Czernic

Czernic (on hiking maps also Czyrniec) is a 1317 m summit in the Polica Range in southern Poland. In Jerzy Kondracki's classic physical-geographic division the range belongs to the Żywiec Beskids, in the newer 2018 division to the Żywiec-Orava Beskids. It is the second-highest summit of the Polica Range after Polica itself (1369 m). The ridge of Czernic carries the boundary between the villages of Zubrzyca Górna (Nowy Targ County) and Sidzina (Sucha County) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship.

Czernic stands on a side ridge running south-east from Polica to the Zubrzycka Pass (877 m) and is separated from Polica by a saddle at about 1250 m. The north-eastern slopes fall into the deep valley of the Zakulawka stream, the south-western ones towards the Zubrzyca stream.

How to get there / trails

The blue trail Polica – Czernic – Zubrzycka Pass – Podwilk passes the summit, skirting the top on its eastern side. According to Polish Wikipedia, it takes about 1 h 05 min from Polica to the Zubrzycka Pass along this trail (about 1 h 30 min in the opposite direction) and about 3 h 20 min from Podwilk. The most convenient starting point is the Zubrzycka Pass, crossed by the paved road Zubrzyca Górna – Sidzina; the hamlet of Ignatówka lies at the pass. From there it is more than 400 m of ascent through the forest to the summit.

From the Polica side the same blue trail leads to Czernic along the ridge; Kucałowa Pass lies about 2.2 km from the summit and the shepherds' hut on the Hala Krupowa meadow about 2.3 km.

The view from the top

The slopes are mostly forested, but large windthrow areas break up the trees, so Czernic offers fragmentary views. The nearest neighbours, well seen from the area, are massive Polica to the north-west and lower hills towards the Orava-Podhale range to the south. Czernic itself, together with Polica, is nicely seen from the trail climbing from Sidzina-Wielka Polana.

Nature and history

The ridge of Polica, Czernic and the Zubrzycka Pass carries the Great European Watershed: the north-eastern slopes drain to the Baltic Sea, the south-western ones to the Black Sea via the Zubrzyca stream. The Polica Range is part of the Carpathian ecological corridor, one of the two main ecological corridors of Poland.

In Galician times the Galicia–Hungary border followed the watershed over Polica and Czernic. During the Second World War it was restored as the border between the Third Reich and the Slovak State and marked with granite posts bearing the letters D (Deutschland) and S (Slovensko). After the war the posts were knocked over, but some still lie next to the trail from the Zubrzycka Pass to Polica. Today the whole of Czernic lies in Poland.

The saddle between Czernic and Polica was once crossed by the Tobacco Path (Tabakowy Chodnik), a smugglers' route used to carry tobacco from Galicia to Hungary and, between the world wars, shoes and lighter flints from Czechoslovakia to Poland. Its section led from Zubrzyca Górna to the Hala Krupowa meadow. On the eastern side of the saddle, hidden among spruces, stands a usually locked forestry workers' shelter.

Safety, season and rules

Czernic is a wooded mountain without difficult sections and can be climbed all year round. In winter the snow is deep, and in windthrow areas the path can be hard to find, so follow the waymarks and carry a map. The trail bypasses the summit, so reaching the very top means stepping off the marked path; take care among fallen trees. In the Beskids help comes from the GOPR mountain rescue service: 985 or +48 601 100 300, or the general emergency number 112.

Interesting facts

• Its height is quoted differently: Wikidata and Polish Wikipedia give 1317 m, while the Compass map and guidebooks give 1328 m under the name Czyrniec.
• The summit divides the basins of two seas, the Baltic and the Black Sea.

Photos: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.