The Arkonian Forest Park, also simply known as the Arkonian Forest, or Arkonian Woods, and until 1945, Eckerberg Forrest, is a

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

in the city of

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, that is a part of the Szczecin Forests, which by themselves, are a part of the

Ueckermünde Heath Ueckermünde Heath (german: Ueckermünder Heide, pl, Puszcza Wkrzańska) is a large area of forest and heath, 1,000 km² in area, in northeastern Germany and northwestern Poland, on the Oder river and the Szczecin Lagoon. In 1945, the eas ...

. It is located in the Warszewo Hills, in the north-western part of the city, in the municipal neighbourhoods of Arkońskie-Niemierzyn,

Głębokie-Pilchowo Głębokie-Pilchowo is a municipal neighbourhood of the city of Szczecin, Poland situated on the left bank of Oder river The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total l ...

, and Osów. It covers an area of 976,9 ha.''Szczecin, plan miasta'', Poznań: Cartomedia, 2002, ISBN 978-83-7445-163-5.

Name

The name of Arkonian Forest (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: ''Las Arkoński'') refers to the

Cape Arkona Cape Arkona () is a 45-metre (150-foot) high cape on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It forms the tip of the Wittow peninsula, just a few kilometres north of the Jasmund National Park. The protected landscape of Cape Arko ...

, located at the island of

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, place of worship of

Svetovit Svetovit, Sventovit, Svantovit is the god of abundance and war, and the chief god of the Slavic tribe of the Rani, and later of all the Polabian Slavs. His organized cult was located on the island of Rügen, at Cape Arkona, where his main templ ...

, god in

Slavic paganism Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The So ...

. Prior to 1945, it was called ''Eckerberg Forrest'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Eckerberger Wald''), known after the estate of Eckerberg located in the area, which itself was named after the regional hill.

Characteristics

In the area is covered by the

mixed forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These for ...

, with tree species that include:

pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

fagus sylvatica ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though mor ...

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

European beech ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though mor ...

silver birch ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found a ...

common alder ''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations wh ...

, as weel as the

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and poplar trees. There are also various

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

of trees such as

European larch ''Larix decidua'', the European larch, is a species of larch native to the mountains of central Europe, in the Alps and Carpathian Mountains as well as the Pyrenees, with disjunct lowland populations in northern Poland and southern Lithuania. It ...

, and

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

.Waldemar Hejza:
Materiały pomocnicze do konkursu krajoznawczego na Ogólnopolski Rajd "Szlakiem Walk o Szczecin"
'. The park is located in the Warszewo Hills, and include the

Arkona Hill Arkona Hill, previously known as Qusitorp Hill, and as Eckerberg Hill, is a hill located in Szczecin, Poland, within the administrative neighbourhood of Osów. It is part of the Warszewo Hills, and is located within the Arkonian Forest Park. Its ...

(70.3 m), and Sobótka Hill (c. 70 m). Across the area flow several creeks, such as: Arkonka, Kijanka, Osówka, Żabiniec,

Zielonka Zielonka is a town in Wołomin County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 17,398 inhabitants (2013). It is located about 13 km to the north-east of the centre of Warsaw. Zielonka borders Warsaw and several other towns of the Warsaw metrop ...

, and others. It also include a few lakes and ponds such as: Cichy Staw, Głuszec, Goplana Lake, Górny Staw, Mermaid Ponds. Historically, there was also lake Świtezianka, which eventually dried out, and was built over by the Arkonka swimming pool complex.

Attractions

In the park is located several sports, relaxation and recitational buildings. It include several tourist

scenic route A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoints ...

viewpoints Viewpoints is a technique of dance composition that acts as a medium for thinking about and acting upon movement, gesture and creative space. Originally developed in the 1970s by master theater artist and educator Mary Overlie, the Six Viewpoints ...

s, a

luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...

track, and a

ski lift A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald. Types * Aerial l ...

. In the park is also located a Arkonka swimming pool complex, and the Arkonia Szczecin Stadion. On the

are located the ruins of the Quistorp Tower.

Culture

The forest is important religious place for the practitioners of

Slavic Native Faith The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery * bg, Родноверие, translit=Rоdnoverie * bs, Rodnovjerje * mk, Родноверие, translit=Rodnoverie * cz, Rodnověří * hr, Rodnovjerje * pl, Rodzimowierstwo; Rodzima ...

, with

Rodzima Wiara Rodzima Wiara (meaning "Native Faith") is a Polish Rodnover religious organization, founded in 1996 by Stanisław Potrzebowski in Wrocław as ''Zrzeszenie Rodzimej Wiary'' (meaning "Union of Native Faith"). The name was changed to the current one i ...

religious organization organizing there several religious celebrations, including Yarilo Celebrations,

Kupala Night Kupala Night ( be, Купалле, pl, Noc Kupały, russian: Иван-Купала, uk, Івана Купала, Купайла), also called Ivanа Kupala, is a traditional Slavic holiday that was originally celebrated on the shortest night of ...

harvest festival A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. ...

, Forefathers' Eve, and

koliada Koliada or koleda (Cyrillic: коляда, коледа, колада, коледе) is the traditional Slavic name for the period from Christmas to Epiphany or, more generally, to Slavic Christmas-related rituals, some dating to pre-Christian ...

. The name of the forest itself refers to the

, located at the island of

, place of worship of

, god in

Notes

References

{{coord, 53, 28, 10, N, 14, 30, 20, E, type:forest_region:PL, display=title Forests of Poland Parks in Szczecin