Introducing Carpathians

The Carpathians are the second longest mountain range in Europe, after the Scandinavian Mountains. They measure 1,500 km (932 mi) long across Central and Eastern Europe which makes the Carpathians a mountain range longer than the Alps (whose length is only 1200 km or 746 mi). Their name comes from Dacian tribe of Carps (Karpathos-Horos), who lived in Moldova, on the slopes of the Eastern Carpathians, a name which in turn probably came from the Proto Indo-European root *sker-/*ker- from which comes the Albanian word karpë (rock), and the Slavic word skála (rock, cliff).

The Carpathians consist of a chain of mountain ranges that stretch in an arc from the Czech Republic (3%) in the northwest through Slovakia (17%), Poland (10%), Hungary (4%) and Ukraine (11%) to Romania (53%) in the east and on to the Iron Gates on the River Danube between Romania and Serbia (2%) in the south.
The Carpathians are usually divided into three major parts: the Western Carpathians (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia), the Central Carpathians (southeastern Poland, eastern Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania), and the Eastern Carpathians (Romania, Serbia). They provide the habitat for the largest European populations of brown bears, wolves, chamois and lynxes, with the highest concentration in Romania, as well as over one third of all European plant species. The Carpathians and their piedmont also concentrate many thermal and mineral waters, with Romania home to over one-third of the European total.

    

From the 30 summits over 2500 m (8202 ft), almost half are located in the Southern Carpathians (Romania) and the other half in Tatra Mountains. Tatra Mountains or simply Tatras are the most consistent range of the Carpathians, forming a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. These mountains are home of all eight summits above 2600 m (8530 ft) in the Carpathians, including the highest one – Gerlachovský štít – 2655 m (Slovakia). The second range as importance is the Southern Carpathians, which includes Retezat Mountains (nominated for the 7natural wonders of the world) and Făgăraș Mountains (which have earned the reputation and nickname of „The Transylvanian Alps”).

The most important cities in or near the Carpathians are: Bratislava and Košice in Slovakia; Kraków in Poland; Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, Alba Iulia, and Braşov in Romania; and Miskolc in Hungary.