Bialowieza
Encyclopedia
Białowieża b is a village in Poland
, in Podlaskie Voivodeship
, in the middle of Białowieża Forest, of which it is a namesake. The population of the settlement is 2000 (2002). It lies approximately 21 kilometres (13 mi) east of Hajnówka
and 66 km (41 mi) south-east of the regional capital Białystok.
near the border with Belarus
. The nearest city is Białystok, which is the capital of the voivodeship
. Białowieża is also connected to the town of Hajnówka
some 20 km (12.43 mi) away. Through Białowieża flows river Narewka
.
Białowieża is the seat of the administrative district of Gmina Białowieża, which encompasses an area of 203 km² (78.38 sq mi) and has a population of 3068 (2000). Other villages in Białowieża area are Budy, Gródek, Pogorzelce
, and Teremiski
.
Before 1426 a wooden hunting manor for king Władysław Jagiełło was built in the middle of the Białowieża Forest on the Lutownia stream. It was most probably one of the first permanent settlements in the area, although the forest was already penetrated by hunters from the nearby areas and by the king himself who used to hunt there. The wooden manor was painted in white and became the namesake both for the future village and the forest (Białowieża means White Tower in Polish
).
From 1538 the forest was protected by the laws of king Sigismund I the Old
. However, until the times of John Casimir
the forest was mostly unpopulated. Sporadic settlements were established in various places, but the manor in Białowieża was the only one to be permanent. In the late 17th century, several small villages were started for development of local iron ore deposits and tar
production. The villages were populated with settlers from Masovia and Podlaskie and many of them still exist.
After the Partitions of Poland
the local population was turned into serfs and Białowieża quickly depopulated. Tsar Alexander I
reintroduced the reserve in 1801 and hired a small amount of peasants for protection of the animals. Most of them were settled in the administrative centre of the area - Białowieża. However, since most of the foresters took part in the November Uprising
(500 out of 502 in total), their posts were abolished and protection was again harmed. Yet again the village of Białowieża ceased to exist. Protection was reintroduced in 1860 and the village was repopulated with Russians
.
During World War I
most of the local Russian population fled before the advancing German army which seized the area in August 1915. The Germans built a lumber mill in Białowieża and connected it with railway to the nearby town of Hajnówka
. However, the village did not recover until 1921 when the Białowieża National Park was established. The village became the administrative centre of the Park and one of the most popular tourist attractions of the area. Following Polish-Soviet War
, Białowieża was returned to Poland.
During the World War
II after the joint German and Soviet attack on Poland, the area came under Soviet
occupation. In 1939 and 1940 most of the local inhabitants were arrested and sent to gulag
s. They were replaced with Russian forest workers, but in 1941 the forest came under German occupation and the Russian inhabitants were also deported. Hermann Göring
planned to create the biggest hunting reserve in the world there, but those plans were never realized. After July 1941, the forest became a refuge for both Polish
and Soviet partisans
. German authorities organized mass executions of people suspected of aiding the resistance
. In July 1944 the area was captured by the Red Army
. The withdrawing Wehrmacht
blew up the historic Białowieża hunting manor.
After the war Białowieża yet again recovered and became the centre of the re-established National Park
in 1947. Nowadays it is one of the least populated areas in Poland, while at the same time it is one of the most important tourist attractions in the Eastern part of the country with almost 100,000 visitors every year. The Reserve was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1992 and internationally recognised as a Biosphere Reserve
under UNESCO
's Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1993.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, in Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
, in the middle of Białowieża Forest, of which it is a namesake. The population of the settlement is 2000 (2002). It lies approximately 21 kilometres (13 mi) east of Hajnówka
Hajnówka
Hajnówka is a town and a powiat seat in north-eastern Poland with 21,583 inhabitants . It is a notable centre of Belarusian culture in Poland and one of the centres of Orthodox faith. It is also notable for its proximity to the Białowieża Forest, the biggest primaeval forest in Europe. It is the...
and 66 km (41 mi) south-east of the regional capital Białystok.
Geographic location
Białowieża is located in north-eastern Poland in the Podlaskie VoivodeshipPodlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
near the border with Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. The nearest city is Białystok, which is the capital of the voivodeship
Voivodeship
Voivodship is a term denoting the position of, or more commonly the area administered by, a voivod. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Serbia....
. Białowieża is also connected to the town of Hajnówka
Hajnówka
Hajnówka is a town and a powiat seat in north-eastern Poland with 21,583 inhabitants . It is a notable centre of Belarusian culture in Poland and one of the centres of Orthodox faith. It is also notable for its proximity to the Białowieża Forest, the biggest primaeval forest in Europe. It is the...
some 20 km (12.43 mi) away. Through Białowieża flows river Narewka
Narewka (river)
The river Narewka is a left-bank tributary of the Narew river in western Belarus and north-eastern Poland.-Etymology:The name of the river comes from a Proto-Indo-European root *nr primarily associated with water .-Geography:The Narewka flows through the geographical region of Europe known as the...
.
Białowieża is the seat of the administrative district of Gmina Białowieża, which encompasses an area of 203 km² (78.38 sq mi) and has a population of 3068 (2000). Other villages in Białowieża area are Budy, Gródek, Pogorzelce
Pogorzelce
Pogorzelce is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Białowieża, within Hajnówka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It lies approximately west of Białowieża, east of Hajnówka, and south-east of the regional capital Białystok. It...
, and Teremiski
Teremiski
Teremiski is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Białowieża, within Hajnówka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus...
.
History
-
- For a more detailed history of Białowieża and the area see: Białowieża Forest
Before 1426 a wooden hunting manor for king Władysław Jagiełło was built in the middle of the Białowieża Forest on the Lutownia stream. It was most probably one of the first permanent settlements in the area, although the forest was already penetrated by hunters from the nearby areas and by the king himself who used to hunt there. The wooden manor was painted in white and became the namesake both for the future village and the forest (Białowieża means White Tower in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
).
From 1538 the forest was protected by the laws of king Sigismund I the Old
Sigismund I the Old
Sigismund I of Poland , of the Jagiellon dynasty, reigned as King of Poland and also as the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until 1548...
. However, until the times of John Casimir
John II Casimir of Poland
John II Casimir was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania during the era of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Duke of Opole in Upper Silesia, and titular King of Sweden 1648–1660. In Poland, he is known and commonly referred as Jan Kazimierz. His parents were Sigismund III Vasa and...
the forest was mostly unpopulated. Sporadic settlements were established in various places, but the manor in Białowieża was the only one to be permanent. In the late 17th century, several small villages were started for development of local iron ore deposits and tar
Tar
Tar is modified pitch produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving wooden vessels against rot. The largest...
production. The villages were populated with settlers from Masovia and Podlaskie and many of them still exist.
After the Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
the local population was turned into serfs and Białowieża quickly depopulated. Tsar Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
reintroduced the reserve in 1801 and hired a small amount of peasants for protection of the animals. Most of them were settled in the administrative centre of the area - Białowieża. However, since most of the foresters took part in the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
(500 out of 502 in total), their posts were abolished and protection was again harmed. Yet again the village of Białowieża ceased to exist. Protection was reintroduced in 1860 and the village was repopulated with Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
most of the local Russian population fled before the advancing German army which seized the area in August 1915. The Germans built a lumber mill in Białowieża and connected it with railway to the nearby town of Hajnówka
Hajnówka
Hajnówka is a town and a powiat seat in north-eastern Poland with 21,583 inhabitants . It is a notable centre of Belarusian culture in Poland and one of the centres of Orthodox faith. It is also notable for its proximity to the Białowieża Forest, the biggest primaeval forest in Europe. It is the...
. However, the village did not recover until 1921 when the Białowieża National Park was established. The village became the administrative centre of the Park and one of the most popular tourist attractions of the area. Following Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
, Białowieża was returned to Poland.
During the World War
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
II after the joint German and Soviet attack on Poland, the area came under Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
occupation. In 1939 and 1940 most of the local inhabitants were arrested and sent to gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
s. They were replaced with Russian forest workers, but in 1941 the forest came under German occupation and the Russian inhabitants were also deported. Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
planned to create the biggest hunting reserve in the world there, but those plans were never realized. After July 1941, the forest became a refuge for both Polish
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
and Soviet partisans
Soviet partisans
The Soviet partisans were members of a resistance movement which fought a guerrilla war against the Axis occupation of the Soviet Union during World War II....
. German authorities organized mass executions of people suspected of aiding the resistance
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
. In July 1944 the area was captured by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. The withdrawing Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
blew up the historic Białowieża hunting manor.
After the war Białowieża yet again recovered and became the centre of the re-established National Park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in 1947. Nowadays it is one of the least populated areas in Poland, while at the same time it is one of the most important tourist attractions in the Eastern part of the country with almost 100,000 visitors every year. The Reserve was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1992 and internationally recognised as a Biosphere Reserve
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...
under UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
's Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1993.
Sites of interest
- Białowieża National Park
- Palace park (Park Pałacowy) - covering the area of 470000 m² (562,115.32 sq yd), built in 1890. It is a park in English style with a large view to Białowieża National Park. Upon the ponds there is an obelisk for the memory of hunting in 1752 when king Augustus III hunted in Białowieża forests. There are also several tsarist red brick buildings from the 19th century, and a gate which is the only remnant of the wooden manor.
- Ecological Museum (Muzeum Przyrodniczo-Leśne im. prof. Jana Miklaszewskiego) - museum of natural history
- St. Nicholas the Miraculous' Orthodox Church - with a unique iconostasisIconostasisIn Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...
from Chinese porcelainPorcelainPorcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
. - Open-air folk museum (Skansen) - with original huts, windmills and wells
- PTTK Tourist Service
- Graveyard Chapel of St. CyrilSaints Cyril and MethodiusSaints Cyril and Methodius were two Byzantine Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century. They became missionaries of Christianity among the Slavic peoples of Bulgaria, Great Moravia and Pannonia. Through their work they influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they...
(Kaplica św. Cyryla) - from 1873 with an 18th century iconIconAn icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
.
External links
- Forresters school in Białowieża (Polish)
- Białowieża travel guide on wikitravelWikitravel-External links:* *...
.