The Karkonosze Mountains are a remarkable mountain range situated in Central Europe on the border of Poland and the Czech Republic. They are the highest range of the Sudetes. Against the background of the surrounding landscape of this part of the continent, their natural world/environment is exceptional. In the Karkonosze, a comparatively low mountain range, we can find both flora and fauna characteristic of typical alpine regions and northern Europe. Its contemporary environment had been moulded by the ice age to a great extent. Post-glacial legacy took its toll here. The characteristic landform and the unique, often relic composition of species of flora and fauna, together with the prevailing severe weather conditions liken the Karkonosze to subarctic regions and that is why they are called ‘an arctic island in the heart of Europe’.