Bohemian Forest

Bohemian Forest

Bohemian Forest, Czech Český Les, Ger. Böhmerwald, mountain range, extending c.150 mi (240 km) along the S Czech-German border and extending into Austria. The Czech name for its southern section is Sumava. A thickly wooded area, it rises to 4,780 ft (1,457 m) in the Grosser Arber (Czech Javor). There are many marshes, swamps, and peat bogs in the Bohemian Forest. Agriculture is limited because of the harsh climate; grazing is common. Coal, graphite, kaolin, and granite are extracted. The region is known for its glassmaking and woodworking.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Bohemian Forest

 

(in Czech, Český Les; in German, Böhmerwald), mountains in Czechoslovakia and the Federal Republic of Germany, in the southwestern part of the Bohemian Massif. The Bohemian Forest measures 80 km in length and rises to a maximum elevation of 1,042 m at Mt. Čerchow. The mountains, composed chiefly of gneisses, granites, and schists, are flat-topped ridges separated by valleys. The region has glacial lakes, beech and fir-spruce forests, mountain meadows, and peat bogs. Timber is harvested, cattle are grazed, and granite is mined in the area.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Bohemian Forest

a mountain range between the SW Czech Republic and SE Germany. Highest peak: Arber, 1457 m (4780 ft.)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005