Swietokrzyski National Park
| Świętokrzyski National Park | |
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| Świętokrzyski Park Narodowy | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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Stone run at Świętokrzyski National Park
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| Location | Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland |
| Coordinates | 50°52′34″N 20°58′41″E / 50.876°N 20.978°ECoordinates: 50°52′34″N 20°58′41″E / 50.876°N 20.978°E |
| Area | 76.26 km² |
| Established | 1950 |
| Governing body | Ministry of the Environment |
Świętokrzyski National Park (Polish: Świętokrzyski Park Narodowy) is a National Park in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in central Poland. It covers the highest ridge of the Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross) Mountains – the Łysogory – with its two highest peaks: Łysica at 612 metres (2,008 ft) and Łysa Góra ("Bald Mountain") at 595 m (1,952 ft). It also covers the eastern part of the Klonowski Ridge and part of the Pokrzywianski Ridge. The Park has its headquarters in Bodzentyn.
The history of efforts to protect this part of Poland dates back to the times before World War I. In 1921 a first forest reserve in the Swiętokrzyskie mountains was created - this was Józef Kostyrko’s reserve on Chełmowa Góra (1.63 km²). The following year, two parts of the Łysogory with total area of 3.11 km² also became protected. In 1932 the area of the reserve was officially expanded to 13.47 km², but the National Park was not created until 1950. Its initial area was 60.54 km², but it has since expanded to 76.26 square kilometres (29.44 sq mi), of which 72.12 km² is forested. There are five strictly protected zones with a total area of 17.31 km².
The Swiętokrzyskie are the oldest mountains in Poland, dating back 400–520 million years. Their present appearance was created by movements of the Earth around 300 million years ago. Long ago there was sea here and much evidence of rich life forms was preserved in the rocks, including fossil traces of animals and plants. Around two million years ago the range was covered by a glacier.
The Park is famous for its trees, of which 674 are regarded as monuments of nature and as such are under protection. Park’s authorities successfully managed to reintroduce yew trees here - now there are around 1300 of them. Most of Park’s area is forested, mainly with pines and beeches. Fir trees are less numerous as well as forests of mixed oak-fir character. Among the Park’s curiosities we must emphasize the endemic, unique only for this area, fir wilderness and areas of Polish larch on Chełmowa Góra.
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Wikipedia