Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

:"Białowieża Forest, Belarus, Poland" at the UNESCO official webpage.
Retrieved May 27, 2015. , be, Нацыянальны парк Белавежская пушча) is a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

within parts of the

Brest Region Brest Region or Brest Oblast or Brest Voblasts ( be, Брэ́сцкая во́бласць ''(Bresckaja vobłasć)''; russian: Бре́стская о́бласть (''Brestskaya Oblast)'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative cen ...

( Kamyanyets District and Pruzhany District) and

Grodno Region Grodno Region ( pl, Grodzieńszczyzna) or Grodno Oblast or Hrodna Voblasts ( be, Гродзенская вобласць, ''Hrodzienskaja vobłasć'', , ''Haradzienščyna''; russian: Гродненская область, ''Grodnenskaya oblast' ...

( Svislach District) in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

adjacent to the Polish border. Since 1992 it is a preserved part of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

Białowieża Forest Białowieża Forest; lt, Baltvyžių giria; pl, Puszcza Białowieska ; russian: Беловежская пуща, Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a forest on the border between Belarus and Poland. It is one of the last and largest remaining pa ...

, the last primeval forest fragment of the European woodlands that once stretched across the

European Plain The European Plain or Great European Plain is a plain in Europe and is a major feature of one of four major topographical units of Europe - the ''Central and Interior Lowlands''.

. It is home to a large population of

European bison The European bison (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bison, along ...

, the continent's heaviest land animals. The border between the two countries runs through the forest with the

Białowieża National Park Białowieża National Park ( pl, Białowieski Park Narodowy) is a List of National Parks of Poland, national park in Podlaskie Voivodeship, in Eastern Poland adjacent with the border with Belarus. The total area of the park is . It is located so ...

on the Polish side of the border. Since May 2015 there has been a visa-free regime within the forest for hikers and cyclists at the

Pierarova Pyerarova ( be, Перарова, Pierarova; russian: Перерово, Pererovo) is a rural locality (a khutor) in Pruzhany District, Brest Region, Belarus. It is part of Sharashova selsoviet. History During the period of the Russian Empire e ...

Białowieża Białowieża ( be, Белавежа, Biełavieža) is a village (population 2,000 as of 2002) in Poland's Podlasie Province, in the middle of the Białowieża Forest, to which it gave its name. The village is some east of Hajnówka and southe ...

border crossing.

Geography

The Belovezhskaya Pushcha Biosphere Reserve occupies the area of (2015), subdivided into transition, buffer, and core zones. The national park occupies (2015). It is located north of Brest. The nature reserves and the national parks cover 2.7% of the Brest Region territory and 2.6% of the Grodno Region.

History

Most of the Białowieża Forest was declared a national park on August 11, 1932 during the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the forest was divided in accordance with the

Polish–Soviet border agreement of August 1945 The Border Agreement between Poland and the USSR of 16 August 1945 established the borders between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the Republic of Poland. It was signed by the Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczas ...

between the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

and the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. Poland reopened the Białowieża National Park in 1947. In 1957, the Belarusian part received a new status - “The State Reserve-Hunting Farm” (russian: Государственное заповедно-охотничье хозяйство), intended for recreation of the top leaders of the Soviet state and their guests from friendly countries. In 1991, the forest acquired its current status as a state national park. The park's headquarters are in

Kamieniuki Kamyanyuki ( be, Камянюкі, Kamianiuki; russian: Каменюки, Kamenyuki), also known as Kamyenyuki ( be, Каменюкі, Kamieniuki), is an agrotown in Kamyenyets District, Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative cent ...

. In 2009 the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park celebrated the 600th anniversary of its reserve status. All of the hotels and cafes were rebuilt and new ones were added to the park. The Eco Education Center, which houses the Museum of Nature, was built. Approximately 300,000 people visit the park annually.

References

External links

Belovezhskaya Pushcha dedicated conservation/environmental website

Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park
on th
official website of Belarus

Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park official reserve site
{{authority control National parks of Belarus Białowieża Forest Geography of Brest Region Geography of Grodno Region Protected areas established in 1932 1932 establishments in Belarus Tourist attractions in Brest Region Tourist attractions in Grodno Region Kamenets District Pruzhany District Svislach District Central European mixed forests