EUROPEAN DAY OF PROTECTED AREAS

This holiday commemorates the importance of a well-conceived and maintained network of large-scale protected areas on the European continent and their role in the preservation of natural, cultural and historical heritage.

In the Czech Republic we currently have 4 national parks, with the Krkonoše National Park being the oldest, and 26 protected landscape areas.

These large protected areas, in addition to preserving natural values, offer space for learning and recreation, provided that these activities are carried out in a sustainable or, as is increasingly common, sustainable way.

The Giant Mountains - a mountain range referred to by Scandinavia as an island of tundra in the middle of Europe - are a unique mosaic of mountain ecosystems. Mountain slopes are covered with montane forests and meadows, while the upper parts of the flat ridges are covered with Scots pine, alpine grasslands and peat communities. The karas, formed by glacier action in the past, are also species-rich, with avalanches playing a very important role in the present. The efforts of our ancestors to protect this area culminated in 1963 when the Krkonoše Mountains were declared a national park.

"On the one hand, a plan to build a ski resort in the Blue Mine was averted, on the other hand, countless large-scale recreational facilities, sometimes of poor architectural value, were built under the slogan “the mountains belong to the workers”. And we are in a similar situation today, albeit under different slogans. Almost daily, we deal with the pernicious phenomenon of apartment housing and the number of visitors to the Krkonoše National Park - 13 million visits make us one of the five most visited national parks in the world. Our task of defending the public interest in nature and landscape protection is a huge challenge every day," said Robin Böhnisch, Director of the KRNAP Administration.