LET'S EXPLORE POLAND

Copyright 1996 by the AngloPol Corporation

This series will take us through the cities, towns, villages and countryside of Poland, 
as well as give us insights into the rich history and culture of the nation.

Part 4

FORESTS, WOODS AND LAKES

"The forest was here long before us," goes an old Polish saying. Then we came along ... and over the centuries the forest provided us with shelter, giving us building materials for dwellings and fortifications; it was a natural larder; and it gave us the fuel to keep fires burning in our hearths.

The forest and the woods were home to generations of Polish insurgents and partisans, whether fighting the occupying Russians in the 19th century or the occupying Nazis during World War II. In Polish homes, those fighting for Poland 's freedom were simply known as "the lads from the woods." The forest once constituted a ubiquitous element of both Polish everyday life and Polish literature. Yet nowadays, those dark woods, age-old thickets and impenetrable forests survive only in literature and folk tales.

Today, forests account for only 30% of Poland's total land area. Ravaged by a robber economy, natural pests and industrial pollution, the latter in part borne by the wind from neighboring countries, Poland's great primeval forests are today only a shadow of their former selves.

Of all these great forests--many of which have today lost most of their former greatness--the Great Bialowieza Forest stands out as the most magnificent and most primeval. This forest was once the favorite hunting ground of Poland's kings, from the Jagiellons of the 15th and 16th centuries to Stanislaus Augustus, the last ruler of Poland before the Partitions of the late 18th century.

The dusky and majestic home of almost all species of tree found in Poland--the spruce and pine, alder and birch, oak and ash, hornbeam and maple--the Bialowieza Forest is also the habitat of a huge variety of wildlife. The undisputed king of the forest, the European bison, shares his realm with the elk and the lynx, the wolf and the wild boar, the red deer and roe deer, the beaver and otter, the ermine and the tarpan wild horse. Other inhabitants include the erne and eagle owl, the black stork and crane, and the capercaillie and black grouse. The greater part of the forest is embraced by the Bialowieza National Park and ten nature reserves, including a scenic reserve that boasts giant trees hundreds of years old, providing dark shade even when the summer sun is at its height; the Capercaillie Reserve, a sanctuary for these birds; and the High Bog, a reserve of spruce forest on peatland.

Crossing the Bialowieza Forest are several nature trails, which should be traveled along with a guide. The most popular leads to the display grounds of the European bison, while the longest, to be traversed by horse-drawn wagon, takes a circular route through the most interesting areas of the National Park. The starting point for all these excursions is the small township of Bialowieza, which lies in a clearing in the center of the forest and is the site of research institutes, the offices of the Bialowieza National Park and the Park's Natural History Museum. The latter contains some of the most interesting specimens of the forest's animal life, including a unique collection of ruffs--birds with amazingly varied and individual nuptial plumage--and an exhibition devoted to wild bee keeping in the forest. Accommodation in Bialowieza is provided by a hotel and tourist hostel, with a youth hostel and camping grounds open during the summer season. The most common souvenir of the forest is a bunch of bison grass, sold by many locals--growing only in this forest, the grass imparts the special color and flavor to "Zubrowka", Polish bison-grass vodka, savored in many countries of the world.

The Bialowieza Forest constitutes part of Poland' s north-eastern macroregion, christened "Poland' s green lungs" in recent years by conservationists campaigning for the region to be afforded maximum environmental protection.

North of the Bialowieza Forest lies the Great Knyszyn Forest, once a continuation of the former, today a separate forest complex. The remains of a number of medieval townships and cemeteries have survived here, together with fortifications and places of worship, and also numerous historical examples of regional wooden architecture, including granaries, mills and tar stills. On the western fringe of the forest we find Suprasl, with a bathing beach on the river of the same name, which achieved renown with the discovery of the 11th century Code of Suprasl in the local Basilian monastery. On the opposite side of the forest lie Kruszyniany and Bohoniki, settlements inhabited by Poland's Tartars, who once soldiered valiantly in the service of the Polish Commonwealth and today continue to cultivate their Islamic faith and traditional customs.

Continuing northwards, we come to the River Biebrza, winding its way through the northernmost part of the Podlaska Lowland and surrounded by the broad expanse of the Biebrza Marshes, the largest in Poland and unique on a European scale, entered on the world list of biosphere protection zones. The Marshes comprise several distinct areas, with the Red Marsh being a sanctuary of the elk, while Wizna Marsh is a peatland reserve containing a number of rare species of fauna. The whole Marshes constitute a paradise for waterfowl. Due to the lack of larger settlements and the sparse population of the Biebrza Valley--and also the treacherous nature of the marshland itself--this is a region for the properly prepared and well-equipped tourist, one undertaking a "humane safari" armed with camera, video camera or tape recorder, or practicing "survival training" in inhospitable terrain.

The Augustow Canal takes us directly north from the Biebrza Marshes to the Great Augustow Forest and the Suwalki Lake District. Around 100 km long (80 km. within Polish territory), the Canal constitutes a rare feat of past engineering passing through 14 locks and several beautiful lakes, it was designed and built by Ignacy Pradzynski in the years 1824-1839. Today it is used to float timber and as a waterway for local passenger boats, although by far the most frequent travelers on the Canal are canoeists. The 19th century Pradzynski Manor in Augustow houses a small but interesting museum which chronicles the construction of the Canal and includes an exhibition of landscape paintings from the region.

Augustow itself stands at the junction of two extremely scenic canoeing routes--down the Czarna Haricza and Rospuda rivers, used by the Polish Tourists' Association (PTTK) for annual canoe treks, popularly known as "river trams." Situated at the northern edge of the Augustow Forest is Lake Wigry, S-shaped, with a twisting shoreline. One of the many promontories jutting into the lake is the site of a monastery of the Cameldolite order, partly given over to tourist facilities, together with a Baroque church and hermitages.