To understand the history of Białowieża, you have to go far. There was a time when Europe was largely ruled by forests. Trees were everywhere, crowns touched and squirrels could have measured the continent by jumping from branch to branch. But with the hunger for wood, the forest melted away. However, the powerful forbade cutting down the trees where they wanted to indulge in their hobby. This is how hunting protected nature. This also applied to the Białowieża forest. Poland’s kings had already declared it a sovereign hunting area in the early 15th century. Here they were able to kill bison, among other things.
Forest crime in the war
The Russian tsars later kept the forest as private pleasure. He was taboo for ordinary people; poaching was the death penalty. And the bison population was splendid: in 1857 it peaked with 1898 animals. Then the war came and the German Empire also occupied Białowieża. Emperor Wilhelm II hunted here and the German military forestry authorities had sawmills and a narrow-gauge railway built and started cutting. They fetched more than five million cubic meters of wood from the forest. Not only had the war not been good for people; the bison population went to zero and finally an unknown person killed the last wild bison in Białowieża.
A forest sea is under protection
But the story almost gets something like a happy ending. Shortly after the war there was the idea of establishing a protected area here. In 1921 the time had come. In addition, bison from zoos began to be bought together and a new herd built. With success. Today, more than 1200 bison live in Białowieża. There is a national park on the Polish side and one on the Belarusian side. Białowieża has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Nevertheless, the wood arouses desires. In Poland there is a managed part in addition to the protected area. The Polish government received international criticism in 2016 because it wants to triple the impact. Conservationists now fear for the gem that has survived 10,000 years.
Discover the country with nature
If you want to see this impressive area and the European bison with your own eyes, go with us in August nature on an exclusive reader trip!
We want to visit not only this gem with you, but also the Biebrza National Park, the Kruttina and Masuria. We will also follow in the footsteps of Nicolaus Copernicus. We will be right in the middle of it all: look under the trees for bison, look for kayaks for combat runners and snipe, get to know the Johannisburger Heide by bike. And we will be shown and explained a lot. Be there!
Day 1: Saturday, August 15th, 2020
Individual arrival in Warsaw and reception by our tour guide at the airport or at the train station. Group transfer from the airport or train station to the starting hotel in Warsaw. Afternoon city tour of the capital of Poland. We see the old town rebuilt after the war.
Day 2: Sunday, August 16, 2020
After breakfast bus transfer to Białowieża (approx. 230 km, 4 hours). Around noon, arrival and start of our first hike in the Białowieża National Park – on the natural history trail “Rippe des Wisents”. Afterwards we visit the bison enclosure and get an insight into the wildlife of the Pushcha. Then a short transfer to Budy. The village of Budy is located in a clearing in the middle of the forest.
Day 3: Monday, August 17th, 2020
Today we go to the national park with a local guide. Nobody interfered with nature here. Animals, trees and other plants live in a natural cycle. The observation possibilities are inexhaustible.
Day 4: Tuesday, August 18th, 2020
In the early morning we go stalking with a forester to find the bison in the open. After breakfast, a kayak tour on the Narewka River and nature observations await us on the way to Lewkowo. Visit to a forester’s family.
Day 5: Wednesday, August 19th, 2020
After breakfast bus transfer to the Biebrza National Park. On our hike along the Biebrza swamps we have the opportunity to meet Elche. In the afternoon bus transfer from Biebrza National Park to Masuria.
Day 6: Thursday, August 20th, 2020
After breakfast we go on a kayak tour on the most famous and beautiful river of the Masuria, on the Kruttina. We experience one of the most beautiful stretches of this trip: pure water, in which the landscape is mirrored, there are fish and birds, especially many kingfishers. On the way we stop in a Russian Orthodox enclave in Wojnowo / Eckerstdorf. In the afternoon we hike from Wojnowo / Ukta to Galkowo. There we visit a Masurian hunting lodge, in which the Marion Dönhoff salon is located.
Day 7: Friday, August 21, 2020
Today is a bike tour from Krutyn to Ruciane-Nida, where we have the opportunity to visit the historical seed peeling / Wyłszczarnia Nasion. Then we learn a lot about forestry in the Johannisburger Heide on an informative tour. Then continue cycling towards Popielno. On the way we have the opportunity to watch tarpans. Then we take a boat trip on Poland’s largest lake.
Day 8: Saturday, August 22nd, 2020
After breakfast bus transfer from Krutyn to Olsztyn / Allenstein. In the years 1516–1521 the city was the seat of the cathedral chapter administrator Nikolaus Kopernikus. During a city tour we see the castle of the Teutonic Knights Order. In the cloister of the castle there is a sundial designed by Copernicus. On the river bank we also admire the monument erected for the great astronomer. Then we visit the planetarium and observatory opened on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Copernicus’ death.
Day 9: Sunday, August 23rd, 2020
After breakfast, individual journey home or extension in Warsaw.
For travel organization
The trip costs 2190 euros per person in a double room (single supplement: 260 euros). Group size: 12 to 20 people. The travel price includes travel companions, eight overnight stays including half board, tours, entrance fees, trips in a coach. Program changes are reserved. Services that are not mentioned must be paid for individually.
The tour operator is Ikarus Tours GmbH in cooperation with natur. The travel conditions of Ikarus Tours GmbH apply, which will be sent to you with the travel confirmation. The contact person is Franziska Mix. You can reach her at franziska.mix@konradin.de or by phone 0711 / 7594483. Ariana Seifried will accept your registrations from Ikarus Tours GmbH: seifried@ikarus.com, phone 06174 / 290227. ■