Bieszczady Mountains

:"See also Bieszczady County and Bieszczady National Park."Geobox| Range
name = Bukovské vrchy, Bieszczady
native_name =
other_name = _en. Bukovec Mountains
other_name1 = _en. Bieszczadzkie Mountains


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image_caption = Location in Slovakia
country = Slovakia
country1 = Poland
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region = Prešov Region
region1 = Bieszczady
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parent = Poloniny
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border = Lower Beskids, Pogórze Bukowskie
border1 = Bukovské vrchy
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highest = Kremenec
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highest_elevation = 1221
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map_caption = Location in Poland
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Bieszczady, or Bieszczadzkie Mountains (lat. "Poloniae Alpe Besczade", ru. "Бещады", sr. "Бјешчади"), is the Polish name of the western part of what the Polish call Eastern Beskids (Beskidy Wschodnie). It is a part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain range is situated between the Łupków Pass (640 m) and the Vyshkovskyi Pass (933 m).

In a narrower but very frequent sense, Bieszczady refers only to the Western Bieszczady or even only to the Polish part of the mountain range.

The highest peak of Bieszczady is Mt. Pikuy (1405 m) in Ukraine. The highest peak of the Polish part is Tarnica (1346 m).

Term

The term "Bieszczady" in the wide sense is used only in Poland. In Slovakia and Ukraine "Bieszczady" usually refers only to the part situated in Poland. In Poland "Bieszczady" also refers usually only to the Polish part of the (Western) Bieszczady. In Ukraine, the "Eastern Bieszczady" have various names (unstable terminology), they usually contain the word Beskids. In Slovakia the Slovak part is called Bukovec Mountains (Bukovské vrchy).

Historically, the terms "Bieszczad" and "Beskid" have been used for hundreds of years to describe the mountains separating Poland from Ruthenia and Hungary.

The colloquial Polish term referring to Bieszczady is "Biesy", folk etymology connecting the origin of the mountains to demonic (bies) activities.

The ethymology of the name "Bieszczady" is disputed.
*(1) from Mlg "beshêt", "beskēt" as watershed, by prof. Jan Rozwadowski (1914),

Division

"See also: Divisions of the Carpathians."

Since there exist many variants of divisions of the mountain ranges and names for the Beskids and Ukrainian Carpathians, several divisions are given in the following:

Division 1:
*Bieszczady or Western Bieszczady (PL: Bieszczady Zachodnie) + Bukovec Mountains (SK: Bukovské vrchy) + (Ukrainian) Western Beskids (UA, Zachidni Beskydy)
*Skole Beskids (UA: Skolivs'ki Beskydy), partly or completely also known as High Beskids (Vysoki Beskydy); part of whatUkrainians call Eastern Beskids (Skhidni Beskydy)

Division 2:
* Western Bieszczady: between the Łupków Pass and the Użocka (Uzsok Pass - 853 m) with Mt Tarnica (1,346 m) as the highest peak; the Łupków Pass separating the Bieszczady from the Low Beskids and Pogórze Bukowskie
* Central Bieszczady, between the Użocka Pass and the Tukholskyi Pass with Mt Pikuy (1405 m) as the highest peak
* Eastern Bieszczady, between the Tukholskyi Pass and the Vyshkovskyi Pass with Mt Charna Repa (1228m) as the highest peak

Division 3:
* Western Bieszczady (in Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine)
* Eeastern Bieszczady (in Ukraine)

Division 4:In an old Ukrainian division, what is defined here as the Bieszczady in a wider sense corresponds to the western part of the Mid-Carpathian Depression and to the westernmost part of the Polonynian Beskids.

History

Settled in prehistoric times, the south-eastern Poland region that is now Bieszczady was overrun in pre-Roman times by various tribes, including the Celts, Goths and Vandals (Przeworsk culture and Puchov culture). After the fall of the Roman Empire, of which most of south-eastern Poland was part (all parts below the San), the area was invaded by Hungarians and West Slavs.

The region subsequently became part of the Great Moravian state. Upon the invasion of the Hungarian tribes into the heart of the Great Moravian Empire around 899, the Lendians of the area declared their allegiance to Hungarian Empire. The region then became a site of contention between Poland, Kievan Rus and Hungary starting in at least the 9th century.

This area was mentioned for the first time in 981, when Volodymyr the Great of Kievan Rus took the area over on the way into Poland. In 1018 it returned to Poland, 1031 back to Rus, in 1340 Casimir III of Poland recovered it.

Up until 1947, 84% of the population of the Polish part of the Bieszczadzkie Mountains was Boyko. The killing of the Polish General Karol Świerczewski in Jabłonki by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in 1947 was the direct cause of the replacement of the Boyk, the so-called Operation Wisła. The area was mostly uninhabited afterwards. In 2002, then president Aleksander Kwaśniewski expressed regret for this operation.

In 1991, the UNESCO East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve was created that encapsulates a large part of the area and continues into Slovakia and Ukraine. It comprises the Bieszczady National Park (Poland), Poloniny National Park (Slovakia) + Uzhansky National Nature Park (Ukraine). Animals living in this reserve are, amongst others, black storks, brown bears, wolves and bison.

Hiking trails

* European walking route E8
**Somár - sedlo Baba - Dolná Rakova - Končini - Brezová pod Bradlom - Polianka - Myjava - Veľká Javorina - Nové Mesto nad Váhom - Machnáč - Trenčín - Košecké Rovné - Fačkovské sedlo - Kunešov - Kraľová studňa - Donovaly - Chopok - Čertovica - Telgárt - Skalisko - Štós-kúpele - Skalisko - Chata Lajoška - Košice - Malý Šariš - Prešov - Miháľov - Kurimka - Dukla - Iwonicz-Zdrój – Rymanów-Zdrój - Puławy – Tokarnia (778 m) – Kamień (717 m) – Komańcza - Cisna - Ustrzyki Górne - Wołosate.

Literature

* Prof. Jadwiga Warszyńska. Karpaty Polskie : przyroda, człowiek i jego działalność ; Uniwersytet Jagielloński. Kraków , 1995 ISBN 83-233-0852-7
*Prof. Jerzy Kondracki. Geografia fizyczna Polski Warszawa : Państ. Wydaw. Naukowe , 1988, ISBN 83-01-02323-6

External links

* [http://www.staff.amu.edu.pl/~zbzw/ph/pnp/bies.htm Biszczady National Park] - in English, with many links.
* [http://www.zgodzinski.com/galeria/6_g-bieszczady-2005_0.html Bieszczady Photo Gallery (2005)]
* [http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/79/Hidden_Europe_Bieszczady_Poland.html Bieszczady]
* [http://www.unesco.org/mab/ecbr/u_mab/general.htm East Carpathians Biosphere Reserve]