The Krkonoše Mountains, together with Králický Sněžník and Hrubý Jeseník, form the High Sudetes, a striking mountain massif which is linked to other geologically old, first-mountain, non-limestone mountain ranges of central Europe, the so-called Hercynides (the Ore Mountains, the Harz, the Schwartzwald, the Vosges and the French Central Highlands) to the west.
The geological origins of the Krkonoše Mountains date back to the Old and Older Proterozoic. The first form of the massif called the Krkonoše-Jizera Crystallinikum was formed during the mountain-building process. Mesozoic weathering, Tertiary Alpine folding, subsequent water erosion and repeated Quaternary glaciation gradually transformed the natural appearance of the Krkonoše Mountains to their present form. In the last millennium, man has been changing the face of the Krkonoše landscape.