Białowieża

Białowieża

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Białowieża
other_name =
native_name =
nickname =
settlement_type = Village
motto =


imagesize = 250px
image_caption = St. Nicolas Orthodox church in Białowieża


flag_size =
image_

seal_size =
image_shield = POL gmina Białowieża COA.svg
shield_size =
city_
citylogo_size =


mapsize =
map_caption =


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =
image_dot_

dot_mapsize =
dot_map_caption =
dot_x = |dot_y =
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position = bottom
pushpin_map_caption =
pushpin_mapsize =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Poland
subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship
subdivision_name1 = Podlaskie
subdivision_type2 = Powiat
subdivision_name2 = Hajnówka County
subdivision_type3 = Gmina
subdivision_name3 = Białowieża
subdivision_type4 =
subdivision_name4 =
government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
leader_title2 =
leader_name2 =
leader_title3 =
leader_name3 =
leader_title4 =
leader_name4 =
established_title = Established
established_date = 1699
established_title2 =
established_date2 =
established_title3 =
established_date3 =
area_magnitude =
unit_pref =
area_footnotes =
area_total_km2 =
area_land_km2 =
area_water_km2 =
area_total_sq_mi =
area_land_sq_mi =
area_water_sq_mi =
area_water_percent =
area_urban_km2 =
area_urban_sq_mi =
area_metro_km2 =
area_metro_sq_mi =
population_as_of = 2002
population_footnotes =
population_note =
population_total = 2670
population_density_km2 =
population_density_sq_mi =
population_metro =
population_density_metro_km2 =
population_density_metro_sq_mi =
population_urban =
population_density_urban_km2 =
population_density_urban_sq_mi =
population_blank1_title =
population_blank1 =
population_density_blank1_km2 =
population_density_blank1_sq_mi =
timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2
latd=52 |latm=42 |lats= |latNS= N
longd=23 |longm=52 |longs= |longEW= E
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m =
elevation_ft =
postal_code_type = Postal code
postal_code = 17-230
area_code = +48 85
blank_name = Car Plates
blank_info = BHA
blank1_name =
blank1_info =
website = [http://www.bialowieza.biaman.pl/ www.bialowieza.biaman.pl]
footnotes =

Białowieża 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).

Geographic location

Białowieża is located in north-eastern Poland in the Podlaskie Voivodeship 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 away.

Białowieża is the seat of the administrative district of Gmina Białowieża, which encompasses an area of 203 km² and has a population of 3068 (2000). Other villages in Białowieża area are Budy, Gródek, Pogorzelce, Teremiski and Zastawa.

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).

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 Podlachia 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.

During the World War II after the German occupation of Poland the area got under Soviet occupation. In 1939 most of the local inhabitants were arrested and sent to Gulag. They were replaced with Russian forest workers, but in 1941 the forest got 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 made true. 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 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.

ites of interest

* Białowieża National Park
* Palace park ("Park Pałacowy") - covering the area of 470,000 m², 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 iconostasis from Chinese porcelain.
* Open-air folk museum ("Skansen") - with original huts, windmills and wells
* PTTK Tourist House
* Graveyard Chapel of St. Cyril ("Kaplica św. Cyryla") - from 1873 with an 18th century icon.

See also

* Białowieża Forest
* Podlaskie Voivodeship

References

External links

* [http://www.zsl.bialowieza.lasy.pl/ Forresters school in Białowieża] (Polish)
* [http://wikitravel.org/en/Bialowieza Białowieża travel guide] on wikitravel.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Białowieża — Forêt de Białowieża Forêt de Białowieża Forêt de Białowieża Situation …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bialowieza — Nationalparks der Bialowiezer Heide DEC …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Białowieża — Nationalparks der Bialowiezer Heide DEC …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Białowieża — Biełavieža Белавежа (Belarusian), Bělověž (Czech), Białowieża (Polish), Beloveža (Latvian) …   Names of cities in different languages

  • Bialowieza — 1 Original name in latin Biaowiea Name in other language Belovez, Belovezha, Bialovieza, Bialoviea, Bialowieza, Biaowiea, Bilovezha, Blov Vjoska Belavezha, Беловежа, Біловежа, Вёска Белавежа State code PL Continent/City Europe/Warsaw longitude 52 …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • Białowieża-Nationalpark — Logo des Białowieża Nationalparks …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Białowieża-Urwald — Białowieża Naturschutzgebiet Wisent Der B …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Białowieża (disambiguation) — Białowieża may refer to the following places: *Białowieża in Podlaskie Voivodeship (eastern Poland) *Białowieża Forest *Białowieża, Nakło County in Kuyavian Pomeranian Voivodeship (north central Poland) *Białowieża, Tuchola County in Kuyavian… …   Wikipedia

  • Białowieża Forest — Belavezhskaya Pushcha National Park (BE) / Białowieski Park Narodowy (PL) Belarussian National Park Belavezhskaya Pushcha IUCN Category II (National Park) …   Wikipedia

  • Bialowieza-Nationalpark — Nationalparks der Bialowiezer Heide DEC …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”