| Bialowieza Forest | |
| Belarusian: Белавеская пушча Polish: Puszcza Białowieska | |
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| Royal Oak Trail in the Forest | |
| Detailed information | |
| Nearby cities | Brest |
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Bialowieza Forest（Belarusian: Белавеская пушча,Polish: Puszcza Białowieska) is locatedBrest70 kilometers to the north, acrossBelarusandPolandThe border is the only virgin forest in Europe.
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Introduction
This United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage and Ecological Reserve is located in Brest and Grodno regions in southwestern Belarus. Poland established the Bialowieza National Park for this forest, covering an area of more than 100 square kilometers. Belarus has established an ecological protection zone covering an area of 1771 square kilometers.
In 2014, some changes were made to the World Heritage Project. Poland increased nearly 45,000 hectares, and Belarus reduced about 5,000 hectares, totaling 141,885 hectares. "Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Białowieża" (Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Białowieża) was changed to "Białowieża Forest" (Białowieża Forest).
Belarusian part
The ecological protection zone on the Belarus side covers an area of about 1,771 square kilometers; the core area is 157 square kilometers; the buffer zone is 714 square kilometers; the transition zone is 900 square kilometers; the national park and the world heritage cover an area of 876 square kilometers. The management center of the reserve is located in Kamieniuki, which contains a laboratory and zoo, which display protozoa such as European bison, Konic Polish ponies (a hybrid of European wild horses and domestic horses), wild boars, and moose. There is also a small museum, restaurant, fast food shop and hotel (built in the Soviet Union and currently in disrepair). Due to the lack of equipment and tourists in Belarus, few foreigners visit the forests on the Belarus side.
Polish part
The national park on the Polish side covers an area of about 100 square kilometers. There is a complex in the park originally owned by the czar, including a hotel, restaurant and parking lot. Approximately 200,000 tourists visit the forests on the Polish side each year.
culture
This forest is often the subject of Russian folk songs,Belovezhskaya PushchaOne piece was written by Russian composer Alexander in 1975. The lyrics are as follows:
- Здесь забытый давно наш родительский кров.
- И, услышав порой голос предков зовущий,
- Серой птицей лесной из далёких веков
- Я к тебе прилетаю, Беловежская пуща.
- Zdes' zabytyj davno naš roditel’skij krov.
- I, uslyšav poroj golos predkov zovuščij,
- Seroj pticej lesnoj iz dalëkix vekov
- Ja k tebe priletaju, Belovežskaja pušča.
- Here is our long-forgotten family home.
- And, having heard now and then the voice of ancestors calling,
- Like a grey little forest bird, from far-away centuries,
- I fly to you, Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
history
Originally, the entire eastern part of Europe was covered with virgin forests like Bialowieza. Before the 14th century, humans crossed forests through rivers, and roads and bridges appeared in later periods. In the 15th century the forest became the property of the Polish-Lithuanian King Władysław II Jagevo. The first documented document to protect this forest dates back to 1538, when Sigmund I ordered the death penalty for poachers of European bison. In 1541, the forest became a royal hunting ground. In 1639, Władysław IV announced the liberation of all farmers living in the forest. In exchange, they became royal rangers.
After the partition of Poland in 1795, Tsar Paul I demoted all rangers to serfs and handed them over to many Russian nobles and generals. Due to the abolition of the protected area, hunters were able to enter the forest, and the number of European bison fell from the original 500 to less than 200 within 15 years. However, Czar Alexander I restored the reserve in 1801 and hired a few farmers to protect the animals. The number of European bison recovered to 700 in the 1830s. However, in the November uprising broke out in 1830-1831, the protection order disappeared again.
In 1860, Alexander II visited this forest and declared that the protection of European bison must be restored. Due to the czar's order, the locals killed all predators: gray wolves, brown bears, and lynxes. In 1888, the Czar became the owner of the entire virgin forest, and the Bialowieza Forest once again became a royal hunting ground. The Tsar began to send European bison as gifts to European countries, and at the same time imported deer, moose and other animals from all over the empire to breed in the forest.
The Bialowieza Forest suffered huge losses during the First World War. The German army captured this area in August 1915, and at least 200 bison were killed before September 25, after which a hunting ban was issued. However, German and Soviet soldiers, poachers and robbers continued to kill until February 1919 when the area was occupied by Poland. However, the last wild European bison was killed a month ago.
After the Polish-Soviet War in 1921, the core area of the Bialowieza Forest was declared a national protected area. A survey in 1923 found that there were only 54 European bisons left in zoos around the world, and none of them were in Poland. In 1929, Polish officials purchased 4 bison from several zoos and introduced them to forests to breed. Most of the forest became a national park in 1932.
In 1939, the Soviet Union sent troops to occupy eastern Poland. The Polish natives of Bialowieza were exiled by the Soviet Union and replaced by Soviet rangers. However, in 1941, the Germans occupied the forest and the Soviets were exiled. In July 1941, the forest became a hiding place for the Polish and Soviet guerrillas, and the German authorities executed a large number of locals suspected of supporting the guerrillas. The Red Army liberated the area in July 1944. When the Germans retreated, they destroyed the old Bialowieza hunting estate.
After the war, this forest belonged to Poland and Belarus. The national park on the Polish side was restored in 1947.
In December 1991, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus held secret talks here and signed the "Belovy Day Agreement" to separate the three countries from the Soviet Union and establish the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The Bialowieza Forest was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1992 and became an internationally recognized biosphere reserve the following year.