Králický Sněžník

Králický Sněžník or Śnieżnik  is a mountain on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. With 1423 m, it is the highest mountain of the Králický Sněžník Mountains.

Etymology
The name Sněžník or Śnieżnik derives from the word for "snow"; the mountain has snow cover for up to eight months a year. In Czech the adjective Králický (from the nearby town of Králíky) is added to distinguish it from the mountain called Děčínský Sněžník (near the town of Děčín). An alternative Polish name is Śnieżnik Kłodzki, from the town of Kłodzko. In German the mountain is known as Glatzer Schneeberg (from Glatz, the German name for Kłodzko), Grulicher Schneeberg (from Gruhlich, the German name for Králíky), or Spieglitzer Schneeberg (from Spieglitz, which is now part of Staré Město).

Geography
The mountain is the highest peak of the Králický Sněžník Mountains. It lies between the town Králíky and the Kłodzko Valley that separates it from the Golden Mountains.

The massive was formed during the Tertiary. Sněžník lies on the water divide for the Black Sea (the Morava) and the Baltic Sea (the Nysa Kłodzka). Klepáč, the water divide for the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the North Sea (the Lipkovský Stream) lies 7 km south of Sněžník.

Between 1899 and 1973 a stone view-tower stood on the Silesian side of the mountain top. A statue of a young elephant was put in place of a former chalet.

On the Czech side a state protected Králický Sněžník National Nature Reserve was established in 1990. On the Polish side is the protected area of Śnieżnik Landscape Park.

The mountain and neighbouring areas are equipped for ski recreation.