Šumava National Park

Šumava
National Park
Plešné Lake
Country	Czech Republic
Regions	Plzeň, South Bohemian
Highest point	Plechý
- elevation	1,378 m (4,521 ft)
- coordinates	48°46′16.72″N 13°51′26.21″E / 48.7713111°N 13.8572806°E / 48.7713111; 13.8572806
Lowest point
- location	Otava River at Rejštejn
- elevation	570 m (1,870 ft)
- coordinates	49°08′14″N 13°30′22″E / 49.13722°N 13.50611°E / 49.13722; 13.50611
Length	100 km (62 mi), NW-SE
Width	20 km (12 mi), NE-SW
Area	680.64 km2 (263 sq mi)
- CHKO	996.24 km2 (385 sq mi)
Biome	forest (80%)
Founded	1991-03-20
- CHKO	1963-12-27
Management	Správa NP a CHKO Šumava
- location	Vimperk
Location of the Šumava NP (darker green) and the Šumava CHKO (lighter green) in the Czech Republic and the adjacent Bavarian Forest NP in Germany
Website: www.npsumava.cz

Šumava National Park (Czech: Národní park Šumava, usually shortened as NP Šumava) is a national park in the South Bohemian Regions of the Czech Republic along the border with Germany (where the smaller adjacent Bavarian Forest National Park lies) and Austria. They protect a little-inhabited area of the mountain range of the same name, the Šumava. Since 1990 it has been a protected biosphere reserve of UNESCO.

The Šumava Range is covered by the most extensive forest in Central Europe, whose natural composition was, however, changed and today spruce plantations prevail in most of the area. In many places non-native spruce varieties were planted. These are not well adapted to the harsh local climate and are therefore susceptible to a range of elements, such as strong winds (e.g. in the 1980s or recently at the beginning of 2007) and bark beetle (Ips typographus). Numerous large plateaux with raised peat bogs, glacial lakes and remnants of primeval forests (e.g. Boubín) complete a mosaic of habitats which are little disturbed by human settlements as most of the predominantly German speaking inhabitants were expelled after the World War II and the area became a part of the deserted zone along the Eastern Bloc border. Since the 1970s there has existed a stable population of lynxes.

Originally, a large landscape protected area was declared on 27 December 1963 covering most of the Šumava Range. On 20 March 1991 the most valuable part of the area was declared a national park with the rest of the landscape protected area serving as its buffer zone.