Giewont
Encyclopedia
Giewont is a mountain
massif
in the Tatra Mountains
of Poland
, and is 1895 metres AMSL at its highest.
It comprises three peaks (all m/metres in AMSL
):
There is a mountain pass
located between Great and Long Giewont, known as Szczerba (1823 m). It is located between the valleys (doliny) of Kondratowa, Małej Łąki and Strążyska. Long Giewont and Great Giewont are situated at a higher altitude than the nearby town of Zakopane
, making them clearly visible from that city.
On Great Giewont, there is a 15 m steel cross that is the site of many religious pilgrimages. Unfortunately, the area is also notorious for its hazardous nature during thunderstorms, so this should be taken into consideration when traveling to that location.
Geologically, Giewont is composed of dolomite
and limestone
caves, as well as gneiss
and granite
in the southern section.
The first recorded ascent to Giewont's summit was undertaken in 1830 by Franciszek Herbich and Aleksander Zawadzki (the 19th century explorer, not the 20th century communist). The first winter ascent of Giewont occurred in 1904 by a group of five mountaineers led by Mariusz Zaruski
.
Giewont lies in the area of the Polish Tatra National Park (Tatrzański Park Narodowy). In Polish folklore
it is associated with a legend about oversleeping knight
s, who will awake when Poland is in danger. The profile of the mountains is similar to a lying knight, wherein the Long Giewont is the knight's torso, and the Great Giewont is the knight's face as viewed from the side (the three 'peaks' being the chin, the nose, and the eyebrow). The image of Giewont as viewed from the south (see below) makes the profile easy to discern.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
massif
Massif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...
in the Tatra Mountains
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , are a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains...
of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe 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 exclave, to the north...
, and is 1895 metres AMSL at its highest.
It comprises three peaks (all m/metres in AMSL
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
):
- Small Giewont - (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
Mały Giewont, 1728 m) - Great Giewont - (Wielki Giewont, 1895 m)
- Long Giewont - (Długi Giewont, 1867 m).
There is a mountain pass
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
located between Great and Long Giewont, known as Szczerba (1823 m). It is located between the valleys (doliny) of Kondratowa, Małej Łąki and Strążyska. Long Giewont and Great Giewont are situated at a higher altitude than the nearby town of Zakopane
Zakopane
Zakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...
, making them clearly visible from that city.
On Great Giewont, there is a 15 m steel cross that is the site of many religious pilgrimages. Unfortunately, the area is also notorious for its hazardous nature during thunderstorms, so this should be taken into consideration when traveling to that location.
Geologically, Giewont is composed of dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
caves, as well as gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
and granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
in the southern section.
The first recorded ascent to Giewont's summit was undertaken in 1830 by Franciszek Herbich and Aleksander Zawadzki (the 19th century explorer, not the 20th century communist). The first winter ascent of Giewont occurred in 1904 by a group of five mountaineers led by Mariusz Zaruski
Mariusz Zaruski
Mariusz Zaruski was a Brigadier-General in the Polish Army, a pioneer of Polish sports yachting, an outstanding climber of the winter and caves of Tatra Mountains...
.
Giewont lies in the area of the Polish Tatra National Park (Tatrzański Park Narodowy). In Polish folklore
Polish folk beliefs
-Circles:Circles play a large part in Polish mythology. Most ancient Slavic people worshipped in natural circles and groves; and it plays a large part in all kinds of folk magic. In all traditions, circles can be made of with lighted candles, drawing circles in the soil, or with natural objects and...
it is associated with a legend about oversleeping knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s, who will awake when Poland is in danger. The profile of the mountains is similar to a lying knight, wherein the Long Giewont is the knight's torso, and the Great Giewont is the knight's face as viewed from the side (the three 'peaks' being the chin, the nose, and the eyebrow). The image of Giewont as viewed from the south (see below) makes the profile easy to discern.
External links
- Zakopane - Giewont webcam
- Giewont webcam - click "Day at a Glance" if night.