Puszcza Zielona (; {{lit, Green Wilderness) is a forest in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

which extends from the

Narew River The Narew (; be, Нараў, translit=Naraŭ; or ; Sudovian: ''Naura''; Old German: ''Nare''; uk, Нарва, translit=Narva) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland, which is also a tributary of the river Vis ...

and the border with the region of

Masuria Masuria (, german: Masuren, Masurian: ''Mazurÿ'') is a ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the ...

. It is bounded on the east by the Pisa River and on the west by the Orzyc River. The forest lies in a lowland and contains a wet sandy soil, but it is rich in various minerals which are mined. The Green Wilderness (Puszcza Zielona) is usually associated with the White Wilderness ( Puszcza Biała), and together the two forests are often referred to as the Kurpie Forest ( Puszcza Kurpiowska) because the two forests were populated by inhabitants who, over the centuries retained their distinct ethnic character. Due to isolation they developed a unique culture of their own, called

Kurpie Kurpie () is one of a number of ethnic regions in Poland, noted for its unique traditional customs, such as its own types of traditional costume, traditional dance and distinctive type of architecture and livelihoods. Kurpie is also the name of t ...

History

The forest was first ordered colonized by Duke

Janusz I of Warsaw Janusz I of Warsaw (pl: ''Janusz I warszawski''), also known as Janusz I the Old (pl: ''Janusz I Starszy'') (c. 1347/52 – 8 December 1429), was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast in the Masovian branch, from 1373/74 Duke of Warsaw an ...

in the first half of the 14th century by peasants and petty nobles. Colonization continued on and off subsequently, and its inhabitants, because of their isolation by living deep in a forest, developed a distinct culture. Other neighboring

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

gave them the name of ''kurpś'', because they retained their ancient tradition of making shoes made of fibers from the

linden tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...

and sealed with

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

Current status

Because of deliberate cutting down of forest, even though the area is not suitable for agriculture, much of the forest remains in broken patches. Villages which once housed Kurpie-style structures have now been replaced, for the most part, by more modern structures. After the

Fall of Communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Nat ...

, portions of the forest are being preserved and protected as nature preserves by the Polish government.

Nature preserves pertaining to Puszcza Zielona

* Rezerwat Czarnia * Rezerwat Kaniston * Rezerwat przyrody Ciemny Kąt * Rezerwat przyrody Łokieć

References

* Puszcza Zielona
Puszcza Zielona
* Puszcza Kurpiowska
Ostrołęka, ostroleka.INFO.pl
Forests of Poland Geography of Masovian Voivodeship Geography of Podlaskie Voivodeship pl:Puszcza Zielona

History

Current status

Nature preserves pertaining to Puszcza Zielona

See also

References