The park represents the nature of the Central Polish Lowlands region. It covers a fragment of the Vistula pre-valley in the Warsaw Basin of the Mazovian Lowlands. It is made up of the Kampino Forestska in the immediate vicinity of Warsaw. The Kampinos Terrace is built of river sands and gravels, on which aeolian processes have produced characteristic, perfectly formed and scenically beautiful dunes. They reach 30 meters in height and present various morphological forms: arches, parabolas, embankments, perches and dune complexes, sometimes resembling mini mountain chains. 12,500 years ago, the dunes were perpetuated with vegetation and constitute an area of almost 20,000 hectares - a natural object on a European scale. Swampy belts occupy the areas of the former currents of the Prawisła River. Deposits of peat have been formed in the places that were blown out of the sand. The contrast of landscapes of dunes and marshes is the most characteristic element of the landscape of the Kampinos National Park. The Kampinos National Park has rich historical traditions related to the struggle for independence. Insurrectionary battles of 1794 and 1863 took place here, battles of the Poznan army in September 1939, as well as battles in1944. Here are located: graves of insurgents from 1863r, cemetery of partisans, cemetery in Palmiry of people executed in 1939 -1944. Many cultural monuments are associated with the Park. In the register of architectural monuments there are 38 objects: ? medieval settlement in Stary Zamczysko (X-XI century) ? a 12th-century church in Czerwińsk ? a 16th-century Gothic-Renaissance church in Brochów of defensive character ? a baroque church in Stare Babice ? a classicist church and court complex from the end of the 18th century in Lipków ? a wooden church from the end of the 18th century in Kampinos ? a palace in Zaborowo from the early 20th century. ? a manor house in Tułowice ? a house in Żelazowa Wola, where Fryderyk Chopin was born ? manor house in Niepokalanów The Park has a small but interesting natural history museum in the Jadwiga and Roman Kobendz Didactic Center in Granica near Kampinos. 350 km of hiking trails have been marked out in the Park. 15 parking lots, 6 rest areas and many camping areas have been arranged. Puszcza Kampinoska - a forest complex in the Mazovia province northwest of Warsaw. Area 22000 ha. Poor habitats on the dunes are overgrown with dry and fresh forests (predominance of pine with admixture of birch and oak). Wet and humid depressions are occupied by alder forests dominated by black alder and swamp forests. Island habitats of oak-hornbeam forests are also present. The Kampinos Forest is a remnant of a large forest complex, originally connected with the Bolimowska, Jaktorowska and Kurpiowska Forests. In the 16th century it was a refuge for aurochs, bears and bison. Waters The park is located in the country's largest water node, which is marked by the Vistula, Bug, Narew, Wkra and Bzura valleys converging in the area. There are no lakes in the Park. In the 19th and 20th centuries, significant areas of marshland were drained and are now dry. The largest watercourse in the Park is the Weasel, a tributary of the Bzura River, fulfilling the role of the main channel in the drainage network. Vegetation The Park's natural flora includes about 1,245 species of vascular plants. Sixty-nine plant species are protected, including northern chamedaphne, northern winterberry, sour cherry and steppe serpentine, among others. A peculiarity of the Park is the occurrence of black birch. Also found are 120 species of mosses, 25 liverworts and 150 species of lichens. The contrast between dunes and marshes, which dominates the landscape, is highlighted by the vegetation cover. The dunes are dominated by pine forests and rhododendrons, the marshes by various types of meadows, sedges and scrub and alder forests. There are more than 50 plant communities in the Park, including 12 forest communities. The park runs its own nursery farm, from where biological material (seedlings) is obtained. Animals The Park and the modern valley of the unregulated Vistula River, with its oxbow lakes, sandbanks, islands, riparian and scrub forests, are extremely important biotopes for many plant and animal species. The Park's fauna is rich - according to scientists it includes about 16,000 species. The most numerous are insects numbering more than 2,030 species and birds of about 200 species. In addition, there are 6 species of reptiles, 13 species of amphibians and 48 species of mammals in the Park. The Park has extensive experience in restoration: elk - since 1951, beaver - since 1980, and lynx - since 1992. The elk population in the Park has developed, and the species has also moved to other forest complexes. There are 83 species of endangered animals in the Park, listed in the Polish Red Book of Animals, and 280 species under species protection. Nineteen species of animals new to science and 14 new to Poland have been described from the Park area. Material culture The areas of the Park have a rich history, including those related to the struggle for Poland's independence. Evidence of it are graves of insurgents from 1863, war cemeteries from 1939 and partisan cemeteries from 1944-1945, mass graves and monuments. A symbol of Nazi crimes is the Palmiry cemetery, the resting place of prominent Poles and Warsaw residents secretly murdered in 1939-1943. The park and its outskirts contain several valuable architectural monuments, including a Gothic-Renaissance defense church from the mid-16th century. in Brochów, a late 18th-century manor house and church in Lipkow, an 18th-century wooden church and 19th-century classicist manor house in Kampinos, a manor house in Żelazowa Wola where Frederic Chopin was born, and in Niepokalanów one of the largest monastery complexes in the world, founded in 1927 by St. Maximilian Kolbe. Tourism, education, environmental monitoring In the Park, sightseeing tourism (hiking, biking and horseback riding, and skiing in winter) is permitted. It is served by marked hiking trails with a length of about 360 kilometers and over 200-kilometer-long so-called Kampinos Bicycle Trail. To serve tourist traffic, 15 car parking lots, 6 rest areas, camping areas have been arranged on the outskirts of the Park. The Park is visited mainly on non-working days. In spring and summer, a very attractive means of access to the northwestern edge of the Park, to Wilcz Tułowski, is the historic narrow-gauge railroad from Sochaczew (in Sochaczew at 7 Towarowa Street is located the largest narrow-gauge railroad museum in Europe).
04.07.2013
