Karkonosze County (Polish: powiat karkonoski; German: Riesengebirgslandkreis) 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 628.2 square kilometres (242.5 sq mi). 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 (Polish: powiat jeleniogórski). The change formally took effect on January 1, 2021.[2] The current name references the Karkonosze Mountains.
Apart from the city of Jelenia Góra, Karkonosze County is bordered by Lwówek Śląski 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.
The county is subdivided into nine gminas (four urban and five rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.