__NOTOC__ Karkonosze County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998.
The county covers an area of . Its administrative seat is the city of Jelenia Góra, although this city is not part of the county (it forms a separate city county, which is an enclave within Karkonosze County). There are four towns within the county: Karpacz, Szklarska Poręba, Kowary and Piechowice. The first two of these are major ski resorts.
As at 2019 the total population of the county is 63,639, out of which the population of the towns totals 28,213 and the rural population is 35,426.
Until July 2020 it was named Jelenia Góra County (). The change formally took effect on January 1, 2021.Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 29 lipca 2020 r. w sprawie zmiany nazwy powiatu jeleniogórskiego na powiat karkonoski, dziennikustaw.gov.pl, 14 October 2020 The current name references the Karkonosze Mountains.
Neighbouring counties Apart from the city of Jelenia Góra, Karkonosze County is bordered by Lwówek County and Złotoryja County to the north, and Jawor County and Kamienna Góra County to the east. It also borders the Czech Republic to the south and west.
Administrative division The county is subdivided into nine gminas (four urban and five rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.
Gmina Type Area(km2) Population(2019) SeatKowaryurban37.410,869 Gmina Mysłakowicerural88.810,160MysłakowiceGmina Podgórzynrural82.58,260PodgórzynGmina Jeżów Sudeckirural94.47,438Jeżów SudeckiSzklarska Porębaurban75.46,557 Piechowiceurban43.26,194 Gmina Stara Kamienicarural110.55,266Stara KamienicaKarpaczurban38.04,593 Gmina Janowice Wielkierural58.14,302Janowice Wielkie
References