Černý orel, Natural monument and protected area in Káraný, Czech Republic

Černý Orel is a 226.7-hectare natural monument on the Jizera river floodplain near Káraný, with a 9.259-hectare core zone. It protects Hercynian oak-hornbeam forests on terraced gravel sands and wet meadows along the Jizera, at elevations of 172 to 188 metres.

Forests called Bory, once royal woods, are first mentioned on this land in 1783. Official protection began in 1926, and the site was declared a nature reserve on 31 December 1933 by the Ministry of Education and National Enlightenment. It was re-declared by decree of the Central Bohemian Region No. 4/2013 on 15 April 2013, administered by AOPK Praha.

The name Černý Orel, "Black Eagle", is not explained in the sources. A 1651 entry in the Brandýs estate urbary describes the local oak and pine woods stretching for a good mile. The site is managed by the AOPK Praha agency.

The reserve lies about 1 km from the edge of Stará Boleslav, spanning the cadastral areas of Otradovice, Káraný, Skorkov and Sojovice at 172–188 m elevation. The core protected area covers 9.259 ha within a 226.7 ha site. Chat settlements line the Jizera river nearby.

The core of the reserve covers only 9.259 hectares within a 226.7-hectare protected area, and the main object of protection is the original oak-hornbeam woodland together with the scarce large blue and dusky large blue butterflies. The pine stands here were planted more than 200 years ago and are now dying of old age.