Beskydy Protected Landscape Area (PLA) ( cs, Chráněná krajinná oblast Beskydy, abbreviated as ''CHKO Beskydy'') is the largest PLA in 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 ...

. 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; ; german: Zlin) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 73,000 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 ...

regions, on the border with

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), 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 s ...

. All its area is located in the

Outer Western Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya Sy ...

and comprises most of the

Moravian-Silesian Beskids The Moravian-Silesian Beskids (Czech: , sk, Moravsko-sliezske Beskydy) is a mountain range in the Czech Republic with a small part reaching to Slovakia. It lies on the historical division between Moravia and Silesia, hence the name. It is part o ...

range, a large part of the

Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains ( cs, Hostýnsko-vsetínská hornatina) is a mountain range in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. The mountains are densely forested mainly by secondary spruce plantations. Most visited are the bordering Rožnovsk� ...

, and the Moravian part of the

Javorníky The Maple Mountains, Javornik Mountains, or Javorniks (Czech and Slovak: ''Javorníky'') are a mountain range of the Slovak-Moravian Carpathians that forms part of the border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Its highest point is Veľký ...

range. In Slovakia,

Kysuce Protected Landscape Area Kysuce Protected Landscape Area ( sk, Chránená krajinná oblasť Kysuce) is one of the 14 protected landscape areas in Slovakia. It is made of two separate parts, the Javorníky mountains in the west, and Kysucké Beskydy mountains in the east, ...

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 a medium-sized wild cat widely distributed from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits temperate and boreal forests up to an eleva ...

(''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, and colloquially by many othe ...

(''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. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

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

primeval forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

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 these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

communities and

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

with high species diversity, unique surface and underground

pseudokarst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...

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 political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

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, respectively ...

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 Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...

(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 (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

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

Frýdlant nad Ostravicí Frýdlant nad Ostravicí (; german: Friedland (an der Ostrawitza)) is a town in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,800 inhabitants. Administrative parts Frýdlant nad Ostravicí is made ...

Frenštát pod Radhoštěm Frenštát pod Radhoštěm (; german: Frankstadt (unter dem Radhoscht)) 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 p ...

Rožnov pod Radhoštěm Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (; german: Rosenau unter dem Radhoscht) is a town in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Rožnov pod Radhoštěm is made up of one administrative ...

, 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