Beskydy Protected Landscape Area (PLA) (, abbreviated as ''CHKO Beskydy'') is the largest PLA in the

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

. The area is .

Geography

Beskydy PLA lies in the south-eastern part of the Moravian Silesian and eastern part of

Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 75,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice River. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the modern city ...

regions, on the border with

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. All its area is located in the Outer Western Carpathians and comprises most of the Moravian-Silesian Beskids range, a large part of the

Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains () is a mountain range in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. The mountains are densely forested mainly by secondary spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of conifer ...

, and the Moravian part of the Javorníky range. In Slovakia, Kysuce Protected Landscape Area borders the area.

Protection

Beskydy PLA was declared on 5 March 1973 to protect the unique natural features of the area but also the aesthetic value of the area which is typical for its diversity of habitats developed over the centuries of human settlement: ridge-top meadows and pastures and hamlets scattered throughout the area. Many rare and protected plants and animals can be found in Beskydy PLA: there has been a stable population of

Eurasian lynx The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is one of the four wikt:extant, extant species within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. It is widely distributed from Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe to Cent ...

(''Lynx lynx''),

Eurasian brown bear The Eurasian brown bear (''Ursus arctos arctos'') is one of the most common subspecies of the brown bear, and is found in much of Eurasia. It is also called the European brown bear, common brown bear, common bear, European bear, and colloquial ...

(''Ursus arctos arctos'') and

Eurasian wolf The Eurasian wolf (''Canis lupus lupus''), also known as the common wolf,Mech, L. David (1981), ''The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species'', University of Minnesota Press, p. 354, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to Euro ...

(''Canis lupus lupus'') regularly cross from Slovakia. Beskydy PLA represents a biologically relatively well-preserved landscape unit of the highest

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

in the Czech Republic. Among Beskydy's most significant natural values are the remnants of

primeval forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

stands with many rare Carpathian animal and plant species,

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

communities and

pastures Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

with high species diversity, unique surface and underground pseudokarst phenomena. Currently, 53 small–scale Specially Protected Areas are established within the PLA and more are at the preparatory stage. The exceptional aesthetic value and variety of the landscape is complemented by the strong folklore tradition and numerous preserved examples of folk architecture. The entire PLA territory is nominated as a

Site of Community Importance A Site of Community Importance (SCI) is defined in the European Commission Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) as a site which, in the biogeographical region or regions to which it belongs, contributes significantly to the maintenance or restoration at ...

(SCI) under the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

system to protect 10 animal and 2 plant Species of Community Interest and 12 Habitats of Community Interest and also 2

Special Protection Areas A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Birds Directive, Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitat (ecology), ha ...

(SPAs – Bird Areas) have also been declared (Horní Vsacko and Beskydy), to protect 8 species of predominantly forest birds. There are 50 small-scale protected areas within the Beskydy PLA, including 7 national nature reserves, 28 nature reserve, and 24 nature monuments. The Čantoria National Nature Reserve near the Velká Čantoryje mountain, which lies outside the Beskydy PLA, is also administered by Beskydy PLA Administration.

Tourism

The area is also an important recreational background for the industrial

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

region, with large resorts in towns on the edges of Beskydy PLA:

Frýdlant nad Ostravicí Frýdlant (, also known as Frýdlant v Čechách; ) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Cz ...

Frenštát pod Radhoštěm Frenštát pod Radhoštěm (; ) is a town in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument z ...

Rožnov pod Radhoštěm Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (; ) is a town in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. Geography Rožnov pod Radhoštěm is located about northeast of Vsetín and south of Ostrava. It lies in the ...

, and others.

References

{{reflist Protected landscape areas in the Czech Republic Moravian-Silesian Beskids Protected areas of the Western Carpathians Geography of the Zlín Region Geography of the Moravian-Silesian Region Tourist attractions in the Moravian-Silesian Region Tourist attractions in the Zlín Region