Rogalin Landscape Park ( pl, Rogaliński Park Krajobrazowy) is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

( Landscape Park) in west-central

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, covering an area of . It includes two

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

Overview

The Park lies within

Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wielkopolskie; ), also known as Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Wielkopolska Province, or Greater Poland Province, is a voivodeship, or province A province is almost always an administrative division ...

, across the

Poznań County Poznań County ( pl, powiat poznański) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government re ...

and the

Śrem County __NOTOC__ Śrem County ( pl, powiat śremski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government ( powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local gover ...

. It stretches along the banks of the

Warta The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...

river, and takes its name from the village of

Rogalin Rogalin is a village in western Poland, situated on the river Warta. It lies approximately east of the town of Mosina, and south of the metropolitan city of Poznań.Raczynski family and oak trees. About 2000 magnificent oaks are found on the banks of the river

near

Rogalin Rogalin is a village in western Poland, situated on the river Warta. It lies approximately east of the town of Mosina, and south of the metropolitan city of Poznań.oxbow lakes An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are cal ...

. It is Europe's largest group of monumental oak trees, located within the Rogalin Landscape Park. Their trunks reach a

circumference In geometry, the circumference (from Latin ''circumferens'', meaning "carrying around") is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. That is, the circumference would be the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out t ...

of up to 9 metres, and all those reaching over 2 m in circumference are protected by law. Rogaliński Park Krajobrazowy
(Rogalin Landscape Park) at ZPKWW.pl

History

Traces of human settlement in the area of the Park date back to the 9th century BC, there are numerous archaeological sites from the turn of the Antiquity and the Middle Ages, connected with the ford across the Warta River and the Warta swamps. The present-day villages were founded during the full Middle Ages, but they did not retain their original urban layout. In the mid-17th century, after the period of destruction caused by wars and natural disasters, a period of settlement of emigrants from Germany and the Netherlands began, establishing new settlements in previously unoccupied, marshy or wooded places. The rapid decline in forest cover in the region occurred as a result of settlement in the years 1400–1523 – when the forest area decreased by approx. 30% – and was deepened in the years 1600–1800 by another 20%. At the end of the 18th century, the Prussian administration introduced planned forest management and artificial renewal of cut forests, and in the Second Polish Republic, the principles of forest management developed in Greater Poland during the partitions were adopted. In the 18th century, extensive drainage works were carried out in the area of the Park, creating a system of canals and regulated watercourses with water objects, draining the sparse wetlands. In the nineteenth century, the Prussian government carried out regulatory works on the Warta River, significantly shortening its course from Śrem to Poznań by building ditches eliminating meanders, narrowing and deepening the fairway. Frequent floods and the changing course of the river current prevented intensive farming in the wide Warta valley, which contributed to the preservation of its natural landscape.

References

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Rogalin Rogalin is a village in western Poland, situated on the river Warta. It lies approximately east of the town of Mosina, and south of the metropolitan city of Poznań.Parks in Greater Poland Voivodeship