Forested mountain range along the boundary between Germany and Bohemia, Czech Republic; highest German peak, Grosser Arber (1457 m/4780 ft); source of Bayern, Vltava, Regen, and Ilz Rivers.
The Bohemian forest is a low mountain range in Central Europe. They create a natural border between the Czech Republic on one side and Germany and Austria on the other. For historical reasons, the Bohemian and German sides have different names: in Czech, the Bohemian side is called Šumava (listen (help·info)) and the Bavarian side Zadní Bavorský les, while in German, the Bohemian side is called Böhmerwald (literally, 'Bohemian forest'), and the Bavarian side Bayerischer Wald (literally, 'Bavarian Forest').
This article deals primarily with the Bohemian side of the Šumava; for additional information on the Bavarian side see Bavarian Forest.
Geography and climate
The Bohemian Forest comprises heavily forested mountains with average heights of 800-1400 metres. The highest peak is Großer Arber (1456 m) on the Bavarian side; the highest peak on the Bohemian side is Plechý (Plöckenstein) (1378 m). Typical for the Bohemian Forest are plateaux at about 1000-1200 m with relatively harsh climates and many peat bogs.
Water
The Bohemian Forest is the dividing range between the watersheds of the Black Sea and the North Sea, where water collected by the Vltava, Otava and Úhlava rivers flows. These rivers all spring from the Bohemian Forest. Owing to heavy precipitation (mostly snow), the peat bogs and the Lipno water dam, the Šumava region is an important water reservoir for Central Europe.
Nature
As a border region, the Bohemian Forest has had a complicated history. Even before that, settlement was sparse and for centuries forests dominated over human dwellings and pathways.
In the Czech Republic, the most valuable area is protected in the Šumava National Park and Protected Landscape and the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Part of the German section is protected as the Bavarian Forest National Park. The Bohemian Forest is a popular holiday destination because it is excellent hiking country.
History
The origin of the word Šumava goes back to 400 BC. This later became Šumava in the western Slavic languages and was given to the Šumava region. In the 1st century AD the forest was inhabited by Gallo-Romans as well as by Germanic tribes in its northern part. Then again by the forefathers of the later Czech people, who entered the area in the 6th century AD, while from the 13th century AD until 1945-1946 the region was inhabited by Bohemian Germans, many of them woodcutters.
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