The Sudeten mountains have a thousand-year history. The name is interpreted in different ways. Some adhere to the version that Soudeta is the Latin name for ore, and someone claims that the plural of the word sudes is "spines." The book of Ptolemy says that the mountains of the Sudetenland rose above Gabret's forest. Just this forest was located in the ancient Land of the Sudetenland. After many centuries, these mountains stretch along all of Europe and attract thousands of tourists and travelers here.
Mountains of the Sudetenland. Geographical position. Natural resources
The mountain system of the Sudetenland stretches through Central Europe and has a length of 310 kilometers. It runs from the northwest to the southeast, starting from East Germany to the Czech-Polish border. The highest point is Mount Snezka, its height is 1602 meters. It is located in the Karkonoshsky massif. The mountains of the Sudetenland do not require difficult overcoming and conquering, therefore tourism is so well developed here.
The diverse mountain ranges resemble mosaics: the differences in the heights of the Karkonosha, the ridges of the Table Mountains, the hills in the Golden, Ysera, and Byala mountains.
Traveling through the mountain range, you can find ancient pits left by the glacier, hidden waterfalls, rocky labyrinths. Someone is lucky to find valuable minerals. Once the mountains of the Sudetenland were considered the treasury of Europe. The stones brought from here adorned more than one building in Italy and France. Today in the rocks there are amethyst, jasper, rock crystal, jade, topaz, pomegranate. The mountain range is divided into Central, Western and Eastern Sudetenland.
Climate. Flora and fauna
The Sudeten Mountains are located in a temperate climate. At Karkonosha, the conditions are very harsh. The climate here can be called quite cold. The average annual temperature in these places is from +2 to +4 degrees. At the height of Mount Snezhka it is held at 0 degrees.
The mountain slopes of the lower zone are covered here by spring, beech, and linden forests. High-altitude slopes are rich in mountain pines. Peat bogs are found here, rich in flora, who came to us from the ice age. Alpine belt plants are found on the highest parts of the mountains. Only here you can find a basalt stone quarry. This plant is not found anywhere else in the world. Relict species include the local Karkonoshsky bell, Lapland willow, narcissus anemone.
The fauna is mostly represented by forest inhabitants: wild boar, wolf, hare, fox, deer, lynx. In total, about 60 species of mammals. A long time ago, a mouflon was brought to Karkonosha Reserve from Corsica, which took root well here. For birds in the mountains, it’s just paradise, there are about 200 species here, especially the boreal owl, black grouse, forest thrushes, small owl, forest stew, wood grouse.
A bit of history
The mountains of the Sudetenland in Europe have a very ancient history. The events that took place here in the middle of the 20th century received a particularly vivid political coloring. For a long time, the Sudetenland belonged to Czechoslovakia, although it was mostly inhabited by people of German nationality (Sudeten Germans). In 1938, German Austria became a contender for these lands. The Czechoslovak government adopted a program where Sudeten Germans were promised autonomy. But the Heinlein fascist party provoked local unrest, and then she herself asked Germany for help. A month later, Austria was captured, at the instigation of Hitler Heinlein put forward a number of demands on Czechoslovakia.
Although the government made several concessions on Sudeten Germans, the Nazis rejected cooperation. In September, a putsch was raised by the Heinleinists, and people died in clashes. Germany proclaimed the creation of Freikorp - the army of Sudeten Germans. Under pressure from the Western "allies" of France and England, Czechoslovakia was forced to accept all the shameful German conditions, as the Munich Agreement was signed on September 30 .
Immediately the Wehrmacht troops entered the Sudetenland. Thousands of refugees flocked to large cities in Czechoslovakia. In the territory of the Sudetenland, the Czech language, flag, party, newspapers and much more were banned. Only in 1945, after the liberation of the country, the Sudeten Germans were expelled from the territory and this area again departed Czechoslovakia.
Karkonosha National Park
For hundreds of kilometers across Europe, the mountains of the Sudetenland extend. Photos of amazing places attract travelers from all over the world. The most remarkable place here is the Karkonosh National Park. It includes the entire highest system of the mountain range - Karkonosha, the peak here is Mount Snezka. The park was created back in 1959. Immediately under special protection were taken areas of rare beauty: the cliff zone, where pits were formed during the ice age, high moraine lakes, outlier rocks that have a fantastic shape, high-altitude waterfalls. In 1992, the Karkonoshsky reserve for all these beauties was taken under the protection of UNESCO.
Karkonoshe is the highest mass of Sudetenland. Other names were previously used - Snowy Mountains, Giant Mountains. This area was first mastered by people in the XI century. The Walloons were here seekers of precious metals, minerals and stones. It was they who left bizarre notes on the walls of the caves, which historians are still trying to decipher.
A feature of the park’s landscape is the amazing proximity of mountain ranges and wetlands, this is rare in nature. The local lakes are picturesque here. Rocks have a bizarre shape.
Eastern mountains of the Sudetenland. Charna Gora
The resort is located in the Snezhka massif. The slopes are rich in forests, so the snow lasts long enough - from November to April. Under good weather conditions, the tracks are covered with a meter snow layer. The tracks are mainly dangerous and difficult here, so professionals ride here to a greater extent.
A temperate climate and well-developed infrastructure annually attracts hundreds of skiers to the Sudetes. Reviews of tourists say that here you can have a decent rest, go skiing, have a great time with the whole family.
Middle Sudetenland. Zelenets
The resort is located in the Eagle Mountains on the slopes of Serhie, which is closer to the Polish-Czech border. The climate here is reminiscent of alpine. Snow lies for a long time - from the end of October to the beginning of May. Nearby is Dukshni Zdroj - a resort that is only 13 km away and can be easily reached by ski. It is quiet here in summer, but in winter you need to book places in advance.
Well-developed infrastructure provides many lifts that never have a queue. Twenty tracks of varying difficulty allow you to ride as aces and beginners. The lift alone is not designed for tourists, but for border guards and soldiers. There is also a Snow Park where snowboarders can ride. Artificial lighting - at 8 tracks, for lovers of night skiing.