Giant Mountains

Krkonoše were folded during Primary and were finished especially by tertiary upstroke which impressed to the mountain range the basic direction from the north-west to the south-east. There are two distinct main ridges in the higher locations – Slezský or also border ridge with the highest mountain Sněžka (1602m). There goes ahead the borderline with Poland. The second one is Český or also internal ridge connected with extensive plateaus and divided by the valley of River Mumlava and Sedmidolí. Six forked branches go from the internal ridge to the south. The forked branches are gradually coming down and divided by deep valleys of rivers and brooks. The other factors, especially climatic ones, contributed to the final shaping. Krkonoše are part of the Czech highland and rank among the highest European low mountain range.

There are typical evidences of ice age in Krkonoše. Particular partial icebergs created glacial valleys (corries) so called pits. Although Krkonoše are according to their altitude characterized as low mountain range, there are climatic terms which are typical for alpine and sub arctic regions.

Location – in the midst of Europe – predestined Krkonoše to be enslaved by a man. Krkonoše represent the national cultural inheritance and the status of the national park is the essential presumption for conservation so extraordinary values.

KRNAP – Krkonoše national park was declared 17.5.1963 as the highest form of state preservation of nature on the area of nearly 400ha. Snow covers Krkonoše about 5-6 month a year. The height of snow cover depends on rainfall value, thermal rate and the stand of slope. The prevailing course of the winds has also the great influence on snow cover. Then snow accumulates in banks of snow which emerge particularly in leeward sides (e.g. in Labský, Obří/Great and Modrý důl/Blue pit) and create the avalanches.

Coherent snow cover sometimes already is in November and remains till the end of April in the altitude above 1000 m. Snowfields then remain till July (Modrý důl/Blue pit). Most of snow is in lower locations in February, in higher locations in March. The height of snow cover changes according to location from several centimetres to 4 metres. The measured maximum was 14m.

West and south-west circulation dominates in Krkonoše. A wind speed is the highest just in wintertime and particularly it reaches unique 150 km/h during windstorms. Then it comes to extensive windfalls. The rapid weather reversals are very dangerous. The calm weather changes to snowstorm with the fall in temperature during several minutes.

One of the coldest and roughest places of middle Europe with average annual temperature +0.2 °C is Sněžka. Its top was subjugated for the first time by mountain dwellers in 13th century. They built there chapel of saint Vavřinec, tourist chalets and meteorological station. Strong wind, fog, rainy weather and snow in the middle of summer use to be here. Tourists can choose from several trails for their climb to the top.

The nature surrounding the ridges of Krkonoše reminds tundra in Far East so much that the highest Czech mountains gained by right the attribute “island of Arctic in the midst of Europe”. The average annual temperatures don’t scale over +1 °C. It is home of persistent shrublets, grasses, mosses and cold-resisting lichens, the world of swinging peat bogs, rocky rubbles and deeply freezing through soils which were folded into quizzical figures by ice and frost.

Deep waters of two lakes at the Polish side of mountains betray a history of Krkonoše. A huge continental glacier spread out from Scandinavia nearly to the north foot of Krkonoše during strong cooling down of the whole north hemisphere at the beginning of Quaternary. Such a cold prevailed in its surroundings that local glaciers started to form on the slopes of Krkonoše and shaped the visage of the mountains during their journey to the valley. The glaciers piled up heaps of stones, sand and clay in some places of valley during their journey. These glacial moraines blocked somewhere a valley so perfectly that water from melting snow created deep lakes. Malý a Velký Rybník/Small and Great Pond at north slopes of Krkonoše reaching the depth of 7 and 24m is such evidence from the ice age. Frost, ice, water and wind shaped the unglaciated ridges of mountains and left a testimony their powder in many places in shape of grotesquely cracked granite rocks – so called tory.

Krkonoše have largely round low mountain range proportions. Nevertheless, if we get to any of fifteen pits of Krkonoše – the cradles of olden glaciers, we are surrounded by real alpine sceneries of rocky steep slopes of Úpská pit, Studniční pits, pits of Lakes, Kotelní or Labská pits. But the Snow pits (Sněžné jámy) are the most dramatic – it is a pair of glacial corries in north part of Polish Krkonoše. Wildly forked granite rocks slope down to depth more than 200 metres. Because of location of the pits at north slopes of rocks there are large snowfields by foot of steep rock faces also in the late summer. They gave the pits their name. Snow pits don’t have any waterfall apart from other pits. Kamenczyk u Sklarzskej Potreby is the nearest one which is the highest waterfall (27 meters) at north slopes of rocks.

Kotel/Pot (1.435 m. above sea-level) is the dominant feature of west Krkonoše. Olden glaciers ate out Great and Small pit in its southeast slopes. It is a pair of glacial corries with colourful alpine nature. Both pits are surrounded by a scenery of deep craggy slopes, dark green growth of dwarf pine on the surrounding slopes and old beech virgin forest in the valley of Jizerka. The only glacial lake on the Czech side of mountains is hidden in heavy pine grove nearby the virgin forest – Mechové jezero/Mossy Lake.

One of the places of pilgrimage of these mountains is a spring of the greatest Czech river Labe. It occurs in the midst of plateau on the ridges of west Krkonoše in the altitude 1386.3 m. One of the oldest terrestrial salt paths lined already five hundreds years ago in the vicinity of spring Labe. It is so called Czech path connecting Czech and Slezsko. The surrounding monotonous greyish-yellow mat-grassy meadows are hiding other sight of Krkonoše – real northern peat-bogs. Northern tundra spread hither along the borders of massive Scandinavian glacier in bygone days. Its envoys (e.g. small bramble-mulberry-bush, Sudetan Lousewort or Aeshna Cyanea) survive to date like the witnesses of bygone days of ice age.

Nonrecurring scenery of three rocky amphitheatres of pits of Labe opens the tourists at the conclusion of the longest glacial valley of Krkonoše – Labský pit. Massive glacier which originated here sometime long-ago was many dozens of meters strong and filled up the Labské pits. Avalanches go on with its mountain-shaping work these days. They coast regularly the slopes of pits. Permanently forestless avalanche trajectories were settled by colourful crowd of bushes, herbs and animals. Already our ancestors, who were picking here medicinal herbs, came to name these places in Krkonoše´s pits back gardens (e.g. Krakonošova, Devil’s Back Garden in Great Pit/Čertova zahrádka v Obřím dole). The richest natural locality whatsoever on the Czech side of mountains occurs in Pančavská pit and its name Schustler´s back garden is forever reminding one of the most significant researchers. Pančavský waterfall is one of the popular places. Its water falls over granite cascades to depth 148 meters and joints to meandering Labe at the bottom of the hole. The next influx into River Labe comes one kilometre low from the left side. That is River Pudlava whose 122 meters high waterfall is hidden in heavy mountain pine grove so that it mostly evades the tourists.

1033 meters high Rýchorský ridge towers above the most eastern part of Krkonoše. On a clear day man can see glorious views on panoramas of the whole eastern Krkonoše with dominating Sněžka. There is an old beech primeval forest at the top Rýchory. The unaccompanied occurrence of beeches is in a way a unique object in this altitude. The fragments of the old trunks cover a carpet of moss and the fruiting bodies of numerous hollows provide a hideaway for the forest birds such as Loxia curvirostra, woodpecker, spotted woodpecker, owls and rarely also a king of European mountain forests - wood grouse. Dvorský Forest on Rýchory belongs to not many well-kept evidences about an appearance of Krkonoše forests before man stepped in their destinies.

There formatted a deep peat bog on the way of several millenniums in a flat gap between Black and Bright mountain in the altitude 1200 meters in the midst of low spruce forest. This peat bog is a spectacular organic archive. The fragments of the old dry spruces aren’t here because of unfortunate influence of air pollution. They are absolutely natural part of live peat bog which is mushrooming quickly and doesn’t give the trees a chance of survival. A well-known Černohorský Brook also rises in the gap. It crashes down the tight and green mosses densely overgrown trough a bit lower. It creates eminently romantic sceneries of Klaus pit.

The deep Krkonoše valleys are evidence of powder of heavy spring water of the mountain torrents. Those shape scenery of surrounding area for long millenniums during their journey from mountains. Except the greatest Czech River Labe also River Úpa, White Labe and River Jizera rise in Krkonoše. The brooks, streams and creeks on the Czech side of west Krkonoše flow into River Jizera which though its journey already begins in neighbouring the Jizera Mountains. According to its siskin-green colouring we recognize that it springs out of the midst of large and deep Jizera-mountain peat bogs. Jizera sculpted romantic watercourse of Jizera pit between Harrachov and Rokytnice over the ages. It is the most beautiful in autumn. River stream is forcing way through maze of moss covered boulders and round stones where a dipper is foraging for food. Black pales weevils are scrambling the bulky leaves of flea-docks and wild kingfishers are occasionally flickering upon the river.

Golden yellow beeches impress nonrecurring coloured atmosphere of the whole valley in those days. Also River Mumlava flows into River Jizera. Intense river stream modelled imposing waterfall and rapids in its granite river bed upon Harrachov. It also modelled the massive giant pots, one of the biggest and deepest which you can behold in Czech rivers.

Despite of small area and low altitude Krkonoše number among the most visiting mountain ranges of Europe and in own fame transcend numerous greater mountain range of ringing names. It is a country which natural variety doesn’t have a parallel in surrounding mountain ranges.