The Karkonosze National Park was formally established on January 16th in 1959. It is located in south-western Poland, on the Czech border. The Park area covers northern slopes of the Karkonosze, which are the highest and largest range of the Sudetes, starting from the Okraj Pass (1046 m) in the east up to Mumlawski Wierch (1219 m) in the west.
It is a mountainous region that is among the most valuable landscapes and natural habitats of Central Europe. Its area size is 5,575 ha, 70% (3,828 ha) are covered with forest vegetation. The area under strict protection includes the entire sub-alpine and alpine zone of 1,717 ha (ca. 30%). The remaining area is under partial protection, aiming at restoration of damaged or destroyed components of natural environment and at maintaining the ecological balance of some important ecosystem elements. Surrounding the Park there is a protection area of 11,266 ha. This zone is managed by local Forest Inspectors of Szklarska Poręba, Kowary and Kamienna Góra. Additionaly, the Park includes two enclaves situated within the Park protection zone: the Szklarska waterfall (55 ha) and Chojnik Hill (80 ha).
The national border also divides the Karknosze National Park from the Czech Krknoše National Park, which was established in 1963. Its area, together with park protection zone, has a size of more than 55,000 ha.
The main objectives of the Park’s constitution include: maintenance of natural or nearly-natural ecosystems to protect biodiversity and complexity of the ecological systems, restoration of damaged or destroyed phytocenoses and zoocenoses, keeping the balance between the ecological processes, the limitation of anthropogenic threats (mainly by minimizing environment-aggressive forms of tourism in the Park area) on the one hand and scientific research and monitoring to increase the knowledge of the Park’s natural resources and to work them out with efficient methods on the other hand.
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