Mestské lesy Košice a.s. manages Košice’s forest property, which is the largest privately owned piece of forest land in Central Europe. It covers 19,432 ha of wooded land. Of that, 18,894 ha contain forest growth.
This area covers the east corner of Slovenské Rudohorie (the Slovak Ore Mountains), in the section Čierna Hora and Volovské Vrchy (Black Mountain and the Volov Hills) and partially including Košická Kotlina (the Košice Basin). The forests are in close proximity to the city and surround it on its eastern, northern and western sides (for more information see map). The most distant growth is located north of Košice close to Margecany (approx.35km).
From a vertical perspective, forest growth can befound anywhere from approx 200 (around Hrášovík) to 1,200m (under Kojšovksá hoľa, Kojšov Bald Mountain) above sea-level.
Area in % taken up by individual woods pecies:
The dominant forest category of this area is currently special-purpose forests. Theyre present 57% of the area and mainly cover the following forests:
Commercial forests take up 28% and protectedforests 15% of the area
From the perspective of higher economic and treatment units, the forest land of Košice has been divided into the following forest user units (LUC):
| FO | Forest Land Area (ha) | FMP validity |
| Lesopark | 2169,92 |
2019-2028 |
| Kostoľany | 1 997,17 |
2019-2028 |
| Čermeľ | 1 955,44 |
2019-2028 |
| Jahodná | 2 148,49 |
2019-2028 |
| Košická Belá | 2 056,20 |
2019-2028 |
| Opátka | 1 949,70 |
2019-2028 |
| Malá Lodina | 2 703,87 |
2014-2023 |
| Ružín | 2 720,08 |
2014-2023 |
| Kojšov |
1 853,34 |
2014-2023 |
| Total: |
19 554,21 |
The history of Košice has been closely linked tothe extensive forests around it. The oldest references to the ownership of forest lands around the city date from the 13th century. For many years the economic use of these forests was connected with mining and metallurgy, practiced in the region of Košice. Košice's forest lands became the largest piece of city property in the Hungarian Kingdom. With its area of 19,432 ha, it is currently the second largest piece of forest property in Central Europe.
