Stołowe Mountains National Park (), anglicized to Table Mountains National Park, is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

in southwestern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It comprises the Polish section of the Table Mountains (''Góry Stołowe''), which are part of the

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain rang ...

range. It is located in

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

of the

Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship (, ) in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. It covers an area of and has a total population of 2,899,986. It is one of the wealthiest ...

, at the border with 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 ...

. Created in 1993, the park covers an area of , of which forests account for 57.79 km². The area of strict protection is 3.76 km².

History

The landscape of the Table Mountains began to form 70 million years ago. The range's unique shape is a result of hundreds of thousands of years of

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

. There are several notable rock formations, among them ''Kwoka'' ("Hen"), ''Wielblad'' ("Camel") and ''Glowa wielkoluda'' ("Giant’s head"). Also, there is a sophisticated system of corridors which creates rock labyrinths. Currently, plant life is mostly made up of

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

, which was introduced to the area at the turn of the 19th century to replace pristine

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

and

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

forests, which had been cut. Natural woodland is scarce and covers only around 3% of the forested areas. There are

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

bogs, one of which (area 393,000 m²) was listed as a strictly protected area in 1959. In the forested areas of the park there are

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

, wild pig,

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

s, many

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s and

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s including

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s and adders.

Flora

The characteristic flora of the Great Peatbog Batorowski, one of the few raised peat bogs in Poland, is represented by species such as marsh pine, marsh or ordinary heater. This peat bog has been subject to strict protection since 1958, and visitors to the Table Mountains National Park are not allowed on these sites.

Inhabitation

The history of the Table Mountains is closely connected with the history of the

Kłodzko Kłodzko (; ; ; ) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse (Nysa Kłodzka) river. Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko County (and of the ru ...

region, located on the borderland of

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

and

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

. After Hussite wars of the 14th and 15th century, the area thrived and later on first spas at Kudowa, Duszniki and Polanica were opened. Duszniki is also a center of

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

production – one of the first

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

s in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

was opened there in 1605.

In film

The Stołowe Mountains National Park served as a location for

Andrew Adamson Andrew Ralph Adamson (born 1 December 1966) is a New Zealand film director, producer, screenwriter and animator. He is best known for directing the DreamWorks Animation, DreamWorks animated film ''Shrek'' (2001), which is based on the Shrek!, ...

's 2008

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...

'' The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian''. Places in which scenes where shot include the rock formation known as the Errant Rocks and the Kamieńczyk Gorge.

Gallery

File:SzczeliniecWielki.jpg, "Hell" File:Błędne Skały.jpg, Errand Rocks () File:Sudety-1-32.jpg, View of Szczeliniec Wielki File:Szczeliniec Wielki @.jpg, "Ape" on

Szczeliniec Wielki Szczeliniec Wielki (historically , ) is the highest peak (922 m) of the Table Mountains in the Table Mountains National Park in Lower Silesia, Poland. It belongs to the Crown of Polish Mountains and is one of the biggest tourist attractions ...

File:Widok ze Szczelińca 01.JPG,

File:Skalne Baszty1.JPG, Rock towers () File:Skalne grzyby.jpg, Rock mushrooms () File:Ścieżka przyrodnicza Niknąca Łąka.jpg, Vanishing meadow () File:Sudety-1-55.jpg, A panorama of the

Sudety The Sudetes ( ), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain range ...

Mountains File:Szczeliniec wielki taras wisnia6522.jpg, An observation deck on top of Szczeliniec Wielki File:Na Szczelińcu Wielkim 4.jpg, A rock formation in the park File:2015 Góry Stołowe, świerk i głaz 01.jpg, A boulder and spruce in the National Park

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stolowe Mountains National Park National parks of Poland Protected areas established in 1993 Parks in Lower Silesian Voivodeship 1993 establishments in Poland