The Beskids or Beskid Mountains (, , , (Beskydŷ), (Beskydy)) are a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, stretching from the Czech Republic in the west along the border of Poland with Slovakia up to Ukraine in the east.[ Encyclopedia of Ukraine: Beskyds]
The highest mountain in the Beskids is Hoverla, at .
Etymology
The origin of the name beskydy has not been conclusively established. A Thracian or Illyrian origin has been suggested; however, as yet, no theory has majority support among linguists. The word appears in numerous mountain names throughout the Carpathians and the adjacent
Balkans regions, like in Albanian bjeshkë. According to linguists Çabej and Orel, it is possibly derived from Proto-Albanian *beškāi tāi (meaning 'the mountain pastures').
[Çabej, E. (1976). Studime Gjuhësore I, Studime Etimologjike në Fushë të Shqipes, A-O. Priština: Rilindja, page 68] The Slovak name Beskydy refers to the Polish Bieszczady Mountains, which is not a synonym for the entire Beskids but one single range, belonging to the Eastern Beskids. According to another linguistic theory, it may be related to Middle Low German beshêt, beskēt, meaning '
Water divide'.
[Zbigniew Gołąb. The Origins of the Slavs: A Linguist's View. Slavica Publishers, Inc., 1992 p. 342. "The Germanic etymology of Bieszczad // Beskid was proposed by Prof. Jan Michał Rozwadowski (1914:162, etc.). He derives the variant beščad from Germc. biskaid, which is represented by MLG besche ( beskêt) Trennung and by Scandinavian bêsked, borrowed from ..."]
Historically, the term was used for hundreds of years to describe the mountain range separating the old Kingdom of Hungary from the old Kingdom of Poland. In 1269, the Beskids were known by the Latin name Beschad Alpes Poloniae 'Beskid Mountains of Poland'.[ Kazimierz Zarzycki, Zbigniew Głowaciński (1986): Bieszczady (p. 7)]
Definition
The Beskids are approximately in length and in width. They stand mainly along the southern border of
Lesser Poland with northern Slovakia, stretching to the
Moravia and
Czech Silesia regions of the eastern Czech Republic and to Carpathian Ruthenia in western Ukraine. Parts form the European Watershed, separating the
Oder and
Vistula basins in the north from the Eastern Slovak Lowland, part of the Great Hungarian Plain drained by the
Danube River.
Geologically all of the Beskids stand within the Outer Western Carpathians and the Outer Eastern Carpathians. In the west they begin at the natural pass of the Moravian Gate, which separates them from the Eastern Sudetes, continue east in a band to the north of the Tatra Mountains, and end in Ukraine. The eastern termination of the Beskids is disputed. According to older sources, the Beskids end at the source of the Tisza River, while newer sources state that the Beskids end at the Uzhok Pass at the Polish–Ukrainian border.
Subdivisions
Multiple traditions, languages and nationalities have developed overlapping variants for the divisions and names of the Beskid ranges. According to the divisions of the Carpathians, they are categorized within:
Western Beskids
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Western Beskids (, , )
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Western section of the Western Beskids:
-
Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains () → e1
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Moravian-Silesian Beskids (, ) → e2
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Turzovka Highlands () → e3
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Jablunkov Furrow () → e4
-
Rožnov Furrow () → e5
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Jablunkov Intermontane (, ) → e6
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Silesian Beskids (, ) → e7
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Żywiec Basin () → e8
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Northern section of the Western Beskids:
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Central section of the Western Beskids:
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Orava Beskids () + Żywiec Beskids () (the older Slovak equivalent of Beskid Zywiecki is Slovenské Beskydy 'Slovak Beskids' or Kysucko-oravské Beskydy 'Kysuce-Orava Beskids') → g1
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Kysuce Beskids () +Żywiec Beskids () (the older Slovak equivalent of Beskid Zywiecki is Slovenské Beskydy or Kysucko-oravské Beskydy) → g2
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Orava Magura () → g3
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Orava Highlands () → g4
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Sub-Beskidian Furrow () → g5
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Sub-Beskidian Highlands () → g6
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Eastern section of the Western Beskids:
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Beskid Sądecki () → h1
-
Čergov (; ) → h2
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Pieniny (; ) → h3
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West Beskidian Foothills, in the Czech Republic and Poland
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Silesian-Moravian Foothills (, ) → d1
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Silesian Foothills () → d2
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Wieliczka Foothills () → d3
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Wiśnicz Foothills () → d4
Central Beskids
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Central Beskids () or Low Beskids ()
-
Busov, in Slovakia
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Ondava Highlands ()
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Low Beskid () + Laborec Highlands ()
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Beskidian Southern Foothills ()
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Central Beskidian Piedmont, in Poland
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Rożnów Piedmont ()
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Ciężkowice Piedmont ()
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Strzyżów Piedmont ()
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Dynów Piedmont ()
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Przemyśl Piedmont ()
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Gorlice Depression ()
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Jasło-Krosno Basin ()
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Jasło Piedmont ()
-
Bukowsko Piedmont ()
Eastern Beskids
Eastern Beskids are divided into two parallel ridges: Wooded Beskids and Polonynian Beskids.
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Wooded Beskids (; )
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Bieszczady Mountains (; ) → c1
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Sanok-Turka Mountains (; ) → c3
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Skole Beskids (; ) → c2
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Gorgany (; ) → c4
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Pokuttia-Bucovina Beskids (; ) → c5
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Polonynian Beskids (; )
Infrastructure
The Beskids are currently rich in
forest and
coal. In the past they were rich in
iron ore, with important plants in
Ostrava and Třinec – Třinec Iron and Steel Works.
There are many tourist attractions, including historic wooden churches (see Wooden Churches of Southern Little Poland, Carpathian Wooden Churches of Slovakia, and Wooden Churches of Ukraine) and the increasingly popular skiing resorts.
A number of environmental groups support a small but growing population of bears, wolves and lynx in the ecosystem of the Beskidy mountains. The Central Beskids include the Polish Babia Góra National Park and the adjacent Slovak Horná Orava Protected Landscape Area.
Gallery
File:Beskid Mountains division map.svg|Map of the Beskid ranges in Slovakia and Poland
File:Czantoria - widok z wiezy widokowej 09.JPG|Czantoria, Silesian Beskids
File:Beskidy Bieszczady SE.jpg|Western Bieszczady
File:Bieszczady1.jpg|Western Bieszczady
File:New granite sculpture of Radegast.jpg|Statue of "Radegast" in the Czech Republic Beskids
File:Zabytkowa cerkiew wpisana na listę UNESCO.jpg|Wooden church in Kwiatoń
File:OV-Hrabova.JPG|Wooden church in Hrabova, Moravia (14th century – 1564)
File:Koniaków miyszani owiec (redyk wiosenny) 04.jpg|Shepherds in Silesian Beskids
File:Beskid Wyspowy a10.jpg|Island Beskids
File:Дорога до церкви.jpg|Beskids in Skolivskyi, Ukraine
See also
Citations
General and cited sources
External links
