Białowieża National Park () is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...

, in Eastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

adjacent to the border with

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. The total area of the park is . It is located southeast of

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

(Poland). It is known for the protection of the best preserved part of the

Białowieża Forest Białowieża Forest is a large forest complex on the border between Poland and Belarus. It is one of the last and the largest remaining part of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. The forest is home to more ...

, Europe's last temperate primaeval forest fragment that once allegedly stretched across the European Plain. It is home to the world's largest population of European bison (), the continent's heaviest land animals. The border between the two countries runs through the forest, the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park is adjacent on the Belarus side of the border. There is a border crossing for hikers and cyclists within the forest. According to one study, the park brings in tourist revenues of about 72 million zloty per year. The characteristic feature of the park is its biological diversity. Białowieża National Park is the only Polish natural property designated by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The park is the most important – central zone of Białowieża Forest Biosphere Reserve.

History

The park's formal beginning was the Forest Reserve inspectorate () established in 1921. The inspectorate was transformed into the National Park in Białowieża on 11 August 1932 by 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 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the forest was divided between the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

and the Belarusian SSR of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The People's Republic of Poland reopened the Białowieża National Park in 1947. The park headquarters is in

Białowieża Białowieża is a village in Poland's Podlaskie Voivodeship, in the middle of the Białowieża Forest, to which it gave its name. The village is some east of Hajnówka and southeast of the province capital, Białystok. Location Białowieża i ...

. Currently, the park consists of three administrative units: The Protective Orłówka Precinct, the Conservation District Hwoźna and the Bison Breeding Centre (with three reserves, breeding and demonstration Bison Reserve).

Orłówka

The Orłówka Protective Unit has an area of , of which 4784.46 ha is under strict protection, 235.48 ha under active protection and 53.27 ha under landscape protection. The area is subdivided into two protective districts: Sierchanowo (2303,24 ha) and Dziedzinka (2769.97 ha).

Hwoźna

The Hwoźna Protective Unit has an area of 5169.50 ha, of which 941.64 ha is under strict protection, 4203.68 ha is under active protection, and 24.18 ha is under landscape protection. The area is subdivided into four protective districts: Cupryki (area of 1243.17 ha), Gruszki (area of 1426,52 ha), Masiewo (area of 1120.29 ha) and Zamosze (area of 1379.52 ha).

Bison Breeding Centre

The European bison Breeding Centre has an area of 274.56 ha which is under the landscape protection. The area comprises three breeding reserves, and the European bison Public Access Reserve. The responsibilities of the personnel of European bison Breeding Centre cover the bison's habitat in all of the Polish part of the Białowieża Forest. The idea of creating a national park locally is about 200 years old. However, the genuine protection efforts which are being continued today are centuries older.

Features

Often called the "last untouched wilderness of Europe", the Białowieża National Park is the only one of its kind among the 23 national parks of Poland. Its inner zone belongs to the realm of

old-growth forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...

which has been living without much human intervention for almost 800 years. Only scientists can navigate the strictly protected area freely. Each group of tourists is limited to no more than 20 people, and the presence of an official guide is mandatory. A classic road tour leads through the southern part of the reserve area, totalling 4,747

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. A ...

. Several official guides providing tours to individuals or small groups operate out of the neighboring village

, which offers a number of lodging options. The headquarters are located at the

village in the Museum of Nature and Forest of the Białowieża National Park (pictured). The museum complex, built in the 1960s, occupies the place of the former palace of Polish King Augustus III, which was destroyed by the Soviet Army in July 1944. Above the roof of the museum, there is an observation tower available for tourists during the opening hours. The exhibition presents the local species of plants and animals shown through displays, but also through multimedia exhibits with the use of lighting and sound. Almost all living species in the region can be heard in audio recordings. Guides in foreign languages are available for an additional fee. In almost every room of the museum, there are computers with information on the subject in different languages. However, the tour guides are also likely to repeat the same information for their listeners. All exhibits in the museum have been prepared professionally by scientists, with the general public in mind, and therefore are recommended for visitors of all ages. At the turn of the 20th century during the

Russian Partition The Russian Partition (), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Poland. The Russian ac ...

of Poland a Palace Park () was founded around the so-called

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

's Palace in Białowieża. At the park, is a historic manor house from 1845 that has been refurbished. At present, it serves as the Centre for Nature Education. File:Rezerwat ochrony scisłej BPN 11.jpg, Swamped forest in Białowieża park File:2005-09 Białowieski Park Narodowy 2.jpg, A fallen tree in Białowieża park File:Dawny dworek myśliwski w Białowieży.jpg, Center for Nature Education at the Białowieża National Park File:Rezerwat ochrony scisłej BPN 07.jpg, Rotting

coarse woody debris Coarse woody debris (CWD) or coarse woody habitat (CWH) refers to fallen dead trees and the remains of large branches on the ground in forests and in rivers or wetlands.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). C ...

in the bio-reserve It is an endangered

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

of Poland.Bialowieza Forest
, a fact sheet of

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bialowieza National Park National parks of Poland Białowieża Forest Parks in Podlaskie Voivodeship Protected areas established in 1932 1932 establishments in Poland Important Bird Areas of Poland Central European mixed forests