Jizera Mountains

The Jizerske hory are a flat-topped granite range north of Liberec, rising to 1124 metres at Smrk on the Czech side, with a plateau of raised peat bogs, granite tors standing on the ridges like ruined towers, and dammed valleys supplying the towns below. Their recent history is environmental: in the 1970s and 1980s sulphur emissions from the brown-coal power stations of the Black Triangle killed the spruce forest over large areas, and photographs from the period show whole slopes of dead standing trees. Desulphurisation from the 1990s and decades of replanting have reversed most of it, and the range is now used as a case study in recovery, though the replanted forest is even-aged and the soils are still acidified. It carries one of the largest cross-country skiing trail networks in the country, the Jizerska magistrala, and a big annual race.

History

People lived in the area in prehistory; Celts and Germanic tribes settled the valleys until the 5th century, and Slavs came after them. From the 10th century the border between Bohemia and Poland ran over the mountains, and in 1281 Duke Bernard the Lightsome gave part of them to the Knights Hospitaller of Strzegom. German-speaking settlers arrived in the 14th century and began clearing the dense primeval forest; glassworks were founded in the 16th century, and their hunger for wood replaced much of the forest with fast-growing spruce, while tin mining, metalworking and textiles followed. The Tabulový kámen on the edge of Smrk marked the meeting of three great estates - the Gallas counts of Frýdlant, the Gersdorffs and the Schaffgotsches. In the late 20th century emissions from the lignite power stations of the "Black Triangle" killed the weakened spruce forest over large areas and left the high ground almost treeless; things improved after 1989, when mines and power stations were closed, filters were fitted at Turów and large-scale replanting began (Wikipedia, Jizera Mountains).

What you'll find

• A granite plateau - raised peat bogs with rock tors standing on the ridges.
• Forest recovery - replanted slopes where acid rain killed the spruce.
• The Jizerska magistrala - one of the largest cross-country ski networks in the country.
• Dammed valleys - reservoirs supplying Liberec and Jablonec below.

When to go

May to October, or the ski season. Two days.

Practical notes

Weather changes fast and the plateau is exposed. Bogs are fragile - stay on boardwalks and marked paths. The forest is young and even-aged over large areas. Winter needs proper equipment.

Nearby

Liberec and the Jested tower are south; the Jizera beech forest is on the ridge.

Key facts