History Historical Development The original inhabitants were probably the Celts and they disappeared in the early A.D. years. There is no information about the following epoch until 1000 A.D., it is assumed this was the period when the Celts moved away. Next colonization of the Sumava region dates back to the end of the 12th century. The new inhabitants of the area between 1000 and 1200 cultivated the grounds previously inhabited by the Celts. Up to the half of the 15th century all the area was covered with natural primeval forests, which were a part of the border forest. Even in former times there were historical paths and border crossings, along which the villages and towns sprang up. The Šumava forests began to be cut down, in the valleys the agricultural soil was cultivated, and in 1500 about a third of the area was inhabited, mainly in the north and north-east. At that time nearly all today's towns and villages were founded. In the old times, there were quite frequent border crossings (e.g. "the Golden Path" recorded as early as the 11th century). Its position in the middle of Europe, at the cross-roads of the major routes in the main direction from north to south, established the connection of Šumava to the cultural world of Middle Europe. The later colonization linked with the development of glass manufacture, logging, and pasturing (17th - 18th centuries) had an important impact on creating the current wooded and non-wooded ecosystems of Sumava. The areas of primeval forests have decreased, new lumberjack dwellings have been founded, as well as new types of settlements unknown before. The mountains with primeval forests, which were kept as a protective zone of the state, began to lose their importance. All the originally continuous king's land was divided into smaller sections. This was the origin of today's land structure - dispersed houses, small villages, valleys with cut down forests, and mainly the afforested slopes of the mountains. Until the second half of the 19th century, the forests were cut down constantly, and the land was changed into fields and pastures. This was also associated with the first indications of a mildly shattered ecosystem (artificial tree planting, mainly spruces, feeding animals on vast pastures, forest calamities in the 1870´s, and others). Local disbalance starts to apear (preference of spruce monocultures in artificial planting, continuing grazing on vast meadows, forest calamities in the 1870s). The period after World War II. is marked by significant changes in traditional land utilization. It concerned a complete stop to all activities at the border zone for nearly forty years, and were followed by a rapid decrease in the number of inhabitants. Due to political and economic concerns of the country, the Šumava became of little interest. Despite all that, the changes caused by humans at Šumava are not as radical as they seemed, and the land can be restored to its original appearance with an appropriate degree of care. In the Sumava NP there are 7 settlements at present, occupied by 1000 permanent inhabitants. On the other hand, the number of visitors, both in summer and in winter seasons, many times increases. However, comparing to other regions in the Czech Republic, the changes caused by human activity in the Sumava region are not as radical so as to prevent a possible return to original landscape through necessary care. Areas damaged between 1950 and 1990 by either acid rain or inappropriate silviculture are presently being reforested. Emphasis has been placed on mixed-species planting, with the goal of achieving a sustainable forest of native species