Lusatian Mountains in the context of "Lusatian Highlands"

The Sudetes (/suːˈdiːtiːz/ soo-DEE-teez), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain ranges and are the highest part of the Bohemian Massif. They stretch from the Saxon capital of Dresden in the northwest across to the region of Lower Silesia in Poland and to the city of Ostrava in the Czech Republic in the east. Geographically the Sudetes are a Mittelgebirge with some characteristics typical of high mountains. Its plateaus and subtle summit relief makes the Sudetes more akin to mountains of Northern Europe than to the Alps.

In the east of the Sudetes, the Moravian Gate and Ostrava Basin separates from the Carpathian Mountains. The Sudetes' highest mountain is Sněžka (Polish: Śnieżka) at 1,603 m (5,259 ft), which is also the highest mountain of the Czech Republic, Bohemia, Silesia, and Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It lies in the Giant Mountains on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. Praděd (1,491 m/4,893 ft) in the Hrubý Jeseník mountains is the highest mountain of Moravia. Lusatia's highest point (1,072 m/3,517 ft) lies on Smrk mountain in the Jizera Mountains, and the Sudetes' highest mountain in Germany, which is also the country's highest mountain east of the river Elbe, is Lausche (793 m/2,600 ft) in the Lusatian Mountains. The most notable rivers rising in the Sudetes are the Elbe, Oder, Spree, Morava, Bóbr, Lusatian Neisse, Eastern Neisse, Jizera and Kwisa. The highest parts of the Sudetes are protected by national parks; Karkonosze and Stołowe (Table) in Poland and Krkonoše in the Czech Republic.

Lusatia (/luːˈseɪʃiə, -ʃə/; German: Lausitz [ˈlaʊzɪts] ; Polish: Łużyce [wuˈʐɨt͡sɛ] ; Upper Sorbian: Łužica [ˈwuʒitsa]; Lower Sorbian: Łužyca [ˈwuʒɨtsa]; Czech: Lužice [ˈluʒɪt͡sɛ]), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, territorially split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Pulsnitz and Black Elster rivers in the west, and is located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg and the Polish voivodeships of Lower Silesia and Lubusz. Major rivers of Lusatia are the Spree and the Lusatian Neisse, which defines the border between Germany and Poland. The Lusatian Mountains of the Western Sudetes separate Lusatia from Bohemia (Czech Republic) in the south. Lusatia is traditionally divided into Upper Lusatia, the hilly southern part, and Lower Lusatia, the flat northern part.

The areas east and west along the Spree in the German part of Lusatia are home to the Slavic Sorbs, one of Germany’s four officially recognized indigenous ethnic minorities. The Upper Sorbs inhabit Saxon Upper Lusatia, and the Lower Sorbs Brandenburgian Lower Lusatia. Upper and Lower Sorbian are spoken in the German parts of Upper and Lower Lusatia respectively, and the signage there is mostly bilingual.

Bohemian glass (Czech: české sklo), also referred to as Bohemia crystal (český křišťál), is glass produced in the regions of Bohemia and Silesia, now parts of the Czech Republic. It has a centuries-long history of being internationally recognised for its high quality, craftsmanship, beauty and often innovative designs. Hand-cut, engraved, blown and painted decorative glassware ranging from champagne flutes to enormous chandeliers, ornaments, figurines and other glass items are among the best known Czech exports and immensely popular as tourist souvenirs. The Czech Republic is home to numerous glass studios and schools attended by local and foreign students.

The oldest archaeological excavations of glass-making sites in the region date to around 1250 and are located in the Lusatian Mountains of Northern Bohemia. Other notable Czech sites of glass-making throughout the ages are Skalice u České Lípy, Jablonec nad Nisou, Železný Brod, Poděbrady, Karlovy Vary, Kamenický Šenov and Nový Bor. Several of these towns have their own glass museums with many items dating to around 1600. Jablonec nad Nisou in particular is famous for the local tradition of manufacturing glass costume jewellery. Its long history is documented by large collections in the Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou.

Lausche (Czech: Luž) is the highest peak of the Lusatian Mountains and the highest mountain in the German part of the Upper Lusatia region at 793 metres (2,602 ft). The conical mountain is part of the Zittau Mountains range, situated on the border of the German state of Saxony with the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic.

The Zittau Mountains (German: Zittauer Gebirge, Czech: Žitavské hory; Upper Sorbian: Žitawske horiny), formerly also called the Lusatian Ridge (Lausitzer Kamm; Łužiski česak), refer to the German part of the Lusatian Mountains that straddle the Saxon-Bohemian border in the extreme southeast of the German state of Saxony.