Bieszczady Mountains

The Bieszczady Mountains (Polish: Bieszczady; Slovak: Beščady; Ukrainian: Бещади, romanized: Beshchady) are a mountain range found in the extreme southeast of Poland and northeast of Slovakia, as well as southwest of Ukraine. They are a part of the Eastern Beskids. Their highest peak is Pikui, situated in Ukraine, at 1,405 metres (4,610 ft), and the highest within the borders of Poland is Tarnica, at 1,346 metres (4,416 ft).

The term Bieszczady has been introduced into English from Polish. In Poland, the term usually refers (in the narrower sense) to the Polish part of the Bieszczady region, while in the wider sense it can also refer to the entire region. In Slovakia, the Bieszczady region is known as Beščady, while the Slovak part of the region is called Bukovec Mountains (Slovak: Bukovské vrchy). In Ukraine, the Bieszczady region is known as Beshchady (Ukrainian: Бещади), while various parts of the region often have two or more name variants (unstable terminology), usually containing the word Beščady in combination with some other terms. Historically, the terms Bieszczady/Beščady/Beshchady have been used for hundreds of years to describe the mountains separating the old Kingdom of Hungary from Poland. A Latin language source of 1269 refers to them as "Beschad Alpes Poloniae" (translated as: Bieszczady Mountains of Poland). The Polish folk etymology holds the term Bieszczady to have stemmed from the terms Bies and Czad (possibly from Chort) along with the Polish plural y stem giving Bies + czady + y. Some folk stories connect the origin of the mountains to the demonic activity of the Biesy and Czady, while other folk stories tell of the mountains being populated with hordes of Biesy and Czady, hence the name. Another less probable possibility is the term being related to Middle Low German beshêt, beskēt, meaning watershed.

Location: Poland.

Mountain range data from Wikidata (CC0). Elevation is the height of the highest peak.