The Small Carpathians (Malé Karpaty) form the western boundary of the Carpathians, cloaked in extensive beech woodlands. Beech trees are remarkable architects — they create their own interior world with distinct light, temperature, and moisture that shapes all life within the forest.

The European beech (Fagus sylvatica) in the Carpathians holds exceptional global significance as a living record of post-glacial forest evolution. During Ice Ages, beech survived in small refuge areas in the southern and eastern parts of Europe, then began spreading northward and westward after the last glaciers retreated around 11,000 years ago — a colonisation process still continuing today.