty Years' War of 1618–1648 sparked further exploration and settlement of the Giant Mountains, as the inhabitants, fleeing from the armies, took refuge in the mountains, sometimes founding new villages. Religious refugees from the Bohemian part fled to the Silesian part of the mountains, where they settled in Marysin, Karpacz, Borowice, Michałowice and Jagniątków. Following the war, several cottages, called bouda in Czech, buda in Polish and Baude in German, remained in the higher parts of the mountains, which were used during the cattle pasturage in the summer and sometimes even through the winter. Among the oldest are Luční bouda, Stara Śląska Buda at Łabski Szczyt, Pomezní bouda and Brádlerova bouda founded in the 1620s and 1630s. The entire mountain range became a densely populated region.
During the 17th century the mountain range on the Bohemian side was divided among new landowners, most of them Catholics and foreign to the region. These included the families of Harrach, Morzin and de Waggi. Disputes about the borders of each domain soon followed, but were settled between 1790 and 1810. Since the Treaty of Berlin Silesia had become part of the Kingdom of Prussia. The court decision of 1790, which set the border between the Bohemian dominions and the Silesian Schaffgotsch dominions, defines the border between Bohemia and Silesia to this day.
At first Bad Warmbrunn with its hot springs became a popular bath and tourist centre on the northern side of the mountains. In 1822 Wilhelm, a brother of Prussian king Frederick William III, was the first prince of the Hohenzollern dynasty who took his summer residence in the Hirschberg valley, at Fischbach castle. In 1831 the king himself bought Erdmannsdorf Estate, which he had learned to appreciate when visiting his brother in Fischbach and the previous owner of Erdmannsdorf, field marshal August von Gneisenau. The valley became a princely hideaway, and in 1838 the king purchased nearby Schildau Castle for his daughter Louise, Princess of the Netherlands. Frederick William IV enlarged the Erdmannsdorf manor house. Many new parks were created and manors and palaces rebuilt according to the newest architectural styles.
In 1918 the Republic of Czechoslovakia was founded, and in the following years there was an influx of Czechs on the Bohemian side of the mountains. Usually these people worked for the government, but some of them also worked in the tourism industry and managed mountain huts like Labská bouda and Vosecká bouda. Many of these mountain huts had previously been owned by aristocratic landowners, but were given to the Czech Tourist Club after the Land Control Act. This influx was stopped when the Czechoslovak side of the mountains was occupied by Germany in 1938, and many of these Czechs left the region or were expelled.
File:Borowice Cemetery 01.jpg|thumb|Memorial in Borowice, dedicated to Allied POWs killed by Nazi Germany
There was no fighting in the Giant Mountains during World War II, and the Germans occupied the mountain huts as military observation posts, communication posts and resorts for troops. The Germans operated at least 15 forced labour camps, located in Przesieka, Przełęcz Karkonoska, Piechowice, Kowary and Krzaczyna. The camps held prisoners of various nationalities, including Polish, Italian, French, Jewish, Czech, Belgian, Luxembourgish, Ukrainian and Russian. Belgian, French and Soviet prisoners of war, and possibly also Czech and Polish civilians, were used to build a road connecting the village of Borowice with Przełęcz Karkonoska, now known as Droga Borowicka. Poor sanitary and feeding conditions resulted in a high mortality rate, and after a typhus epidemic broke out in 1942 the construction was halted.
After the defeat of Germany in the war, the mountains became again part Czechoslovakia and Poland, although with Soviet-installed communist regimes, which stayed in power until the 1980s. Almost the entire German population was expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. On the northern Silesian side, Poles, some of whom had been expelled from what was formerly eastern Poland resettled the area, while Czechs re-settled the southern Bohemian side of the mountain range. Today the population density of the area of the national park is two-thirds lower than before World War II, as it is a protected area, and many houses are only used at weekends, for recreational purposes. The population exchange also led to a decline of the cultural landscape. In large parts of the mountains the meadows ran to seed, settlements deracinated, hundreds of traditional houses and mountain huts decayed or turned into architecturally worthless objects and countless memorials, chapels, shrines, landmarks and springs were destroyed, because they were either German-related or ecclesiastic. New Polish names were issued by political decree in the Polish northern Giant Mountains.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Polish and Czech anti-communist activists met illegally in the Giant Mountains. Following the Fall of Communism, presidents of Czechoslovakia and Poland met at the Przełęcz Karkonoska in 1990.