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Śnieżka/Sněžka/Snow Mountain
The Sudetes (IPA: /suˈdiːtiːz/), also called Sudeten (in German; pronounced: [zu'de:tən]) or Sudety (pronounced ['sudetɪ] in Czech, [su'detɪ] in Polish), is a mountain range in Central Europe. It stretches from eastern Germany to Poland and Czech Republic. The highest mountain is Sněžka-Śnieżka (Sněžka in Czech; Śnieżka in Polish; Schneekoppe in German) in Krkonoše/Karkonosze Mountains on the Czech-Polish border. It reaches up to 1,602 m. The Sudetes are divided into
- Western Sudetes
- Central Sudetes
- Eastern Sudetes
Especially Krkonoše Mountains are facing growing tourism for winter sports during the past ten years. Its skiing resorts are becoming a serious alternative to the Alps.
Famous towns in this area are:
The name Sudetes has been derived from Sudeti montes, a Latinization of the name Soudeta ore used in the Geography of Ptolemaios (Book 2 Chapter 10) ca. 150 for the present-day northern Czech mountains. Ptolemy said that they were above the Gabreta Forest, which places them in the Sudetenland. Ptolemy wrote in Greek, in which the name is a neuter plural. Latin mons, however, is a masculine, hence Sudeti. The Latin version is likely to be a scholastic innovation, as it is not attested in classical Latin literature.
The meaning of the name is not known. In one hypothetical derivation, it means Mountains of Wild Boars, relying on Indo-European *su-, "pig". A better etymology perhaps is from Latin sudis, plural sudes, "spines", which can be used of spiny fish or spiny terrain.
The exact location of the Sudetes is not very clear, as it has varied over the centuries. For example, the name was used before World War II to describe the German province of Sudetenland. The Germans living there were called Sudeten Germans. They were heavily clustered in Bohemia. Hitler redefined the term to mean the entire mountainous periphery of Czechoslovakia, and under that pretext, got his future enemies to concede the Czech defensive border, leaving it helpless. The Germans soon overran Czechoslovakia.
The ancient Sudetanland certainly did not have that meaning. It meant at least the northwest frontier of today's Czechoslovakia, probably extending to the north. By implication, it was part of the Hercynian Forest mentioned by many ancient authors.
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