Biebrza National Park
| Biebrza National Park | |||
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| Location: | Podlaskie , Poland | ||
| Specialty: | Ramsar convention list | ||
| Next city: | Osowiec-Twierdza | ||
| Surface: | 59,223 ha | ||
| Founding: | 1993 | ||
| Address: |
Website of the Osowiec-Twierdza National Park 8 PL-19-110 Goniądz |
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The Biebrza National Park ( Polish : Biebrzański Park Narodowy ) is a national park in Poland that was established in 1993. The central directorate of the park is in the village of Osowiec-Twierdza . The national park is located in the north-eastern part of Poland in the Podlaskie Voivodeship .
history
Two nature reserves already existed in the area of today's national park in the inter-war period : Czerwone Bagno and Grzędy . It is the largest national park in Poland with an area of 592.23 km². 155.47 km² of this is accounted for by forests, 181.82 km² by forests and meadows and 254.94 km² by the marsh of the river Biebrza . The swamp and peat areas, which are unique in Europe, as well as a particularly species-rich fauna with an exceptionally rich bird life were the reason that the park was placed on the Ramsar Convention List of Protected Areas in 1995 .
geography
A large depression, the Biebrza Valley, with a length of over 100 kilometers forms the main part of the national park. This valley is filled with a layer of peat several meters thick. With an area of around 90 km², it is the largest and most pristine peat bog area in Central Europe . The Biebrza River with 152.5 kilometers within the park is the central element of the national park. The Biebrza is characterized by its typical flatland character and meanders freely through the national park. Numerous meanders and oxbow lakes form the course of the river. The width of the Biebrza river bed varies from a few meters in the north basin to several dozen meters in the lower course of the river. The most important natural monument in the park is the Red Swamp (Polish: Czerwone Bagno ), which is under the strictest protection.
flora
The flora of the national park is extremely rich in species. It is also characterized by a high degree of originality and the occurrence of many rare species. Plants of northern origin and glacial flora in particular find ideal conditions there. So far, over 920 species of vascular plants have been identified in the Biebrza Valley. 67 of them are under Polish species protection law and 45 are on the red list of endangered vascular plants in Poland (including the leafless iris , the chessboard flower , the bog violet , the alpine cotton grass and the blueberry willow ).
fauna
The animal world also offers an extraordinary diversity of species. In particular, water and marsh birds have a domicile there that is unique in Europe. So far, 271 species of birds, including 181 that breed there, have been observed. Of the 56 species declared extinct or critically endangered in Poland, 17 nest in the Biebrza National Park, such as the double snipe , the sedge warbler , the black tern , the little tern and the greater spotted eagle . In addition, 48 mammal species, including 10 bat species, 12 amphibian species, 5 reptile species and 37 fish species, were found in the park area. A characteristic bird of the national park is the ruff , which is also depicted in the park's coat of arms. The population of the moose living there even survived the fighting in the park area during World War II.
See also
literature
- Florian Bibelriether: The Biebrza Marshes. Stories from then and now . In: National Park . No. 122 , 2003, p. 28-33 .
Web links
- Official website of the Biebrza National Park (Polish / English)
- World Database on Protected Areas - Biebrza National Park (English)