__NOTOC__ Roztocze National Park () is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Lublin Voivodeship Lublin Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in the southeastern part of the country, with its capital being the city of Lublin. The region is named after its largest city and regional capital, Lu ...

of southeastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It protects the most valuable natural areas of the middle part of the Roztocze range. Its current size is , of which forests occupy 81.02 km², and strictly protected areas 8.06 km². The park has its headquarters in Zwierzyniec.

History

The history of this area is closely connected with the Zamoyski family estate, which was founded in 1589. The estate's headquarters were at Zwierzyniec. The beginnings of nature protection in the region date to 1934, when the Bukowa Góra Preserve was created (now it is a strictly protected area). In 1938, for the first time in

, a bill was issued that stated that prey birds on the Zamoyski family estate were protected. The park was created from State Forests of the districts of Kosobudy and Zwierzyniec, which had belonged to the Zamoyski family estate. The area of the park and adjacent lands witnessed numerous battles during the Polish January Uprising and both World Wars. Tragic reminiscences of these times are in cemeteries in Zwierzyniec and other locations. Roztocze National Park was created in 1974 and initially covered an area of 48.01 km². The park's management is in the restored house of the former Zamoyski estate's administrator in Zwierzyniec.

Geography

The park is located in the picturesque Roztocze Środkowe region in the upper Wieprz river valley. These parts separate Lublin Upland (Polish: ''Wyżyna Lubelska'') from Sandomierz Dale (Polish: ''Kotlina Sandomierska''). The water of the main river running through the park — the Wieprz — is of the second class of purity. There are two streams that originate here: the Szum (2.5 km) and the Świerszcz (7.5 km). Roztoczański National Park boasts unique tree formations. There are more than 400 ancient trees there referred to as "nature monuments" as well as some of the largest

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

s in all of in Poland (up to 50 meters high). Tourists have a choice of using five walking trails or a dedicated bicycle trail.

Wildlife

Among mammals living in the park are

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

, roe deer,

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

, and eurasian badger. In 1979 European beavers were reintroduced and now colonies of the mammal thrive in the Wieprz valley. In 1982 Polish ponies were brought here. There have been registered around 190 species of birds, including

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

storks Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout Beak, bills. They belong to the family (biology), family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, suc ...

, and woodpeckers. Reptiles are represented by

lizards Lizard is the common name used for all squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The ...

, common European adders, and grass snakes as well as the endangered European pond terrapin.

Insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

is interesting, with more than 2000 species.

Gallery

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control National parks of Poland Parks in Lublin Voivodeship Protected areas established in 1974 1974 establishments in Poland Central European mixed forests