check also "Bohemian Forest" which is actually Šumava

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Note added at 8 mins (2009-04-07 15:33:53 GMT)
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Cesky les (Upper Palatinate Forest in English or Böhmischer Wald in German) is just a part of Šumava (Bohemian Forest in English or Böhmerwald in German)

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Note added at 10 mins (2009-04-07 15:35:54 GMT)
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mmm...right... maybe its not exactly geographically a part of it (thinking about it now they re very close to each other though), but it's definitely two different ranges as far as I can remember from my geography classes :-)

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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-04-07 18:20:50 GMT)
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Please read this carefully:
The highest peaks of the range lie along the Czech side, which is known in Czech as Český les (Böhmischer Wald in German) and is northwest of the Bohemian Forest.

Cesky les is northwest of the Bohemian Forest. It IS NOT the Bohemian Forest.


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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-04-07 18:22:50 GMT)
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If you click on the link in Wikipedia "Bohemian Forest", the VERY FIRST INFORMATION IS: "Not to be confused with Český les"

The Bohemian Forest is a low mountain range in Central Europe. Geographically, the mountains extend from South Bohemia in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria in Germany.

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Note added at 5 hrs (2009-04-07 20:49:38 GMT)
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The origin of the current name Bohemian Forest goes back to 400 BC. The Boii people spread across Europe between 400 BC and 8 BC. Boii is the Roman name of three ancient Celtic tribes, living in Transalpine Gaul (modern France), Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy), and Bohemia, Moravia and western Slovakia. The European region of Bohemia owes its name to the Boii. The Romans called it Boiohaemum, Latin for "the home of the Boii". The mountain range has been traditionally identified with Γαβρήτα Ὕλη (Gabreta Forest), mentioned in Ptolemy's Geographia. In the 1st century AD the forest was inhabited by Gallo-Romans as well as by Germanic tribes in its northern part. Then again by the forefathers of the later Czech people, who entered the area in the 6th century AD, while from the 13th century AD until 1945–1946 most of the region was inhabited by Bohemian Germans, many of them woodcutters. The mountains were known just as the Forest during middle ages. The usage of its current Czech name Šumava has been attested in late 15th century Antonio Bonfini's work Rerum unganicarum decades. The origin of the name is not clear. Folk etymology connects it with Czech words šum, šumění, šumět denoting a noise of trees in the wind. The most accepted opinion among linguists derives Šumava from a theorized Proto-Slavic word *šuma = "dense forest", cf. Serbo-Croatian šuma.

no translation.
After very long exchange of information, missinformation here is why.
Český les in Czech R. is a mountain as Sumava and Novohradske hory. All three of them are in Czech R. and they are part of Sumavska sustava (subprovincia), they belong to Ceska vysocina (provicia).
Besides mountains the highlands as (Podceskohorska pahorkatina, Vserubska pahorkatina, Sumavske podhorie, Novohradske pohorie ) are part of Sumavska sustava (subprovincia).
Český les is a mountain range in lenght of 80 km from NW between Chebska panva and Všerubska vrchovina SE.
Yes, I made a mistake, when I wrote "sumavska sustava" does not exist, because for me it was perfectly clear what was your question. We are talking about geographical names of ... and not geological or geomorphological divisions.

Your question "who is responsible for linguistic dabacle", Germans, Czechs or who knows, is O.K. We will never know. But to do translation from German l. of Czech names to English, that is wrong.
What we will do next time, when somebody will ask us how to translate "Všerubska vrchvina, Brdy, Javorniky and ect. which they do not have English version in wikipedia/Google or ... only German.
My input is for no points.



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Note added at 3 days1 hr (2009-04-10 17:22:10 GMT)
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Scott, you like it or not, I am still here and I will not quit so easy. So, please find more info:
www.zemepis.net/zeme-nemecko
where " vychodni hranci s Českou R. tvori Oberpfäzer Wald - Český les na který navazuje Bohmer Wald - Šumava..." that is geography about Germany but in czech lng.

Or if you wish
www.tisicovky.cz with wonderfull and accurate maps and informations.
If you wish to make any translation, because I am suggesting not to do that, you shoud do as Oberpfälzer Wald - Český les and if you need to transalte Šumava that is Bohmer Wald. The rest of information in wikipedia or some other material is just wrong. Someone start doing a mistake and the rest of people just multiply the wrong information over and over again, and this is why such a "guláš " (gulash) appeared here in our debate.

Forget the text from German point of view, you asked us about Český les originating in Czech text and not in German or English or some other language. Not how Germans are dividing and subdividing their mountains, highlands, lower lands or...but how Czechs call their own geographic units and how they would (if they have to ) translate them.
Please, do not make mistake. I do not like to write this, but now I will. I am a geographer with final thesis in geography (orography), can I make a mistake, sure but I solved the problem.
Thank you for reading this and good luck. M.