Mionší is one of the largest primeval forests in the Czech Republic — a true wilderness hidden in the heart of the Beskydy mountains, where nature has been left to its own devices for centuries. Walking its edge, you feel the weight of ancient silver firs and beeches towering overhead, and a deep, almost cathedral-like silence. If you want to experience what Central European forests looked like before human intervention, this is the place.
The nature reserve covers 169.7 hectares within the Beskydy Protected Landscape Area, about one kilometre east of the village of Horní Lomná. Elevations range from 720 to 950 metres above sea level, with the peak of Úplaz marking the highest point. The forest is dominated by silver fir and European beech, with sycamore maple, Norway spruce, ash, elm and wild cherry also present. The reserve shelters remarkable wildlife throughout the seasons — snowdrops and orchids in spring, black stork and Ural owl nesting in summer, golden beech colours in autumn. The Lomná stream flows along the northern and western edge, adding to the tranquil atmosphere.
How to get thereIn 1961, the largest ever recorded fruiting body of the artist's bracket fungus ('Ganoderma applanatum') was found here — measuring 180 × 80 × 60 cm and weighing 96 kg. This extraordinary specimen is now on display at the Silesian Museum in Opava.