Krkonoše (Giant Mountains)

The Krkonoše Mountains are a mountain range in the northern Czech Republic. The range is also known as the Giant Mountains and contains Mount Sněžka, the highest peak in the Czech Republic. The Krkonoše draw their name from a legendary mountain spirit said to inhabit the area and act as its protector. They stretch for about 21.7 miles (35 kilometers) near the country’s border with Poland and feature an alpine geography of glacial valleys, flowered meadows, pine forests, rocky ridges, and numerous waterfalls. The Krkonoše attract millions of tourists each year for sightseeing, hiking, and skiing. The area surrounding the mountains was declared a national park in the 1960s and was later classified as a biosphere reserve by the United Nations.

Background

The glacial land formations that became the Krkonoše Mountains formed more than 65 million years ago and were carved out by the advance and retreat of numerous glaciers over many millions of years. The range is part of the larger Bohemian Massif, an uplifted section of the earth’s crust that runs for about 60,000 square miles (155,400 square kilometers) from eastern Germany through the Czech Republic and into northern Austria. The Krkonoše are mostly made up of crystalline rock with a central ridge of granite formed through tectonic uplift and rounded through millions of years of erosion. The region is known for its distinctive cirques, steep circular-shaped valleys formed by glaciers.

The Krkonoše are a typical alpine landscape with pine forests, mountain spruce, peat bogs, and treeless meadows covered in wild herbs, grasses, or flowers. The melting snows of the mountains have created deep-channeled riverbeds and numerous waterfalls in the region. The highest waterfall in the area is Pančavský Falls at 486 feet (148 meters) tall. The mountains are also the source of the Elbe River, one of the major waterways of central Europe. The Elbe flows for 724 miles (1,165 kilometers) through the Czech Republic and into Germany before emptying into the North Sea. The source is located just north of the resort town of Špindlerův Mlýn.

The highest peak in the Krkonoše, and in the entire Czech Republic, is Mount Sněžka at 5,259 feet (1,603 meters) tall. In local legend, Sněžka is known as the queen mountain and is said to look out over her surrounding kingdom. The name Krkonoše itself comes from a popular figure in regional folklore. The Czechs called the figure Krakonoš and saw him as a mountain spirit who guarded the highlands and kept it safe from trespassers and poachers. Typically, Krakonoš was depicted as a bearded giant who aided those he deemed worthy and punished those who angered him. A protected ridge near the eastern slope of Mount Sněžka is known for its wide variety of mountain plants and flowers, earning it the local nickname “Krakonoš’ Garden.” In world folklore, Krakonoš may be better known by his German name, Rübezahl.

Much of the Krkonoše remained unpopulated until at least the twelfth century. Many modern towns and villages trace their roots back to their formation in the thirteenth or fourteenth century. The region’s largest population center is Vrchlabí, a town with an estimated 2019 population of about 12,460 located at the foot of the mountains. While Czech is the most widespread and official language of the Czech Republic, several areas in the Krkonoše Mountains speak regional dialects that are considered endangered as of the early twenty-first century.

In 1959, a 21.2 square mile (55 square kilometer) area on the Polish side of the Krkonoše Mountains was designated as the Karkonosze National Park. The Czech Republic followed suit in 1963, setting aside 142.9 square miles (370 square kilometers) on its side of the border as Krkonoše National Park. An additional 71 square miles (184 square kilometers) was added to the park’s borders on the Czech side in 1986. Four years later, both parks were named protected areas by the EUROPARC Federation, a non-governmental environmental group. The parks were also named a biosphere reserve in 1992 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). A biosphere reserve is a specially protected ecosystem considered to have unique scientific and natural value. The region is home to a diverse number of animals and bird species that vary according to altitude and terrain. These include the alpine shrew, red deer, European pine vole, wood grouse, peregrine falcon, nuthatch, sparrowhawk, horseshoe bat, and numerous species of butterflies. The European beaver was spotted for the first time in many years in these mountains in 2024.

Topic Today

Many of the first people to settle in the area worked as miners or farmers, but since the late nineteenth century, tourism has emerged as the primary economic driver of the Krkonoše region. Because of its natural beauty, ample tourist activities and facilities, and the accessibility of the mountains, it is a popular destination. The mountains and national park are among the most visited tourist destinations in the Czech Republic, making up an estimated 80 percent of the region’s modern economy. Each year, between 10 and 12 million people visit the Czech and Polish sides combined, though the Czech side is typically more heavily visited.

During the summer, the most popular areas for hiking or sightseeing are Mount Sněžka, the source of the Elba River, and Mumlavský Falls. Mumlavský Falls is a picturesque waterfall about 33 feet (10 meters) wide and 23 feet (7 meters) tall. The area is an even more popular destination in winter, with numerous ski slopes, cross-country trails, entertainment parks, and resorts. One of the largest resort towns is Špindlerův Mlýn, a year-round destination that has hosted several World Cup and European ski events. The resort town of Pec pod Sněžkou is located near Mount Sněžka and also attracts tourists year-round. Most visitors access the region through the town of Vrchlabí, which is about a two-hour drive from the Czech capital of Prague.

Though the popularity of these mountains as a tourist attraction has benefited the region’s economy, the high number of visitors has required authorities to take steps to protect the ecosystem from damage. However, climate change is also impacting these mountains. The endemic flowering plant called the True Sudeten lousewort (Pedicularis sudetica) is very sensitive to changes in rainfall and temperature, and its existence is threatened. It exists in a fraction of the land it previously inhabited. As endemic plants like lousewort die, other species are able to invade, changing the natural coniferous forests into regions of spruce monocultures.

Bibliography

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“Fauna of the Krkonose Mts.” Krkonoše Mountains National Park, old.krnap.cz/en/fauna-of-the-krkonose-mts. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

"History of the Giant Mountains." Karkonoski Park Narodowy, kpnmab.pl/history-of-the-giant-mountains. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

“Krkonoše/Karkonosze Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, Czech Republic/Poland.” UNESCO, www.unesco.org/en/mab/krkonose/karkonosze. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

“Krkonoše Mountains National Park.” INTERACT, eu-interact.org/field-sites/krkonose-mountains-national-park. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

“Krkonoše National Park and Surroundings, Czech Republic.” Interreg Central Europe, programme2014-20.interreg-central.eu/Content.Node/Krkono-e-Mountains-National-Park-and-surrounding-area--no.html. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

Pilous, Vlastimil. “Krkonoše Mountains: A Case Study of Polygenetic Relief.” Landscapes and Landforms of the Czech Republic, edited by Tomáš Pánek and Jan Hradecký, Springer, 2016, pp. 177–93.

Stibral, Karel, and Veronika Faktorová. “The Giant Mountains – as Beautiful as the Alps. The Origins of the Aesthetic Discovery of Mountains in the Central European Context.” Journal of Tourism History, vol. 13, no. 3, 2021, pp. 249–74, doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2021.1999510. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.