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26-779: 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 . The major part in the south is formed from granite , 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,

52-585: Is Bedřichov . The international cross-country races Jizerská 50 and Bieg Piastów (in Polana Jakuszycka ) take place there. Its summer MTB counterpart is also gaining popularity. The towns surrounding the mountains include Liberec , Frýdlant v Čechách , Nové Město pod Smrkem , Świeradów Zdrój , Szklarska Poręba , Desná, Tanvald and Jablonec nad Nisou . Large parts of the Jizera Mountains are under some form of protection. In

78-706: The Elbe valley. The mountains of the northern, German, part are called the Zittau Mountains . The range is among the westernmost extensions of the Sudetes , which stretch along the border between the historic region of Silesia in the north, and Bohemia and Moravia in the south up to the Moravian Gate in the east, where they join the Carpathian Mountains . The northwestern foothills of

104-560: The Tertiary volcanic magma streams broke through the sandstone layer and solidified into basalt and phonolite . Several sandstone contact areas were also hardened to columns and distinct rock formations. The highest peak is the Lausche (793 m). Other notable peaks include the Pěnkavčí vrch (792m), Jedlová (774m), Klíč (760m), Hochwald (750m) and Studenec (736m). The Czech part of

130-651: The Counts of Schaffgotsch from Schreiberhau ( Szklarska Poręba ), Lower Silesia . Following the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II , in 1945, the northern part of the Jizera Mountains became again part of Poland, and the southern was restored to Czechoslovakia . The German population of the area was expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement and replaced by Poles on the Polish and Czechs on

156-681: The Czech town of Most began output of Ersatz fuel synthesized from brown coal at the "Sudetenländische Treibstoffwerke AG (STW) Maltheuren plant", operating with forced labor. The town was repeatedly bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II . After the war, with Soviet domination of the area, Moscow ordered the industrial development of the North Bohemian Basin on a grand scale. The installation of chemical plants, steel factories and refineries required vast amounts of energy;

182-586: The Czechoslovakian side of the mountains. 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

208-633: The European Commission, which has funded small projects and measurement initiative through its Phare program. This has resulted in significant improvement in human health, the health of forests, and levels of pollutants. In 1991 after German reunification SDAG Wismut was transformed into the Wismut GmbH company, owned by the Federal Republic of Germany, which is now responsible for the restoration and environmental cleanup of

234-644: The Lightsome of the Piast dynasty granted a portion of the Izera Mountains to the Knights Hospitaller from Strzegom . 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

260-718: The Lusatian Mountains are called the Lusatian Highlands ; in the southwest the range borders on the České Středohoří mountains. The range is largely made up of sandstone sedimentary rocks leaning on a Precambrian crystalline basement . The northern ridge is marked by the Lusatian Fault , a geological disturbance zone separating the Bohemian sandstones from the Lusatian granodiorite . During

286-583: The Lusatian Mountains have been a nature reserve since 1976, covering an area of 264 km (102 sq mi). Administratively it is known as the Lusatian Mountains Protected Landscape Area ( CHKO Lužické hory ) and has the status of CHKO, a so-called Landscape park . The smaller German part of the mountains also became a nature protection in 2008, when the Zittau Mountain Nature Park

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312-815: The Triangle were huge quantities of particulate emissions, heavy metals, sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides which largely destroyed adjacent forests of the Jizera Mountains with acid rain, and measurable impact on health and life expectancy. After the Revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe, in June 1991 the three nations signed a joint declaration of cooperation to address the Black Triangle's environmental issues. They later coordinated with

338-437: The area date back to prehistory . Later on, Celts , German tribes resides in the valleys until they left in 5th century. Later came Slavs . Since the 10th century, the border between Poland and Bohemia (Czechia) ran through the mountains. Following the fragmentation of Poland into smaller duchies, the Polish portion of the mountains was located in the duchies of Silesia , Legnica , Jawor and Lwówek . In 1281, Duke Bernard

364-494: The effects of the air pollution. The general area is historically known for its natural resources and mineral deposits, and had traditional glass, ceramics, and textiles industries. The Ore Mountains between Saxony and Bohemia have been the scene of multiple Berggeschrei ("silver rushes") over centuries, the first in 1168. From that discovery at Christiansdorf (part of the Freiberg Mining Field ), mining

390-479: The energy came from burning dirty and inexpensive lignite from local strip mines. As one example of the impact, in 1964 the Mostecká uhelná Company began the demolition of the entire medieval Old Town of Most to make room for the expanding lignite mines. The inhabitants were given two options: move into the new housing projects , or leave town. Similar developments took place throughout the Black Triangle. Much of

416-559: The energy produced was exported to western Europe in exchange for hard currency. The Czech town of Jáchymov was the site of an "infamous" uranium mine, while the largest concentration of uranium mines in all of Europe stood nearby in East Germany. They were operated as a military secret and "in the prevailing spirit of Soviet gigantism" by SDAG Wismut to feed the Soviet atomic bomb project . The net result of industrial activity in

442-488: The former mining and milling areas. The region remains an important industrial center with serious environmental challenges. The Turów Coal Mine , still operated by the Polska Grupa Energetyczna , produces about 30 million tons of lignite annually. The bowl-shaped open-pit mine is several kilometers in diameter, about 200 meters deep, and has completely transformed the original geographic character of

468-481: The health of local residents and the surrounding environment. After the Revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe, the three nations acted to cut emissions. This has resulted in significant environmental improvement. In shape the "triangle" is more similar to a crescent, an industrial corridor roughly 60 kilometers wide, lying on either side of the northern Czech border extending from the German town of Bad Brambach on

494-590: The measuring station at Nová Louka recorded a daily precipitation amounting to 345.1 mm (13.6 inches), still an unbroken European record. The highest peak is Wysoka Kopa (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: The first settlements in

520-585: 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 . At the same time large-scale reforestation projects were started. The Jizera Mountains are an attractive location for winter sports, cycling and hiking. The centre for both downhill skiing and ski run

546-671: The quarter Neugablonz of the Bavarian town Kaufbeuren is devoted to the German history of the region. Lusatian Mountains The Lusatian Mountains ( Czech : Lužické hory ; German : Lausitzer Gebirge ; Polish : Góry Łużyckie ) are a mountain range of the Western Sudetes on the southeastern border of Germany with the Czech Republic . They are a continuation of the Ore Mountains range west of

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572-607: The smaller Polish parts, the peat bogs in Jizera Valley are part of a relatively small nature protection of about 5 km; Rezerwat Torfowiska Doliny Izery. In the Czech parts, Jizera Mountains Protected Landscape Area ( CHKO Jizerské hory ) covers 368 km, or almost all of the Czech parts of the mountains. This landscape protection contains several reserves, including the Jizera Dark Sky Park ( Rašeliniště Jizery ), dedicated to star watching. A museum in

598-508: The west to the Polish town of Bystrzyca Kłodzka at the eastern end. The approximate center is the national tripoint at Zittau . Politically the "triangle" consists of: The Polish portion includes the southernmost " salient " of the Gmina Bogatynia , where the vast Turów Coal Mine has extracted lignite resources since 1904. The entire area is framed by mountain ranges which form a local climate, trapping air and intensifying

624-522: Was carried out uninterruptedly in the Ore Mountains until 1990. Amongst the raw materials mined over the course of centuries were ores of the metals silver , tin , zinc , cobalt , nickel , copper and lead ; anthracite and uranium were also extracted into the 20th century and were engines for the economic development of Saxony. The pace of mineral exploitation rose dramatically in the 20th century. In late 1942, under wartime German control,

650-578: Was established, with the effect that the entire Lusatian Mountains is now under some form of nature protection. Black Triangle (region) The Black Triangle ( German : Schwarzes Dreieck ) is the border region between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, long characterized by extremely high levels of pollution. The term was coined in the 1980s. For decades, industrially produced air pollutants (chiefly sulfur dioxide ), water pollution, acid rain and other effects took an enormous toll on

676-577: 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 Gallas  [ de ; cs ] in Friedland , Bohemia , the von Gersdorff family from Meffersdorf (Unięcice, now part of Pobiedna ), Upper Lusatia and

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