Krosno County

Krosno County (Pol. powiat krośnieński) is one of 21 land counties of Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland. It covers an area of 923.8 km², its the total population is 111,000 people, the population density is 121.1 p/km². The county's administrative centre is Krosno. Krosno County was formed on January 1, 1999 as a result of an administrative reform.

The Carpathian Highlands, Jaselská-Krosno basin and Low Beskids Mountain range stretch across the county. A characteristic feature of the northern part of Krosno County is an undulate hump-shaped relief, which extends up to the slopes of Jaselská-Krosno basin. The highest peak here is Sucha Góra (591 m). In the southern part of Krosno County there are western foothills of Low Beskids with its highest peak Kamien (857 m). These massifs are easy for tourists passing, and as far as they are bypassed by the main communication routes, the nature is preserved here in more original form than it is in other mountainous areas of Krosno County.

Archaeologists claim that the territory of modern Krosno County is one of the oldest inhabited areas in Subcarpathian. The archaeological evidence of the creation of the first settlements in this region date back to the Neolithic period (8th century B.C.). One of the first Slavic settlements of Krosno region was established near the modern town of Jedlicze, and the active settling began here during the reign of Casimir the Great. In 1366 the city rights were granted to Dukla and Jaśliska, it created good conditions in the region for the rapid growth of trade and enrichment of the local population. In the middle of the XIXth century great influence on the formation of Krosno region was made by the development of oil industry. At that time the first oil well was established by famous Polish chemist, founder of oil industry and the inventor of the kerosene lamp Ignacy Łukasiewicz (at the territory of modern Krosno County, near the village of Bóbrka).

For the popularization of oil industry in Krosno region and in Subcarpathian the tourist oil route was created. In particular the Museum of Petroleum Industry is located on it. A large amount of equipment and facilities remains there, that derive from the Łukasiewicz's time, including the Franek oil well (1860).

The natural conditions of the Krosno County created opportunities for the development of health tourism. There are such spa resorts in the region:

• "Iwonicz-Zdrój", Iwonicz-Zdrój
• "Rymanów-Zdrój", Rymanów-Zdrój

For those who enjoy mountain tourism there are such sport and tourist centres:

• Balucianka ski lift, Balucianka
• Kiczera SKI ski lift, Rymanów
• Rymanów ski lift, Rymanów
• Chyrowa-Ski ski lift, Chyrowa