Piatra Craiului National Park is a special area that is protected by the country of Romania. It is classified as a national park under the IUCN category II. The park is found in the areas of Argeș county (6,967 hectares) and Brașov county (7,806 hectares). It is located on the Piatra Craiului Massif and is mostly karstic.
Location
The natural area is located in the northeastern edge of Argeș county (within the areas of Dâmbovicioara, Dragoslavele, and Rucăr communes) and in the southern part of Brasov county (within the areas of Fundata, Moieciu, and Bran communes, as well as the town of Zărnești), near the national road DN73A that connects Predeal town to Șercaia.
The National Park is found in the Piatra Craiului Massif, a group of mountains in the northwestern part of the Southern Carpathian chain. It covers an area of 14,773 hectares.
History
The natural area of Piatra Craiului Massif was created on March 28, 1938. This decision was made by the Council of Ministers and published in the Journal of the Council of Ministers, No. 645 of 1938. Over time, the protected area grew in size in several stages. In 1990, the area was declared a national park. This status was confirmed again by Law No. 5 on March 6, 2000, which is part of the National Territorial Planning Plan, Section III: protected areas. In 2003, Government Decision No. 230 on March 4, 2003, which deals with defining the borders of biosphere reserves, national parks, and nature parks, as well as setting up their administrations, set the boundaries and area of the national park again.
Description
Piatra Craiului National Park is a place with high, steep mountain peaks, such as Țimbalul Mare Peak (2,177 meters) and Vârful dintre Țimbale (2,170 meters). The area includes metamorphic rock, limestone cliffs from the Jurassic period, caves, underground spaces, alpine valleys, deep gorges like Zărneștiului Gorge, Vlădușca Gorge, and Dâmbovicioarei Gorge, marshes, rivers, and karst areas (such as Cerdacul Stanciului, Padina lui Calinet, Prăpastiile Zărneștiului, Fântâna Domnilor, Fântâna lui Botorog, and La Zaplaz). These features form because of the wearing away and dissolving of rocks. The park also has mountain meadows, open grasslands, pastures, and forested areas.
The national park covers the site of Community importance—Piatra Craiului—and includes protected areas such as Cheile Zărneștilor (a protected area important for geology, plant life, animal life, and scenery, also known as Prăpăstiile Zărneștilor), Peștera Liliecilor (Rucăr-Bran), Peștera Dâmbovicioara, Avenul din Grind, Zona kartica Dâmbovicioara – Brusturet, Peștera Dobreștilor, Peștera nr. 15, Stanciului Cave, and Uluce Cave.
Biodiversity
The natural area includes many different types of habitats, such as Alpine and boreal scrub, scrub with sub-arctic Salix species, scrub with Pinus mugo and Rhododendron myrtifolium, calcareous rock communities or basifid grasslands of Alysso-Sedion albi, lowland communities with hygrophilous tall grasses, alpine and sub-alpine calcareous meadows, mountain meadows, caves where public access is not allowed, alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae), Dacian beech forests (Symphyto-Fagion), relict Pinus sylvestris forests on limestone, Luzulo-Fagetum beech forests, Middle-European beech forests of Cephalanthero-Fagion, Picea abies acidophilous forests in the mountain region (Vaccinio-Piceetea), Salix sub-arctic scrub, rocky slopes with chasmophytic vegetation on siliceous rocks, herbaceous vegetation along mountain streams, woody vegetation with Myricaria germanica along mountain streams, and limestone and limestone shale grottoes from the mountain to the alpine floor (Thlaspietea rotundifolii). These habitats support a wide variety of plant and animal life found only in Pietra Craiului.
The plants in the national park are arranged in different levels based on the area's geology, soil, climate, land shape, and altitude.
Coniferous trees include spruce (Picea abies), pines (Pinus), fir (Abies alba), larch (Larix decidua), silver fir (Pinus cembra), and yew (Taxus baccata).
Deciduous trees include oaks (Quercus petraea, Quercus robur), beech (Fagus sylvatica), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), mountain ash (Acer pseudoplatanus), lime (Tilia cordata), ash (Fraxinus excelsior), wild chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), elm (Ulmus glabra), maple (Acer platanoides), sycamore (Acer campestre), birch (Betula pendula), trembling aspen (Populus tremula), mountain maple (Alnus viridis), black maple (Alnus glutinosa), white willow (Salix alba), and goat willow (Salix caprea).
Piatra Craiului National Park is a protected area of national interest classified as IUCN category II (national park). It is located in Argeș County (6,967 hectares) and Brașov County (7,806 hectares).
The natural area covers the northeastern part of Argeș County (in the administrative areas of Dâmbovicioara, Dragoslavele, and Rucăr communes) and the southern part of Brașov County (in the areas of Fundata, Moieciu, Bran communes, and the town of Zărnești), near the national road DN73A connecting Predeal to Șercaia.
The National Park is located in the Piatra Craiului Massif, a mountain range in the northwestern part of the Southern Carpathian chain. It covers a total area of 14,773 hectares.
Grasses in the park include many plant species and subspecies. Some of these plants are protected by law or are found only in this area of the country.
Flora species found in the park include the Craiului's rock carnation (Dianthus callizonus), an endemic species that grows only on rocks and grottoes in the area, the Voinus bloodwort (Nigritella rubra), the Queen's flower (Leontopodium alpinum), mountain peony (Rhododendron), yellow poppy (Papaver alpinum), white ivy (Daphne blagayana), lady's slipper (Cypripedium calceolus), linaria (Linaria alpina), and carrot (Pleurospermum austriacum), bear's thistle (Heracleum palmatum), bungium (Erigeron uniflorus and Erigeron atticus), wild mixander (Erysimum witmannii), pear blossom (Anthemis tinctoria ssp. fussii), bluebells (Campanula patula ssp. abietina), orchids (including Cephalanthera longifolia, Gymnadenia conopsea, Gymnadenia odoratissima), tits (Cephalanthera rubra), boxwood (Corallorhiza trifida), carnation (including Dianthus glacialis ssp. gelidus, Dianthus tenuifolius, Dianthus giganteus ssp. banaticus, Dianthus henteri), gentian (Gentiana clusii), cowslip (Orchis morio), poroinic (Orchis ustulata), devil's-bit (Phyteuma tetramerum), fat-leaf (Pinguicula alpina), buttercup (Plantago atrata), and darnel (Pedicularis exaltata).
The park's wildlife includes many species of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. Some of these species are protected by law and listed on the IUCN Red List.
Mammals include the Carpathian bear (Ursus arctos), red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), black goat (Rupicapra rupicapra), wolf (Canis lupus), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), tree marten (Martes martes), fox (Vulpes vulpes), wild boar (Sus scrofa), squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), broad-eared bat (Barbastella barbastellus), long-winged bat (Miniopterus schreibersii), common bat (Myotis myotis), mouse-eared bat (Myotis blythii), large horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), small horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros), field mice (Crocidura leucodon, Micromys minutus), and shrews (Sorex minutus, Sorex araneus, Sorex alpinus).