Karkonosze
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Karkonosze (Polish; pronounced kár-ko-no-she) or Krkonoše (pronounced [ˈkr̩konoʃɛ] in Czech) is a mountain range in the Sudetes in Central Europe. The range is also known as the Giant Mountains, a translation of the German term Riesengebirge, which has also historically been used in English. The names Karkonosze and Krkonoše are fairly ancient, appearing in the name of a people listed by Ptolemy as the Corconti; it may be Pre-Indo-European. The meaning was preserved, appearing in medieval Latin as Gigantei montes.
The mountains stretch from north-west to south-east and form the border between Poland and the Czech Republic. At 1,602 metres above sea level on the Czech-Polish border, the mountain Sněžka-Śnieżka is the highest peak in the Czech Republic. Large areas of the mountains are preserved as a national park by both countries. The mountains are famous for their skiing resorts and are growing in importance as a less expensive and, in some cases, nearer alternative to the Alps for tourism. The Elbe River originates in the mountains.
Important towns in the mountains are:
- Karpacz, ski resort in Poland
- Szklarska Poręba, ski resort in Poland
- Špindlerův Mlýn, mountain resort in the Czech Republic
- Harrachov, in the Czech Republic
- Pec pod Sněžkou, mountain resort in the Czech Republic
- Przesieka in Poland
- Kowary in Poland
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Krkonošský národní park website (Czech)
- Official Karkonoski Park Narodowy website (Polish)
- Wide information about Karkonosze (Polish)
- Pictures of Giant Mountains, informations (Polish)
- Polish Karkonosze website and virtual map (Polish)
- Polen Riesengebirge (German)
- Photo of Krkonoše (Czech)
- Karkonosze - information, history (Polish)
- Szklarska Poręba (Polish) (German)
- Karkonosze (Polish)
bs:Krkonoše cs:Krkonoše de:Riesengebirge es:Karkonosze eo:Gigantmontaro fr:Monts des Géants hr:Krkonoše nl:Reuzengebergte no:Karkonosze-Krkonoše nn:Karkonosze pl:Karkonosze ru:Крконоше
