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The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians (; Czech
Czech language

Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czech people worldwide....
, Polish
Polish language

Polish , an official language of Poland, has the largest number of speakers of any West Slavic languages. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner through most of Poland, and it has a regular orthography....
 and Slovak
Slovak language

The Slovak language , sometimes incorrectly called ?Slovakian?, is an Indo-European languages that belongs to the West Slavic languages .The Czech and Slovak languages are Mutual intelligibility which means that even after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia Czech may be used in all official proceedings and documents in Slovakia, and vice ver...
: Karpaty; (Karpaty); (Karpaty); ; / ???????; ) are a range of mountains forming an arc of roughly 1,500 km across Central
Central Europe

Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern Europe and Western Europe Europe. In addition, Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Southeastern Europe may variously delimit or overlap into Central Europe....
 and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is a term that applies to the geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the Europe. Throughout history and to a lesser extent today, parts of Eastern Europe has been distinguishable from Western Europe and other regions due to cultural, religious, economic, and historical reasons, even though there i...
, making them the largest mountain range in Europe. They provide the habitat for the largest populations in Europe of brown bear
Brown Bear

The Brown Bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It weighs 100 to 700 kg and its larger populations such as the Kodiak bear match the Polar bear as the largest extant land predator....
s, wolves, chamois
Chamois

The chamois is a goat-like animal native to the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Gran Sasso region of the central Italian Apennine Mountains, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus....
 and lynx
Lynx

A lynx is any of four medium-sized wild Felidae. All are members of the genus Lynx, but there is considerable confusion about the best way to classify felids at present, and some authorities classify them as part of the genus Felis....
es, with the highest concentration in Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
, as well as over one third of all European plant species.

The chain of mountain ranges stretches in an arc from the Czech Republic
Czech Republic

The Czech Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east....
 in the northwest to Slovakia
Slovakia

Slovakia . It was amended in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president and again in February 2001 due to EU admission requirements....
, Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
, Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
 and Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
 in the east, to the Iron Gates
Iron Gate (Danube)

The Iron Gate is a gorge on the Danube River. It forms part of the boundary between Serbia and Romania. In the broad sense it encompasses a route of ; in the narrow sense it only encompasses the last barrier on this route, just beyond the Romanian city of Orsova, that contains a hydroelectricity dam, with two power stations, Iron Gate I Hydr...
 on the Danube River between Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
 and Serbia
Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country in Central Europe and Balkans Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central part of the Balkans....
 in the south.






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The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians (; Czech
Czech language

Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czech people worldwide....
, Polish
Polish language

Polish , an official language of Poland, has the largest number of speakers of any West Slavic languages. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner through most of Poland, and it has a regular orthography....
 and Slovak
Slovak language

The Slovak language , sometimes incorrectly called ?Slovakian?, is an Indo-European languages that belongs to the West Slavic languages .The Czech and Slovak languages are Mutual intelligibility which means that even after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia Czech may be used in all official proceedings and documents in Slovakia, and vice ver...
: Karpaty; (Karpaty); (Karpaty); ; / ???????; ) are a range of mountains forming an arc of roughly 1,500 km across Central
Central Europe

Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern Europe and Western Europe Europe. In addition, Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Southeastern Europe may variously delimit or overlap into Central Europe....
 and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is a term that applies to the geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the Europe. Throughout history and to a lesser extent today, parts of Eastern Europe has been distinguishable from Western Europe and other regions due to cultural, religious, economic, and historical reasons, even though there i...
, making them the largest mountain range in Europe. They provide the habitat for the largest populations in Europe of brown bear
Brown Bear

The Brown Bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It weighs 100 to 700 kg and its larger populations such as the Kodiak bear match the Polar bear as the largest extant land predator....
s, wolves, chamois
Chamois

The chamois is a goat-like animal native to the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Gran Sasso region of the central Italian Apennine Mountains, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus....
 and lynx
Lynx

A lynx is any of four medium-sized wild Felidae. All are members of the genus Lynx, but there is considerable confusion about the best way to classify felids at present, and some authorities classify them as part of the genus Felis....
es, with the highest concentration in Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
, as well as over one third of all European plant species.

The chain of mountain ranges stretches in an arc from the Czech Republic
Czech Republic

The Czech Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east....
 in the northwest to Slovakia
Slovakia

Slovakia . It was amended in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president and again in February 2001 due to EU admission requirements....
, Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
, Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
 and Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
 in the east, to the Iron Gates
Iron Gate (Danube)

The Iron Gate is a gorge on the Danube River. It forms part of the boundary between Serbia and Romania. In the broad sense it encompasses a route of ; in the narrow sense it only encompasses the last barrier on this route, just beyond the Romanian city of Orsova, that contains a hydroelectricity dam, with two power stations, Iron Gate I Hydr...
 on the Danube River between Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
 and Serbia
Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country in Central Europe and Balkans Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central part of the Balkans....
 in the south. The highest range within the Carpathians are the Tatras, on the border of Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
 and Slovakia
Slovakia

Slovakia . It was amended in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president and again in February 2001 due to EU admission requirements....
, where the highest peaks exceed 2600 meters in elevation, followed by the Southern Carpathians
Southern Carpathians

The Southern Carpathians , also called the Transylvanian Alps, are a group of mountain ranges which divide central and southern Romania, on one side, and Serbia, on the other side....
 in Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
, where the highest peaks exceed 2500 meters in elevation. The Carpathian chain is usually divided into three major parts: the Western Carpathians (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary), the Eastern Carpathians (Southeastern Poland, Eastern Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania) and the Southern Carpathians (Romania, Serbia).

The most important cities in or near the Carpathians are Bratislava
Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 427,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River....
 and Košice
Košice

Ko?ice Being the economic and cultural centre of eastern Slovakia, Ko?ice is the seat of the Ko?ice Region and Ko?ice Self-governing Region, the Slovak Constitutional Court of Slovakia, three universities, various dioceses, and other institutions....
 in Slovakia; Krakow
Kraków

Krak?w , in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow , is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland, with a population of 756,336 in 2007 ....
 in Poland; Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca

, until 1974 Cluj, is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in north-western Transylvania. Geographically, it is roughly equally distant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade ....
, Sibiu
Sibiu

Sibiu is one of the largest cities in Transylvania, Romania with a population of about 175,000. It straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt River....
 and Brasov
Brasov

Brasov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brasov County, with a population of 284,596, according to the 2002 census, is the 7th largest Romanian city, after Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi, Craiova and Galati....
 in Romania; and Miskolc
Miskolc

Miskolc is a city in North-East Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 180,000 Miskolc is the third-largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Aba?j-Zempl?n and the Regions of Hungary centre of Northern Hungary....
 in Hungary.

Name

Tatry Zrysow
The name 'Karpetes' may ultimately be from the Proto Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language

The Proto-Indo-European language is the unattested, linguistic reconstruction common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans....
 root *sker-/*ker-, from which comes the Albanian
Albanian language

Albanian is an Indo-European languages spoken by nearly 6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including the west of the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and southern Serbia....
 word karpë (rock), and Czech
Czech language

Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czech people worldwide....
 word skála (rock, cliff). perhaps by Dacian
Dacian language

The Dacian language was spoken by the ancient inhabitants of Dacia. It belongs to the Indo-European languages language family.Dacian is often considered to be a dialect of the same language as Thracian language or to be a separate language from Thracian but closely related to it....
 cognate which meant 'mountain,' rock, or rugged (cf. Old Norse harfr "harrow", Middle Low German shcarf "potsherd", Lithuanian kar~pas "cut, hack, notch", Latvian cěrpt "to shear, clip"). Archaic Polish word karpa meant "rugged irregularities, underwater obstacles/rocks, rugged roots or trunks". The more common word skarpa is sharp cliff or other vertical terrain. Otherwise, the name may instead come from IE *kwerp "to turn", akin to Old English hweorfan "to turn, change" and Greek karpós "wrist", perhaps referring to the way the mountain range bends or veers in an L-shape.

In late Roman
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 documents, the Eastern Carpathian Mountains were referred to as Montes Sarmatici. The Western Carpathians were called Carpates. The name Carpates is first recorded in Ptolemy
Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman Greek mathematics, Greek astronomy, geographer and astrologer. He lived in History of Roman Egypt, and was probably born there in a town in the Thebaid called Ptolemais Hermiou; he died in Alexandria around 168 AD....
's second century book Geographia. Around 310 AD the Carpathians are mentioned as Montes Serrorum by the Flavius Galerius Valerius Licinianus Licinius
Licinius

Valerius Licinianus Licinius was Roman emperor from 308 to 324.Of Dacian peasant origin, born in Moesia Superior, Licinius accompanied his close childhood friend, the Emperor Galerius, on the Persian expedition in 297....
.

The name of the Carpi
Carpians

The Carpi or Carpiani were a Dacian tribe that were located, between not later than ca. 100 and until at least ca. 400 AD, in the central eastern Carpathian Mountains, and in what is today central Moldavia ....
, a Dacia
Dacia

In ancient geography, Dacia was the land of the Dacians. It was named by the ancient Greeks "Getae". Dacia was a large district of East-Central Europe, bounded on the north by the Carpathian Mountains, on the south by the Danube, on the west by the Tisia or Tisza, on the east by the Tyras or Dniester, now in eastern Moldova....
n tribe may have been derived from the name of the Carpathian Mountains. Name recorded in late Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 documents (Zosimus
Zosimus

Zosimus was a Byzantine Empire historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photios I of Constantinople, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury....
) as living until 381 on the Eastern Carpathian slopes. Alternatively the mountain range's name may be derived from the Dacia
Dacia

In ancient geography, Dacia was the land of the Dacians. It was named by the ancient Greeks "Getae". Dacia was a large district of East-Central Europe, bounded on the north by the Carpathian Mountains, on the south by the Danube, on the west by the Tisia or Tisza, on the east by the Tyras or Dniester, now in eastern Moldova....
n tribe.

In Hungarian XIII- i XIV century Hungarian documents named the mountains Thorchal, Tarczal or less frequently Montes Nivium.

In the Scandinavian Hervarar saga
Hervarar saga

Hervarar saga ok Hei?reks is a legendary saga from the 13th century combining matter from several older sagas. It is a valuable saga for several different reasons beside its literary qualities....
, which describes ancient Germanic legends about battles between Goths
Goths

The Goths were East Germanic tribes who, in the 3rd and 4th centuries, invasion the Roman Empire and later adopted Arian Christianity. In the 5th and 6th centuries, divided as the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, they established powerful successor-states of the Roman Empire in the Iberian peninsula and Italy....
 and Huns
Huns

The Huns were a confederation of Central Asian Eurasian nomads or semi-nomads, who had established an empire in Eurasia. The Huns may have stimulated the Migration Period, a contributing factor in the collapse of the Roman Empire....
, the name Karpates appears in the predictable Germanic form as Harvađa fjöllum (see Grimm's law
Grimm's law

Grimm's law named for Jacob Grimm, is a set of statements describing the inherited Proto-Indo-European language stops as they developed in Proto-Germanic in the 1st millennium BC....
).

Geography


The Carpathians begin on the Danube
Danube

The Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg River rivers which join at the eponymously named German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows eastwards for a distance...
 near Bratislava
Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 427,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River....
. They surround Transcarpathia
Transcarpathia

Transcarpathia may refer to:* Carpathian Ruthenia, a historic region* Zakarpattia Oblast, an administrative unit of Ukraine...
 and Transylvania
Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountains, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical regions of Crisana, Maramures, and Banat....
 in a large semicircle, sweeping towards the south-east, and end on the Danube near Orsova
Orsova

Orsova is a port city on the Danube river in southwestern Romania's Mehedinti County . It is situated just above the Iron Gate , on the spot where the Cerna River meets the Danube....
, in Romania. The total length of the Carpathians is over 1,500 km, and the mountain chain's width varies between 12 and 500 km. The greatest width of the Carpathians corresponds with its highest altitudes. The system attains its greatest breadth in the Transylvanian plateau and in the meridian of the Tatra
Tatra Mountains

The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , constitute a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They occupy an area of 750 km?, the major part of which lies in Slovakia....
 group (the highest range, with Gerlachovský štít, at 2,655 m (8,705 feet) above sea level in Slovak territory near the Polish border). It covers an area of 190,000 km˛ and, after the Alps
Alps

The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
, is the most extensive mountain system in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
.

Although commonly referred to as a mountain chain, the Carpathians do not actually form an uninterrupted chain of mountains. Rather, they consist of several orographically
Orography

Orography is the study of the formation and relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain....
 and geologically distinctive groups, presenting as great a structural variety as the Alps
Alps

The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
. The Carpathians, which in only a few places attain an altitude of over 2,500 m, lack the bold peaks, extensive snow-fields, large glaciers, high waterfalls, and numerous large lakes that are common in the Alps. No area of the Carpathian range is covered in snow year-round and there are no glaciers. The Carpathians at their highest altitude are only as high as the Middle Region of the Alps, with which they share a common appearance, climate, and flora.

The Carpathians are separated from the Alps by the Danube. The two ranges meet only at one point: the Leitha Mountains at Bratislava. The river also separates them from the Stara Planina, or "Balkan Mountains," at Orsova
Orsova

Orsova is a port city on the Danube river in southwestern Romania's Mehedinti County . It is situated just above the Iron Gate , on the spot where the Cerna River meets the Danube....
, Romania. The valley of the March and Oder separates the Carpathians from the Silesia
Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas....
n and Moravia
Moravia

Moravia is a Historical regions of Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, one of the former Czech lands. It takes its name from the Morava River, Central Europe which rises in the northwest of the region....
n chains, which belong to the middle wing of the great Central Mountain System of Europe. Unlike the other wings of the system, the Carpathians, which form the watershed between the northern seas and the Black Sea
Black Sea

The Black Sea is an inland sea sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolia and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Seas and various straits....
, are surrounded on all sides by plains, namely the Pannonian plain
Pannonian Plain

The Pannonian Plain is a large plain in Central Europe that remained when the Pliocene Pannonian Sea dried out. It is a geomorphology subsystem of the Alpide belt....
 on the southwest, the plain of the Lower Danube (Romania) on the south, and the Galician
Galicia (Central Europe)

Galicia is a historical region in East Central Europe, currently divided between Poland and Ukraine, named after Ukra?ni?n city of Halych.The nucleus of historic Galicia is formed of three regions of western Ukraine: Lvivska oblast, Ternopilska oblast and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast....
 plain on the northeast.

Cities and towns


Important cities and towns in or near the Carpathians are, ordered by decreasing population: Bratislava
Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 427,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River....
 (Slovakia, 426,091), Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca

, until 1974 Cluj, is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in north-western Transylvania. Geographically, it is roughly equally distant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade ....
 (Romania, 310,243), Brasov
Brasov

Brasov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brasov County, with a population of 284,596, according to the 2002 census, is the 7th largest Romanian city, after Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi, Craiova and Galati....
 (Romania, 284,596), Košice
Košice

Ko?ice Being the economic and cultural centre of eastern Slovakia, Ko?ice is the seat of the Ko?ice Region and Ko?ice Self-governing Region, the Slovak Constitutional Court of Slovakia, three universities, various dioceses, and other institutions....
 (Slovakia, 234,596), Oradea
Oradea

Oradea is the capital city of Bihor County, in Crisana, Romania. The city proper has a population of 206,614 census; this does not include areas from the metropolitan area, outside the municipality; they bring the total urban area population to approximately 240,000....
 (Romania, 206,614), Miskolc
Miskolc

Miskolc is a city in North-East Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 180,000 Miskolc is the third-largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Aba?j-Zempl?n and the Regions of Hungary centre of Northern Hungary....
 (Hungary, 178,950), Sibiu
Sibiu

Sibiu is one of the largest cities in Transylvania, Romania with a population of about 175,000. It straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt River....
 (Romania, 154,892), Târgu Mures (Romania, 146,000), Baia Mare
Baia Mare

Baia Mare is a town and municipality in Ordinal direction part of Romania. It is the residence of Maramures county. The town is situated approximately 600 kilometres away from Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, 70 kilometres away from the border with Hungary and 50 kilometres away from the border with Ukraine....
 (Romania, 137,976), Tarnów
Tarnów

Tarn?w is a city in southeastern Poland with 116,109 inhabitants The city has been situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999, but from 1975 to 1998 it was the capital of the Tarn?w Voivodeship....
 (Poland, 117,109), Râmnicu Vâlcea
Râmnicu Vâlcea

R?mnicu V?lcea is the capital city of V?lcea County, Romania ....
 (Romania, 111,497), Uzhhorod
Uzhhorod

Uzhhorod is a city located in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. It is the Capital of the Zakarpattia Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Uzhhorodskyi Raion within the oblast....
 (Ukraine, 111,300), Piatra Neamt
Piatra Neamt

Piatra Neamt , is the capital city of Neamt County, in the historical region of Moldavia, eastern Romania. Because of its privileged location in the Eastern Carpathians mountains, it is considered one of the most picturesque cities in Romania....
 (Romania, 105,865), Suceava
Suceava

Suceava is the capital city of the Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania....
 (Romania, 104,914), Drobeta-Turnu Severin
Drobeta-Turnu Severin

Drobeta-Turnu Severin is a city in Mehedinti County, Oltenia, Romania, on the left bank of the Danube, below the Iron Gates.Administratively, three villages are part of the city: Dudasu Schelei, Gura Vaii and Schela Cladovei....
 (Romania, 104,557), Resita
Resita

Resita is a city in western Romania and the capital of Caras-Severin County, in the Banat region. Its 2004 population was 83,985....
 (Romania, 86,383), Žilina
Žilina

?ilina is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava. It is the fourth largest city of Slovakia with a population of around 85,000, an important industrial centre, the largest city on the V?h river, and the seat of a kraj and of an okres ....
 (Slovakia, 85,477), Bistrita
Bistrita

Bistrita is the capital city of Bistrita-Nasaud County, Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistrita River . The city has a population of approximately 80,000 inhabitants....
 (Romania, 81,467), Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica

Bansk? Bystrica is a key city in central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Velk? Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains....
 (Slovakia, 80,730), Deva
Deva, Romania

Deva is a city situated in Transylvania on the left bank of the middle course of the Mures River river. It is the capital of Hunedoara in Romania and has around 80,000 inhabitants, including subordinated villages....
 (Romania, 80,000), Zlín
Zlín

Zl?n , briefly Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zl?n Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Drevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company....
 (Czech Republic, 79,538), Hunedoara
Hunedoara

Hunedoara is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is in the Cerna Valley near the Poiana Rusca Mountains within the Carpathian Mountains....
 (Romania, 79,235), Zalau
Zalau

File:Zalau jud Salaj.pngFile:Zilah 019b.jpgFile:Zilah 022.jpg File:Zalau Mercedes bus 1.jpg File:2007 09 sat stana2.jpg File:Matei Corvin Johannes de Thurocz f137.jpg ...
 (Romania, 71,326), Przemysl
Przemysl

File:Przemysl - Panorama z Kopca Tatarskiego.jpgFile:Przemysl - Rynek.jpgPrzemysl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of 30.06.2008....
 (Poland, 66,715), Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia

Alba Iulia Hungarian language: Gyulafeh?rv?r is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,369, located on the Mures River....
 (Romania, 66,369), Zajecar
Zajecar

Zajecar is a city and municipality in the eastern part of the Republic of Serbia. The town has a population of 49,700 people, and its coordinates are 43.91? North, 22.30? East....
 (Serbia, 65,969), Sfântu Gheorghe
Sfântu Gheorghe

Sf?ntu Gheorghe or Sepsiszentgy?rgy is a Municipalities of Romania and city in the central Romanian region of Transylvania. It lies on the Olt River in a valley between the Baraolt and Bodoc Mountains....
 (Romania, 61,543), Turda
Turda

Turda is a city and Municipality in Romania in Cluj County, Romania, situated on the Aries River ....
 (Romania, 57,381), Bor
Bor, Serbia

Bor is a town and municipality located in eastern Serbia, with one of the largest copper mining in Europe and it has been a mining centre since 1904, when a French company began operations there ....
 (Serbia, 55,817), Medias
Medias

Medias is the second largest city in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania....
 (Romania, 55,153), Poprad
Poprad

Poprad is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains. It is the biggest town of the Spi? region and the tenth largest city in Slovakia....
 (Slovakia, 55,042), Petrosani
Petrosani

Petrosani is a city in Hunedoara County, Romania, with a population of 45,447 ....
 (Romania, 45,194), Negotin
Negotin

Negotin is a town and municipality in the Bor District of north-eastern Central Serbia. It is situated near the borders between Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria....
 (Serbia, 43,551), Miercurea Ciuc (Romania, 42,029), Sighisoara
Sighisoara

Sighisoara is a city and municipality on the T?rnava Mare River in Mures County, Romania. Located in the historic region Transylvania, Sighisoara has a population of 32,287 ....
 (Romania, 32,287), Fagaras
Fagaras

Fagaras is a city in central Romania, located in Brasov County. It lies on the Olt River and has a population of 35,400 as of 2004.Although the city has become almost totally Romanian-populated through Transylvanian Saxons and Hungarian emigration, the diverse background is still obvious....
 (Romania, 40,126), Petrila
Petrila

Petrila is a town in the Jiu Valley, Hunedoara County, Romania.It is located near the junction of the East Jiu River with Taia and Jiet Creeks....
 (Romania, 33,123) , Zakopane
Zakopane

Zakopane is a town in southern Poland with some 28,000 inhabitants , situated in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999 . The town, a place of Gorals culture and informally known as "the winter capital of Poland," lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains, the only alps mountain range in the Carpath...
 (Poland, 27,486), Câmpulung Moldovenesc
Câmpulung Moldovenesc

C?mpulung Moldovenesc is a city located in Suceava County, which is in the historical Bukovina region of Moldavia in North Eastern Romania. The city is located on the banks of the Moldova River....
 (Romania, 20,076), Vatra Dornei
Vatra Dornei

Vatra Dornei is a city and a ski resort in the north of Romania, in Suceava County. It includes the city proper and three villages: Argestru, Rosu and Todireni....
 (Romania, 17,864), and Rakhiv
Rakhiv

Rakhiv is a city located in the Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Rakhivskyi Raion ....
 (Ukraine, 15,241).

Geology

The Carpathian Mountains were formed during the Alpine orogeny
Alpine orogeny

The Alpine orogeny is an orogeny phase in the Tertiary that formed the mountain ranges of the Alpide belt. These mountains include the Atlas Mountains, the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Dinaric Alps, the Pindus, the Carpathians, the Balkan Mountains, the Taurus Mountains, the Caucasus Mountains, the Alborz, the Zagros Mountains, the Hindu Kush, t...
.

Divisions of the Carpathians

Mapcarpat2
The largest range is the Tatras
Tatra Mountains

The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , constitute a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They occupy an area of 750 km?, the major part of which lies in Slovakia....
.

A major part of the western and northeastern Outer Carpathians in Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia is traditionally called Beskids
Beskids

The Beskids is a traditional name for a series of mountain ranges in the northeastern Czech Republic, northwestern Slovakia, southern Poland and in Western Ukraine....
.

The geological border between the Western and Eastern Carpathians runs approximately along the line (south to north) between the towns Michalovce
Michalovce

Michalovce is a town on the Laborec river in eastern Slovakia, with a population around 40,000. It is the biggest town of the Michalovce District in the Ko?ice Region....
 - Bardejov
Bardejov

B?rtfa is a town in North-Eastern Slovakia. It is situated in the ?ari? region and has about 33,000 inhabitants. The spa town, mentioned for the first time in 1241, exhibits numerous cultural monuments in its completely intact medieval town centre....
 - Nowy Sacz
Nowy Sacz

Nowy Sacz [] is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sacz County, but is not included within the powiat....
 - Tarnów
Tarnów

Tarn?w is a city in southeastern Poland with 116,109 inhabitants The city has been situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999, but from 1975 to 1998 it was the capital of the Tarn?w Voivodeship....
. In older systems the border runs more in the east – at the line (north to south) along the rivers San
San River

The San is a river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine, a tributary of the Vistula River, with a length of 433 km and a basin area of 16,861 km? ....
 and Oslawa
Oslawa

The Oslawa is a river in South-Eastern Poland. Its name comes from the ancient West Slavic languages dialect word osla, meaning "stone". It begins in the Bieszczady mountains and flows through western Sanok Land....
 (PL) – the town of Snina
Snina

Snina is a town in Slovakia placed at the confluence of the Cirocha river and the small river Pcolinka in the valley between the Beskydy foothills and the Vihorlat mountain....
 (SK) – river Tur'ia (UA). Biologists, however, shift the border even further to the east.

The border between the Eastern and Southern Carpathians is formed by the Predeal
Predeal

Predeal is a town in Romania, in Brasov County. An important mountain resort, Predeal is located on the Prahova Valley and is surrounded by five massifs: Postavarul, Piatra Mare, Bucegi, Baiului and Fitifoi....
 Pass, south of Brasov
Brasov

Brasov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brasov County, with a population of 284,596, according to the 2002 census, is the 7th largest Romanian city, after Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi, Craiova and Galati....
 and the Prahova Valley
Prahova Valley

Prahova Valley is the valley where the Prahova river makes its way between the Bucegi and the Baiului Mountains, in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania....
.

The Ukrainians sometimes denote as "Eastern Carpathians" only the Ukrainian Carpathians (or Wooded Carpathians), i.e., basically the part situated largely on their territory (i.e., to the north of the Prislop Pass
Prislop Pass

Prislop Pass is a mountain pass in northern Romania, connecting the historical regions of Maramures and Bukovina over the Rodna Mountains, in the Eastern Carpathians....
), while the Romanians sometimes denote as "Eastern Carpathians" only the other part, which lies on their territory (i.e., from the Ukrainian border or from the Prislop Pass to the south).

Also, the Romanians divide the Eastern Carpathians on their territory into three simplified geographical groups (north, center, south), instead of Outer and Inner Eastern Carpathians. These are:
  • Carpatii Maramuresului si ai Bucovinei (Carpathians of Maramures
    Maramures

    Maramures may refer to the following:*Maramures, a geographical, historical, and ethno-cultural region in present-day Romania and Ukraine, that occupies the Maramures Depression and Maramures Mountains, a mountain range in North East Carpathian Mountains....
     and Bucovina)
  • Carpatii Moldo-Transilvani (Moldavian-Transylvanian Carpathians)
  • Carpatii de Curbura/Carpatii Curburii


Fictional depictions

The Carpathian Mountains have been depicted as the setting of several fictional works.
  • The Carpathians (race)
    Carpathians (race)

    See Rusyns for non-fictional people of Carpathian heritage.Carpathians are a race of people in the fictional universe of the Dark Series, a group of books by Christine Feehan....
     in Christine Feehan
    Christine Feehan

    Christine Feehan is an United States Romance novel-paranormal writer. She has published more than 26 novels, including five series, and numerous novellas since 1999....
    's Dark Series call the Carpathian Mountains their homeland.
  • Jules Verne
    Jules Verne

    Jules Gabriel Verne was a France author who helped pioneer the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Journey to the Center of the Earth , From the Earth to the Moon , Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , and Around the World in Eighty Days ....
     wrote the novel     The Castle of the Carpathians
    Carpathian Castle

    The Carpathian Castle is a novel by Jules Verne first published in 1893 in literature....
    , which takes place in the region.
  • The eponym
    Eponym

    An eponym is a person, whether real or fictitious, after whom a particular toponym, ethnonym, regnal year, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named....
    ous character in Bram Stoker
    Bram Stoker

    Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Ireland novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Horror fiction novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Henry Irving and business manager of the Lyceum Theatre, London in London, which Irving owned....
    's novel     Dracula
    Dracula

    Dracula is an 1897 in literature novel by Irish people author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary antagonist the vampire Count Dracula.Dracula has been attributed to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature....
     had his castle in the Carpathian mountains.
  • The Carpathian Mountains are the setting in "The Interlopers", a short story by Saki
    Saki

    Hector Hugh Munro , better known by the pen name Saki, was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland writer, whose witty and sometimes macabre stories satirized Edwardian period society and culture....
    .
  • Joseph Conrad
    Joseph Conrad

    Joseph Conrad was a Polish novelist, writing in English. Many critics regard him as one of the greatest novelists in the English language, despite his not having learned to speak English fluently until he was in his twenties ....
    's story     Amy Foster
    Amy Foster

    "Amy Foster" is a short story by Joseph Conrad written in 1901. It was first published in the Illustrated London News , and was collected in Typhoon and Other Stories ....
     referred to the Carpathian Mountains.
  • Elizabeth Kostova
    Elizabeth Kostova

    Elizabeth Johnson Kostova is an United States author.Elizabeth Johnson was born in New London, Connecticut, raised in Knoxville, Tennessee and is a graduate of Yale University....
    's novel     The Historian
    The Historian

    The Historian is a 2005 novel by Elizabeth Kostova about a quest, reaching through the past five centuries, for the historical Vlad the Impaler....
     is a fictitious account of the search for Dracula in the Carpathian mountains. In the novel Vlad Tepes is found and killed at the site of a Carpathian monastery.
  • Vigo the Carpathian was the villain in the film Ghostbusters II
    Ghostbusters II

    Ghostbusters II is the 1989 in film sequel to Ghostbusters produced and directed by Ivan Reitman. The science fiction film comedy film is about the further adventures of a group of parapsychology and their organization which combats paranormal activities ....
    .
  • MSDOS game Veil of Darkness took place in the Carpathian Mountains.
  • A Carpathian Mountain was purchased and moved to the Sahara desert in Joe Frank
    Joe Frank

    Joe Frank is an American radio personality, known best for his engaging, often philosophical, humorous and sometimes absurd monologues and radio dramas....
    's 1996 radio show .
  • In Dragons: a Fantasy Made Real, a frozen dragon body is found in the Carpathian Mountains.
  • In a Sesame Street
    Sesame Street

    Sesame Street is an Television in the United States educational children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both edutainment....
     episode, Count von Count
    Count von Count

    Count von Count, often known as The Count, is one of the Muppet characters on Sesame Street, performed by Jerry Nelson. The Count is a vampire modeled after B?la Lugosi's interpretation of Count Dracula....
     recalls that he had a happy childhood in the Carpathian Mountains where he learned to do the Batty Bat Dance.
  • Taking Back Sunday
    Taking Back Sunday

    Taking Back Sunday is an United States Rock music band from Amityville, New York, Long Island, New York, New York, formed in 1999. The current members are vocalist Adam Lazzara, guitarist and back-up vocalist Matthew Fazzi, guitarist Eddie Reyes, drummer Mark O'Connell, and bassist Matt Rubano....
     released a song titled "Carpathia" from the album New Again
    New Again

    New Again is the upcoming 4th studio album by rock band Taking Back Sunday. It will be the first album to include their new guitarist Matthew Fazzi after the departure of Fred Mascherino in mid-2007....
     in 2008.
  • Nicolae Carpathia
    Nicolae Carpathia

    Nicolae Jetty Carpathia is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the Left Behind book series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B....
    's, of the Left Behind
    Left Behind

    Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days is a best-selling novel by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins which starts the Left Behind . It was narrative form to a specific Eschatology reading of the Christian Bible, particularly the Book of Revelation....
     series, last name derived from the name of the mountains.
  • Cradle of Filth
    Cradle of Filth

    Cradle of Filth are an extreme metal band from Suffolk, England, formed in 1991. They have been embraced and disowned with equal fervour by various metal communities, and their particular subgenre has provoked a Cradle of Filth#Genre....
     released a song titled Funeral in Carpathia on their album Dusk... and Her Embrace in 1996.
  • Carpathian Forest
    Carpathian Forest

    Carpathian Forest is a Norway black metal band formed by Nattefrost and Nordavind in 1990.Carpathian Forest's lyrics deal with themes such as Satanism, evil, criticism of Christianity, sodomy, sadism and masochism, sexual depravity and suicide....
     norwegian black metal band


Notable people

  • Ludwig Greiner
    Ludwig Greiner

    Ludwig Greiner was an influential 19th-century forest and lumber industry management expert who improved the effectiveness of woodland valuation methods in the Kingdom of Hungary and trained a whole new generation of foresters in a comprehensive approach to the management of natural resources....
    , identified Gerlachovský Peak as the highest mountain in the Carpathians.


See also

  • List of mountain peaks in Romania
  • Transylvania
    Transylvania

    Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountains, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical regions of Crisana, Maramures, and Banat....


External links