3 August 2005

Man and Forest is the motto of this year's program at Białowieski National Park.

"Wewant to show the relationship between nature and people as well as promote the cultural aspects of the area, located in this specific landscape," said Józef Popiel, the park's director. "Our goal will be pursued through various projects. These include both educational activities for children and teenagers and academic seminars, photo competitions, nature films as well as numerous festivals that bring all cultures of the region together."

Located near the Belarusian border, Białowieski National Park is among the most interesting of Poland's regions. It is a part of Białowieska Forest-a valuable forest complex and a fascinating area likely to be discovered by an increasing number of tourists now that Poland belongs to the European Union. Here, within Europe's last natural lowland forest, the European bison still roams and the Siemianówka Reservoir with its Biebrza swamps are home to many species of waterfowl. Numerous paths across the park provide access to the most charming sites in the forest. A tourist route by train was opened in Uroczysko Głuszec June 2005, under the patronage of the Żubrówka Hotel in Białowieża.

The region attracts visitors not only thanks to natural variety, but also its cultural qualities. Its fascinating ethnic patchwork comprises various customs, festivals and languages spoken by Poles, Belarusians and Ukrainians living in southeast Poland. Here visitors will encounter ancient graves, burial mounds and truly extraordinary sacral architecture.

"Recently we celebrated Kupała Night, a Slavic festival connected with the summer solstice," said the park director. "At the end of July we will host Peretocze, an artistic meeting of cultures of the nations who lived here over the ages."

The calendar of the upcoming events also includes the August Honey Festival, promoting local products and presenting the history of apiculture in the area. Białowieska Forest also has a Nature Reserve Area, created by the split of the Hwoźna and Narewka rivers. It is a primeval forest since it is a completely natural virgin territory. No one has ever cut down or planted trees in the complex. The entrance to this zone leads through an old oak gate which became the border between worlds shaped by men and nature. This area is also accessible to both hikers and cyclists. The forest's biggest attraction are definitely the bison, successfully reinstated after World War I, who now number more than 600. Many other endangered flora and fauna species can be found in Białowieska Forest.

The Białowieża Nature and Forest Museum, available on the location of a former tsarist dacha, is an especially interesting architectural facility.

"This is one of the most modern museums of its kind in Europe," said Józef Popiel. "Both the permanent exhibits, presenting the forest's flora and fauna, and the temporary one, showing the history of the Tsar's Palace, use multimedia techniques."

The red brick Orthodox church of St. Nicholas in Białowieża, which houses icons, is further proof of the region's eclecticism. In nearby Narewka is the largest Jewish cemetery in Hajnówka county and an old Protestant graveyard. Hajnówka is famous for its almost 20-year-old Orthodox council of the Holy Trinity that hosts numerous choirs from all over the world every year during the International Festival of Orthodox Church Music. On the way to Hajnówka, three unique villages form the "Land of Open Shutters:" Trześcianka, Soce and Puchły. Here, unique wooden buildings are preserved, encrusted with ornaments referring to Russian folk architecture. They are remarkable due to their truly 19th-century atmosphere.
Karolina Baran


Podlasie is the historic land on both shores of the middle Bug and the upper Narew rivers. At the beginning of the 11th century it was divided between Ruthenia, the Duchy of Mazovia and the Yotvingians; later it became a bone of contention between Mazovia and Lithuania. In the 16th century Podlasie was incorporated into the Polish Crown. During Poland's third partition (1795), the region was divided along the Bug River between Prussia and Austria. In 1807 the eastern part of Podlasie, including Białystok, became subject to Russian rule. After Poland regained independence in 1918, Podlasie was reincorporated into Poland.

Podlasie province-a territory of 20,180 sq km (118 communes) and 1.2 million inhabitants. Its capital is Białystok; other large cities include Łomża and Suwałki. Very low population density; the largest Orthodox community in Poland-about 300,000 people, including about 80,000 Belarusians, as well as Lithuanian and Tartar minorities.

A varied landscape, formed during the Ice Age. Northern areas of the province are predominantly hilly (the highest elevation is Rowejska Góra-298 meters above sea level). The rest of the area mostly consists of plains, with picturesque basins and valleys of the Biebrza, Narew and Bug Rivers, as well as smaller rivers in the Neman Basin; both basins are connected by the Augustowski Canal. Forests, mainly pine and mixed with a high proportion of spruce and fir, cover almost 30 percent of the province (Białowieska, Knyszyńska and Augustowska Forests). Vast meadows are located in the Biebrza basin and the Narew valley. One of Poland's cleanest regions, with over 34 percent of its territory occupied by four national parks: Białowieski, Biebrzański, Wigierski and Narwiański.

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