Králický Sněžník () or Śnieżnik (Polish: ) is a mountain in Eastern Bohemia, located on the border between the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. With , it is the highest mountain of the Snieznik Mountains.

Etymology

The name ''Sněžník'' or ''Śnieżnik'' derives from the word for "snow"; the mountain has snow cover for up to eight months a year. In Czech the adjective ''Králický'' (from the nearby town of Králíky) is added to distinguish it from the mountain called

Děčínský Sněžník The Děčínský Sněžník (german: Hoher Schneeberg) is a mountain in the Czech Republic and, at above sea level, the highest peak in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. The Sněžník is located in the Jílové municipality, west of Děčín in th ...

(near the town of

Děčín Děčín (; german: Tetschen, 1942–1945: ''Tetschen–Bodenbach'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It is the 7th largest municipality in the country by area. Administrative parts D ...

). An alternative Polish name is ''Śnieżnik Kłodzki'', from the town of

Kłodzko Kłodzko (; cz, Kladsko; german: Glatz; la, Glacio) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse river. Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko ...

. In

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

the mountain is known as ''Glatzer Schneeberg'' (from ''Glatz'', the German name for Kłodzko), ''Grulicher Schneeberg'' (from ''Gruhlich'', the German name for Králíky), or ''Spieglitzer Schneeberg'' (from ''Spieglitz'', which is now part of Staré Město).

Geography

The mountain is the highest peak of the Snieznik Mountains/Králický Sněžník (called ''Králický Sněžník'' in Czech). It lies between the town Králíky and the

Gap that separates it from the Golden Mountains. The massive was formed during the

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

. Sněžník lies on the

water divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...

for the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

(the Morava) and the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

(the

Nysa Kłodzka The Eastern Neisse, also known by its Polish name of Nysa Kłodzka (german: Glatzer Neiße, cs, Kladská Nisa), is a river in southwestern Poland, a left tributary of the Oder, with a length of 188 km (21st longest) and a basin area of 4,570& ...

). Klepáč, the water divide for the

, the

, and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

(the Lipkovský Stream) lies south of Sněžník. Between 1899 and 1973 a stone view-tower stood on the

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...

n side of the mountain top. A statue of a young elephant was put in place of a former

chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-suppo ...

. On the Czech side a state protected Králický Sněžník National Nature Reserve was established in 1990.Výsledky hledání
/ref> On the Polish side is the

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

of Śnieżnik Landscape Park. The mountain and neighbouring areas are equipped for ski recreation.

Gallery

Morava spring.jpg, Spring of the river Morava below the top of Králický Snežník Statue of elephant on the top of mountain Kralicky Sneznik.jpg, Statue of young elephant, a symbol of the mountain Kralicky-Sneznik-02.jpg, Králický Sněžník from south in May 2008 Snieznik Klodzki mountain (southern side).jpeg, Králický Sněžník from south

References

External links

National Nature Reserve Králický Sněžník
(in Czech)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kralicky Sneznik Mountains and hills of the Czech Republic Mountains of Poland Landforms of Lower Silesian Voivodeship Populated places in Ústí nad Orlicí District Populated places in Šumperk District Czech Republic–Poland border International mountains of Europe Mountain peaks of the Sudetes