__NOTOC__ Karkonosze County ( pl, powiat karkonoski; german: Riesengebirgslandkreis) is a unit of territorial administration and local government ( powiat) in

Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship, or Lower Silesia Province, in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Wrocław, Legnica, Wałbrz ...

, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. The county covers an area of . Its administrative seat is the city of Jelenia Góra, although this city is not part of the county (it forms a separate city county, which is an

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

within Karkonosze County). There are four towns within the county:

Karpacz Karpacz (German: ''Krummhübel'') is a spa town and ski resort in Jelenia Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland, and one of the most important centres for mountain hiking and skiing, including ski jumping. Its population ...

, Szklarska Poręba, Kowary and

Piechowice Piechowice (german: Petersdorf) is a town in Karkonosze County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Jelenia Góra, and west of the regional capital Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Bres ...

. The first two of these are major ski resorts. As at 2019 the total population of the county is 63,639, out of which the population of the towns totals 28,213 and the rural population is 35,426. Until July 2020 it was named Jelenia Góra County ( pl, powiat jeleniogórski). The change formally took effect on January 1, 2021.Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 29 lipca 2020 r. w sprawie zmiany nazwy powiatu jeleniogórskiego na powiat karkonoski
''dziennikustaw.gov.pl'', 14 October 2020 The current name references the

Karkonosze Mountains The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše or Karkonosze (Czech: , Polish: , german: Riesengebirge) are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massi ...

Neighbouring counties

Apart from the city of Jelenia Góra, Karkonosze County is bordered by Lwówek Śląski County and

Złotoryja County __NOTOC__ Złotoryja County ( pl, powiat złotoryjski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish loca ...

to the north, and Jawor County and

Kamienna Góra County __NOTOC__ Kamienna Góra County ( pl, powiat kamiennogórski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Poli ...

to the east. It also borders the Czech Republic to the south and west.

Administrative division

The county is subdivided into nine

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 4 ...

s (four urban and five rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jelenia Gora County Land counties of Lower Silesian Voivodeship