Jizera Mountains

Jizera Mountains ( cz, Jizerské hory), or Izera Mountains ( pl, Góry Izerskie; german: Isergebirge), are part of the Western Sudetes on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The range got its name from the Jizera River, which rises at the southern base of the Smrk massif. The beech forests within the Jizera Mountains were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, because of their outstanding preservation and testimony to the ecological history of Europe (and the beech family specifically) since the Last Glacial Period.

Geography

The range stretches from the Lusatian Mountains ( Zittau Mountains) in the northwest to the Krkonoše in the southeast. The Jizera Mountains comprise the sources of the Jizera river, as well as of the Kwisa and the Lusatian Neisse, in the northern part from gneisses and mica schists, with some areas formed from basalt.

The weather conditions are characterized by above-average annual precipitation. On 30 July 1897, the measuring station at Nová Louka recorded a daily precipitation amounting to 345.1 mm (13.6 inches), still an unbroken European record.

Peaks

The highest peak is Wysoka Kopa (''Hinterberg'', 1,127 m, 3,698 feet) near the town of Szklarska Poręba in Poland. Neverteheless, a better-known mountain is Smrk (1124 m, 3,688 feet), with a recently rebuilt look-out tower. Other peaks include Jizera (1,122 m, 3,681 feet) and Stóg Izerski (''Heufuder'', 1,107 m, 3,632). The peaks in order of elevation:
* Wysoka Kopa (''Hinterberg''), 1,127 m; highest peak of the Jizera Mountains
* Smrk (''Tafelfichte''), 1,124 m; highest peak of the Bohemian Jizera Mountains
* Jizera (''Siechhübel''), 1,122 m
* Stóg Izerski (''Heufuder''), 1,107 m
* Smědavská hora (''Wittigberg''), 1,084 m
* Bukovec (''Buchberg''), 1,005 m; one of the highest basalt peaks in Europe
* Hvězda (''Stefanshöhe''), 959 m
* Černá Studnice (''Schwarzbrunnberg''), 869 m
* Tanvaldský Špičák (''Tannwalder Spitzberg''), 831 m; skiing region near Tanvald
* Oldřichovský Špičák (''Buschullersdorfer Spitzberg''), 724 m

History

The first settlements in the area date back to prehistory. Later on, Celts, German tribes resides in the valleys until they left in 5th century. Later came Lusatian Sorbs. In the 14th century, German-speaking colonists came and started clearing of the dense primeval forests. Permanent settlements were established. In the 16th century, several glass works were founded. Glassmaking had a profound effect on the ecosystem. The primeval forest was gradually replaced by fast-growing spruce monoculture. Other important industries included tin-mining, metallurgy and textile.
The Tabulový kámen (german: Tafelstein), 1072 m) on the northern edge of the Smrk Mountain marked the border between the properties of the Counts of in Friedland, Bohemia, the von Gersdorff family from Meffersdorf, Upper Lusatia (Unięcice, now part of Wigandsthal) and the Counts of Schaffgotsch from Schreiberhau, Silesia.

In the second half of the 20th century, the ecosystem was badly hit by emissions, produced by lignite fired power stations located in the Zittau basin, part of Europe's ecological Black Triangle. Weakened spruce forest, less resistant against various types of parasites, were on the verge of extinction. The higher parts of the mountains, once densely wooded, became largely treeless, in part also because of excessive deforestation. New roads cut through the once-secluded landscape.

The situation improved only after the fall of communism in 1989. Open-pit coal mines in the former East Germany were closed, as well as several major power plants. Emission filters were installed at the immense Turów Power Station in Bogatynia on the Polish side of Lusatian Neisse

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