Szczeliniec Wielki
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| Szczeliniec Wielki | |
|---|---|
| German: Große Heuscheuer; Polish: Szczeliniec Wielki; Czech: Velká Hejšovina | |
 View of the massif near Karłów (Szczeliniec Mały and Szczeliniec Wielki) | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 919 m (3,015 ft)[1] |
| Coordinates | 50°29′02″N 16°20′38″E / 50.48389°N 16.34389°E |
| Geography | |
  Szczeliniec Wielki Poland | |
| Location | Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland |
| Parent range | Stołowe Mountains (Table Mountains), Sudetes |
Szczeliniec Wielki (German: Große Heuscheuer) is the highest peak of the Stołowe Mountains (Table Mountains) in south-western Poland, within the Stołowe Mountains National Park (Polish: Park Narodowy Gór Stołowych).[2] It rises above the villages of Karłów and Pasterka, close to the Czech border, and is one of the best-known sandstone table mountains of the Sudetes.[1]
The summit plateau is a sandstone massif dissected by fissures, corridors and rock labyrinths with named formations and viewing terraces.[1] Depending on the reference, the height is also given as 922 m in some publications, while the national park’s tourist information commonly gives 919 m.[1]
The highest point is a rock called Fotel Pradziada (“Armchair of Great Grandfather”).[3]
The historic German name Große Heuscheuer refers to the mountain’s haystack/barn-like silhouette. The present Polish name is interpreted as “the great fissured/cleft mountain” (szczelina = fissure).[1]
Geology and landforms
Szczeliniec Wielki is built mainly of Upper Cretaceous sandstone, shaped by long-term weathering and erosion into isolated rock towers, narrow crevices and “rock city” passages.[2] Parts of the plateau include deep, shaded fissures with a cold and humid microclimate; in some years snow patches can persist late into the season.[1]
Protection
The mountain lies inside Stołowe Mountains National Park, established in 1993 to protect the sandstone table-mountain landscapes and associated habitats.[2] The park regulates access to the main tourist routes, including entry rules for the Szczeliniec Wielki circuit in peak periods.[4]
Tourism and access
Szczeliniec Wielki is most commonly reached from Karłów via a stone stairway (park materials describe around 680 stone steps) leading to the plateau.[1] A marked one-way circuit route on the summit passes through rock labyrinths, narrow passages and viewpoints.[1]
A mountain shelter, Schronisko PTTK „Na Szczelińcu”, stands on the plateau near the tourist circuit and is historically associated with the development of tourism in the Sudetes region.[5]
