The Bohemian Forest (known in Czech as () and in German as ) is a low mountain range in the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. The mountains extend from the Plzeň and South Bohemian regions into Upper Austria and Bavaria, and form the highest truncated uplands of the Bohemian Massif, up to wide. They create a natural border between the Czech Republic on one side and Austria and Germany on the other.
Names and etymology
For historical reasons, the Czech and German counterparts have different names in their respective language. In Czech, their side of the forest is called and the Bavarian side is ('Bavarian Back Forest'). In German, their end of the forest is ('Bavarian Forest') and the Czech side is ('Bohemian Forest'). Czech speakers sometimes use as a name for the entire forest stretching between Bohemia and Germany.
The designation ' has been recorded in the late 15th century in Antonio Bonfini's work . Folk etymology connects the name's origin to the Czech words , (literally 'hum, humming'), denoting the sound of wind in trees. Linguistic consensus defines as a derivative of a hypothetical Proto-Slavic word 'dense forest', cf. Serbian as it adjoins regions populated by Sorbs of Lusatia and surrounds (North Eastern Bavaria and Saxony).
The Celts were gradually forced out by Germanic tribes (the Marcomanni), and Celtic settlements fell in disrepair. With the subsequent departure of the Marcomanni, the Bohemian Forest continued to evolve without human influence. The forests only changed their character after the arrival of the Slavs in the region in the 6th century, who sought refuge there. A gradual, haphazard, and subtle type of colonization continued until the late 11th century. Slavic settlements gradually expanded to the south, but didn't reach the upper Vltava valley. These settlements carried the names of Christian Saints, indicating that they formed after the Christianization of Bohemia. Some toponyms suggest that Slavic settlers came in contact with remaining Germanic population.
Under the rule of King Ottokar I, the Bohemian Forest saw sustained and organized colonization by German-speaking settlers. Bavarians, in particular, having prevailed in conflicts with Serbs (modern-day Serbs or Sorbs) for dominance over the area, cleared the forests and founded new settlements in the hitherto uninhabited region, which became culturally close to Bavaria. Since that time, the Bohemian Forest has been heavily influenced by human activity. Virgin forests receded, making way for fields and pastures, and by the 13th century, the colonization of the border region between Bohemia and Bavaria was well underway.