Stołowe Mountains National Park

The Table Mountains National Park (Polish: Park Narodowy Gór Stołowych ) is located in the Polish part of the Table Mountains (literally: table mountains; German designation: Table Mountains ), which belong to the Mittelsudeten. The park is situated in south-western Poland, in the Province of Lower Silesia, on the border with the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1993.

Landscape

The national park is a rare in Europe panel structure with unusual rock formations. The forms include " Kwoka " ( hen ), " Wielblad " ( camel ), " Głowa wielkoluda " ( head of the giants). In the sandstone area is a network of rock labyrinths. Some canyons are up to 12 m deep. The best known of these bizarre sandstone formations are the " Bledne Skały " ( Erring rocks ). The German name of the mountain derives ( npm 919 m; Polish Szczeliniec Wielki, Czech Hejšovina ) of the table mountains of the Great Heuscheuer, and the Little Heuscheuer ( 895 m npm; Polish Szczeliniec Maly ), which remind their shape to large Heuscheuern and also represent the highest elevations. Main attractions in the National Park, the tourist development began in 1790, in addition to the two mesas, which in the almost abandoned village Pstrążna ( Straußeney ) furnished open-air museum of folk architecture in the Sudetes, were brought into the typical farmhouses of the area in order to faithfully reconstruct.

Flora

Of the 650 species of vascular plants that occur in the park, are currently 46 protected species. The current forest cover consists mainly of spruce foreign origin which have been planted here at the turn of 19th and 20th century to replace the felled beech and fir forests. In some areas ( only 3% of forest area) has, however, can maintain the natural forest community.

Fauna

Deer, roe deer, wild boar, foxes, squirrels and small rodents are most frequently encountered in the vast forest complexes of the national park. As ornithological rarity of the National Park hazel grouse, snipe, the black stork, the Honey Buzzard, the Eurasian Hobby and typical for the region of pygmy taiga and boreal owl apply. On the large-scale grasslands breed rarity in Europe, quail and quail kings. On species of reptiles live in the Gory Stolowe the adder, the grass snake, sand lizard and slow worm. Among the rare amphibians include salamanders and newts, the great crested newt and the Common Smooth Newt.