KRKONOŠE MOUNTAINS AND PODKRKONOŠÍ LOWLANDS

Natural harsh climate of mountain ridges, rugged valleys and riverbed streams contributed to the creation of extremely diverse landscape of Krkonoše Mountains. Krkonoše Mountains stand out as an island above the surrounding flat landscape. Its peaks with the highest mountain in the Czech Republic, Sněžka (1 602 meters above sea level), exposed to north winds, preserve the unique nature of the ice age, reminiscent of distant tundra of Scandinavia. In this kingdom of stones, moss, grasses and lichens also impenetrable scrub carpets, dense spruce forests, beeches, maples and ash trees and colorful flowers on Krkonoše meadows await tourists.

As a unique natural Central European complex the Krkonoše Mountains National Park has been a national park since 1963. Since 1984, the Krkonoše Mountains National Park has been a part of the organization of parks worldwide and in 1992 it was classified as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

pramen Labe

In the Krkonoše Mountains one of the most important European rivers, the river Elbe, springs. At a place called the Elbe meadow at an altitude of 1384 metres above the sea level it runs as a flowing mountain stream, and expands, it takes other rivers, and about 80 km behind the German port city Hamburg it flows into the North Sea as a European great river.

The foothills of the Krkonoše Mountains (Podkrkonoší Lowlands) are also very picturesque with a dominant Zvičina ridge at an altitude of 671 metres above the sea level. A big tourist magnet can include its natural attraction - Zoo in Dvůr Králové nad Labem, which is the largest breeder of African animals in Europe.