Bohemian Switzerland

Bohemian Switzerland National Park was established in 2000 in northern Czechia, next to the German border, and protects some 79 km². It adjoins Saxon Switzerland National Park in Germany, with which it forms a continuous unit over the Elbe sandstone mountains.

The landscape is the same as on the Saxon side: Cretaceous sandstones fractured and eroded into a labyrinth of towers, mesas, spires and defiles, covered in forest, with the Elbe canyon cutting through the whole. The most famous formation is the Pravčická brána, the largest natural sandstone arch in Europe, with a span of some twenty-six metres.

The deep, shaded gorges create a temperature inversion effect that allows mountain species to occur at very low altitudes, alongside thermophilous ones on the sunny ledges, an uncommon combination. The park is home to peregrine falcon and eagle owl on the walls, and the Atlantic salmon has returned to the Elbe after a reintroduction programme. In 2022 a large fire affected a considerable part of the park and of its Saxon neighbour, the largest recorded in the history of Czechia, and its recovery is being followed scientifically.