Bieszczady Mountains

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Bieszczady. The sight from Połonina Caryńska in the direction of Ustrzyki Górne (town) and Tarnica (mountain).

A typical meadow (połonina) on a top of Szeroki Wierch near Tarnica, Poland

Bieszczady, Poland

(połonina) on a top of Szeroki Wierch near Tarnica, Bieszczady, Poland

Bieszczady (lat. Poloniae Alpe Besczade, ru. Бещады, sr. Бјешчади) is the Polish name of the western part of what the Polish call Eastern Beskids (Beskidy Wschodnie). It is a part of the Carpathians. The mountain range is situated between the Łupków Pass (640 m) and the Vyshkovskyi Pass (933 m).

In a narrower but very frequent sense, Bieszczady refers only to the Western Bieszczady or even only to the Polish part of the mountain range.

The highest peak of Bieszczady is Mt. Pikuy (1405 m) in Ukraine. The highest peak of the Polish part is Tarnica (1346 m).

1 Term
2 Division
3 History
4 External links

[edit] Term

The term Bieszczady in the wide sense is used only in Poland. In Slovakia and Ukraine "Bieszczady" usually refers only to the part situated in Poland. In Poland "Bieszczady" also refers usually only to the Polish part of the (Western) Bieszczady. In Ukraine, the "Eastern Bieszczady" have various names (unstable terminology), they usually contain the word Beskids. In Slovakia the Slovak part is called Bukovec Mountains (Bukovské vrchy).

Historically, the terms Bieszczad and Beskid have been used for hundreds of years to describe the mountains separating Poland from Ruthenia and Hungary.

The coloquial Polish term referring to Bieszczady is Biesy, folk etymology connecting the origin of the mountains to demonic (bies) activities.

The ethymology of the name "Bieszczady" is disputed.

(1) from Mlg beshêt, beskēt as watershed, by Gen. prof. Jan Rozwadowski (1914),

[edit] Division

See also: Divisions of the Carpathians.

Since there exist many variants of divisions of the mountain ranges and names for the Beskids and Ukrainian Carpathians, several divisions are given in the following:

Division 1:

Bieszczady or Western Bieszczady (PL: Bieszczady Zachodnie) + Bukovec Mountains (SK: Bukovské vrchy) + (Ukrainian) Western Beskids (UA, Zachidni Beskydy)
Skole Beskids (UA: Skolivs'ki Beskydy), partly or completely also known as High Beskids (Vysoki Beskydy); part of whatUkrainians call Eastern Beskids (Skhidni Beskydy)

Division 2:

Western Bieszczady: between the Łupków Pass and the Użocka (Uzsok Pass - 853 m) with Mt Tarnica (1,346 m) as the highest peak
Central Bieszczady, between the Użocka Pass and the Tukholskyi Pass with Mt Pikuy (1405 m) as the highest peak
Eastern Bieszczady, between the Tukholskyi Pass and the Vyshkovskyi Pass with Mt Charna Repa (1228m) as the highest peak

Division 3:

Western Bieszczady (in Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine)
Eeastern Bieszczady (in Ukraine)

Division 4: In an old Ukrainian division, what is defined here as the Bieszczady in a wider sense corresponds to the western part of the Mid-Carpathian Depression and to the westernmost part of the Polonynian Beskids.

[edit] History

Up until 1947, 84% of the population of the Polish part of the Bieszczady Mountains was Boyko. The killing of the Polish General Karol Świerczewski in Jabłonki by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in 1947 was the direct cause of the replacement of the Boyk, the so-called Operation Wisła. The area was mostly uninhabited afterwards. In 2002, then president Aleksander Kwaśniewski expressed regret for this operation.

In 1991, the UNESCO East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve was created that encapsulates a large part of the area and continues into Slovakia and Ukraine. It is comprised of the Bieszczady National Park (Poland), Poloniny National Park (Slovakia) + Uzhansky National Nature Park (Ukraine). Animals living in this reserve are, amongst others, black storks, brown bears, wolves and bison.