Karkonosze (original) (raw)

Karkonosze (Kar-ko-no-sha, Czech Krkonoše, Polish Karkonosze, German Riesengebirge) or Giant Mountains are part of the Sudeten Mountains in central Europe. They stretch from north-west to south-east and form the border between Poland and the Czech Republic. The highest mountain is Snezka (1602 metres above sea level - Sněžka in Czech,Śnieżka in Polish) situated on the Czech-Polish border. Huge areas of Krkonose Mountains are preserved as a national park. Krkonose are famous for its skiing resorts and are growing in importance as a local alternative to the Alps for tourism.

Important towns in Karkonosze are:

• Karpacz in Poland
• Szklarska Poręba in Poland
• Špindlerův Ml�n in the Czech Republic
• Harrachov in the Czech Republic