National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha"

Belovezhskaya Pushcha is one of the most important sights of Belarus. These are the remains of a primeval forest that once stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Bug River and from the Oder to the Dnieper.

Belovezhskaya Pushcha is located in the Brest and Grodno regions, is one of the four national parks of Belarus and is the largest forest in central Europe.

The reserve is located 340 km southwest of Minsk. The administrative center of the park is located in the village of Kamenyuki, Kamenetsky district, 60 km from Brest.

20 km from Belovezhskaya Pushcha is the town of Kamenets, on the territory of which Belaya Vezha rises - a watchtower built in the 13th century. It is believed that this monument gave its name to Pushcha.

The first written mention of Belovezhskaya Pushcha dates back to 983.

At the end of the 14th century, the Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Jagiello, declared the Pushcha a protected area and imposed a ban on hunting here. In 1588, the Forest Charter was issued, which also prohibited logging here.

Since 1795, the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha became part of the Russian Empire, after the First World War - Poland, since 1939 it has been part of Belarus. All major wars that took place on the territory of these states caused significant damage to the protected forest. It suffered especially during the Napoleonic Wars, as well as the First and Second World Wars.

In 1939 Belovezhskaya Pushcha was declared a state reserve, and in 1945 part of it was transferred to neighboring Poland.

The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in 1992. In 1993, he received the status of a biosphere reserve.

Currently, the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" is one of the most famous places in Belarus.

More than 1000 species of plants grow in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, including rare and endangered ones.

The park is famous for its ancient nominal oaks, whose age exceeds 500 years. Among the age-old trees: spruces, ash-trees, pines, lindens

In the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" there are 59 species of mammals: bison (the largest population in Europe), wolf, lynx, otter, tarpan (wild European horse)

More than 250 species of birds live in the reserve: lesser and greater spotted eagles, crane, woodpecker, tawny owl

The Museum of Nature, located in the park, tells about the flora and fauna of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Bison, bears, deer and other inhabitants of the forest can be seen in the enclosures.

In Belovezhskaya Pushcha there is one of the most "fabulous" places in Belarus - the Estate of Father Frost.

In 2019, the first open-air archaeological museum in Belarus opened its doors to visitors on the territory of the National Park.