Biebrza River
Biebrza ( lt, Bebras, '' be, Bobra'', ''german: Bober'') is a river in northeastern Poland, a tributary of the Narew river (near Wizna), with a length of and a basin area of 7,092 km2 (7,067 in Poland).Burzyn
Burzyn is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Jedwabne, within Łomża County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately east of Jedwabne, north-east of Łomża, and west of the regional capital Bia ...
, Poland
Park logo with
Ruff
Ruff may refer to:
Places
*Ruff, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community
*Ruff, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community
Other uses
*Ruff (bird) (''Calidris pugnax'' or ''Philomachus pugnax''), a bird in the wader fami ...
, location =
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest cit ...
,
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 ...
, nearest_city = Osowiec-Twierdza
, map = Poland , relief = 1
, map_caption = Location in Poland
, coords =
, area_km2 = 592.23
, established = 9 September 1993
, visitation_num =
, visitation_year =
, governing_body = Ministry of the Environment
, url =
, embedded =
Biebrza National Park ( pl, Biebrzański Park Narodowy) is a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
in
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest cit ...
, northeastern
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 ...
, situated along the
Biebrza River
Biebrza ( lt, Bebras, '' be, Bobra'', ''german: Bober'') is a river in northeastern Poland, a tributary of the Narew river (near Wizna), with a length of and a basin area of 7,092 km2 (7,067 in Poland).Poland's 23 national parks, the Biebrza National Park was created on September 9, 1993. Its total area is , of which forests cover 155.47 km2, fields and meadows covering 181.82 km2 and marshes with an area of 254.94 km2.
Biebrza Marshes
The Biebrza Marshes are the most precious part of the park. Biebrza National Park protects vast and relatively untouched fenlands with a unique variety of several communities of plants, rare wetland birds, and mammals such as
elk
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
and
beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
. The Biebrza wetlands as well as the
Narew
The Narew (; be, Нараў, translit=Naraŭ; or ; Sudovian: ''Naura''; Old German: ''Nare''; uk, Нарва, translit=Narva) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland, which is also a tributary of the river Vis ...
River valleys are very important centres for birds’ nesting, feeding and resting. In 1995 the park was designated as a wetland site of worldwide significance and is under the protection of the
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...
.
Red Marshes
The most important part of the park is Red Marsh ('' pl, Rezerwat przyrody Czerwone Bagno''), which is under strict protection.
The park's headquarters is located in Osowiec-Twierdza 8 village, within the grounds of the historic
Osowiec Fortress
Osowiec Fortress ( Polish: ''Twierdza Osowiec'', Russian: ''Крепость Осовец'') is a 19th-century fortress built by the Russian Empire, located in what is now north-eastern Poland. It saw heavy fighting during World War I when i ...
from the 19th century, near
Goniądz
Goniądz (; lt, Goniondas, german: Gonionds, yi, גאניאנדז, Goniondzh) is a town in Poland, located at the Biebrza river, (pop. 1,915) in Mońki county ('' Powiat of Mońki'') in Podlaskie Voivodeship in northeastern Poland. 80% of the ...
.
2020 April fires
On April 18, 2020, a fire broke out that destroyed at least 6 thousand hectares of grass and woodland. This fire was caused by illegal grass burning. While usually the fire would have been put out with the onset of the flooding of the grassland, this year's low water level meant that the fire kept on raging until it was finally declared under control on April 26. It has been the most devastating fire since 1992.