Czerenin (Černiny)

Czerenin (also Czeremin; Slovak: Černiny) is a 929 m mountain in the border (watershed) range of the Western Bieszczady, on the Polish–Slovak border. The nearest settlements are the Polish forest hamlet of Solinka (about 2.2 km) and the Slovak village of Osadné (about 5.5 km); the Slovak town of Snina is some 18 km to the south. The Slovak slopes belong to Poloniny National Park.

Several streams flow from the north-eastern slopes into the Solinka (Vistula basin); the southern slopes are drained by the Stružnica, a tributary of the Cirocha, and the western ones by the Udava, a tributary of the Laborec. On the ridge, Czerenin lies between Strop (1,011 m) to the east and Rydošová (877 m) to the west.

Getting there / trails

• The Polish blue trail (the Rzeszów–Grybów route) crosses the summit on its Balnica – Czerenin – Stryb section.
• The Slovak red East Carpathian Highway (Východokarpatská magistrála) follows the main ridge along the border: east via the Ruské sedlo pass to Kremenec, where the borders of Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine meet, and west towards the Laborec and Dukla passes.
• From Slovakia the easiest ascent is from Osadné by the yellow and then the red trail. From the Diakov junction (440 m) in Osadné the International Forestry Educational Trail «Udava – Solinka» runs with the yellow trail to the Balnica junction (712 m) on the border and continues into Poland.

Poland and Slovakia are both in the Schengen Area, so crossing the border on marked trails is allowed; carry an identity document.

The view from the summit

The summit itself is forested and has no view. From places along the ridge and slopes, however, you can see the peaks of the Bukovské vrchy, the Laborec Highlands, the Slanské and Vihorlat mountains, the Polish Bieszczady and the Ukrainian Carpathians.

Nature and history

In November 1914 the Russian general Lavr Kornilov crossed the pass below Czerenin: instead of holding his assigned section of the front, he launched an unauthorised attack on Austro-Hungarian positions to the south in an attempt to take Humenné, and the offensive ended in military disaster for the Russians.

From 1939 to 1945 the borders of Slovakia, Hungary and Poland (later the General Government) met on Czerenin. Remains of the triangular border post from that time lie in the bushes below the summit by a forest track, and an old border post stands on the red trail from Balnica next to border stone 1/46. During the Second World War heavy fighting took place near the vanished Slovak village of Zvala – the front stood here for ten weeks. Four Soviet soldiers were made Heroes of the Soviet Union for the fighting for this village – more than for any other village or town in former Czechoslovakia – and traces of trenches can still be seen on and around the summit.

The summit area on the Slovak side is part of the «Stužica – Bukovské vrchy» component inscribed on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage list in 2007 as part of the ancient beech forests of the Carpathians, and of the Natura 2000 site «Bukovské vrchy». The Udava reserve lies nearby. This is the darkest area in Slovakia in terms of light pollution, and the country's first dark-sky park, «Poloniny», was created here.

Safety, season and rules

The ridge path is long and wooded, with no shelter or springs near the summit. On the Slovak side, in Poloniny National Park, walk only on marked trails; bears live in the forests on both sides of the border, so avoid walking alone at dusk and never leave food behind. Trenches can be deep and hidden under leaves.

On the Polish side rescue is provided by the Bieszczady Group of GOPR: 985 or +48 601 100 300, or 112. On the Slovak side call the Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Photos: Milan Bališin, CC BY-SA 4.0; Milan Bališin, CC BY-SA 4.0; Milan Bališin, CC BY-SA 4.0; Juandev, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.