Bieszczady National Park (; pl, Bieszczadzki Park Narodowy) is the third-largest national park in

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 populou ...

, located in

Subcarpathian Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship or Subcarpathia Province (in pl, Województwo podkarpackie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshall, it i ...

in the extreme southeast corner of the country. In 2021, the national park became a

UNESCO 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 ...

(as an extension to the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe).

History

The park was created in 1973. At the time it covered only , but over the years it was enlarged four times. The last enlargements took place in 1996 (when the park incorporated the former villages of Bukowiec, Beniowa and Carynskie) and in 1999 (when the former villages of Dzwiniacz, Tarnawa and Sokoliki were added). It occupies , covering the highest areas of the Polish part of the

Bieszczady Mountains Bieszczady Mountains ( pl, Bieszczady; sk, Beščady; uk, Бещади; hu, Besszádok) is a mountain range that runs from the extreme south-east of Poland and north-east of Slovakia through to western Ukraine. It forms the western part of th ...

. In 1992 the park and its surrounding areas became part of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve The East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve is a transboundary protected area, designated as an area of global importance under UNESCO's Programme on Man and the Biosphere.It is located in the Eastern Carpathians and includes parts of three countries: ...

, which has a total area of and includes parts in Slovakia and (since 1998) Ukraine.

Geography

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' ...

s cover about 80% of Bieszczady National Park. The woods are mainly natural; in some cases it can be said that they have preserved their pristine character. The highest peak in the park, Tarnica, is above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

Fauna

Animal life is abundant with several species of endangered animals thriving in the area, among them

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is ...

grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly ...

European wildcat The European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') is a small wildcat species native to continental Europe, Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus. It inhabits forests from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe to the Caucasus. Its fur i ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

European beaver The Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber'') or European beaver is a beaver species that was once widespread in Eurasia, but was hunted to near-extinction for both its fur and castoreum. At the turn of the 20th century, only about 1,200 beavers survi ...

European otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...

, and European lynx as well as

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

(such as

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

) and

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 ...

(over 500 live in the area). The park contains interesting

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

species, including

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

s and

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s, and is home to the largest Polish population of

Aesculapian snake The Aesculapian snake (now ''Zamenis longissimus'', previously ''Elaphe longissima''), is a species of nonvenomous snake native to Europe, a member of the Colubrinae subfamily of the family Colubridae. Growing up to in length, it is among th ...

s. The park is sparsely populated (less than 1 person per km²), which means that animals can roam freely. The region is very popular among

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

s, but there are not many facilities. Around 70% of the park is regarded as strict preserve, which means that the use of trails is restricted. The park's authorities promote walking trips.

Occupation

Since 30% of trees inside area 219a shall be targeted by cuttings. So in January 2021 areas inside the forest got squatted by

environmental activist The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advo ...

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

collectiv Wilczyce made up treehouses and constructions likely german

Hambach Forest Hambach Forest (german: Hambacher Wald, Hambacher Forst (), Bürgewald, Die Bürge) is an ancient forest located near in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany, between Cologne and Aachen. It was planned to be cleared as part of the Hambach ...

protesting against logging in the forest. Occupants where demonstrating against destruction of biosphere, humanmade

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

and european foreign- and refugee policies and feminism. The eviction has taken place at the 8th of August 2022. Straż Graniczna and police officially searched for russian soldiers in that area, because of the ukrainian war and the location at the boarder. They claimed having found drugs. After taking the

activists Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

to custody the structures where destroyed.

Hiking trails

* European walking route E8 **

References

External links

The Board of Polish National Parks

* {{authority control National parks of Poland Parks in Podkarpackie Voivodeship Protected areas of the Eastern Carpathians Biosphere reserves of Poland Natura 2000 in Poland 1973 establishments in Poland Protected areas established in 1973 Lesko County Bieszczady County