Actually, the Białowieża Forest is split between Poland and Belrus. The Białowieża Forest is what is left of Europe’s forest primaeval that once stretch from the Urals to the Atlantic. It’s the dark forest of Hansel and Gretel, the source of our myths and legends. Patches of this great European forest existed throughout Europe as late as the 18th century but now apart from the preserve on the Polish-Belorussian border, all of it is gone. Cut in the name of progress and firewood.

In the Białowieża Forest, you will find 500 year old oaks with lichens dangling from them. Great Mamamuszi is the thickest oak in the forest. The trunk circumference at the height of 4 feet (130 cm) from its base is 690 cm or 22 feet. The tree’s name stems from Molière’s The Bourgeois Gentleman, in which the main protagonist, a Mr Jourdain, was appointed the Mamamouchi by a Turkish ambassador. The tree has a column-like trunk and reaches a height is 34 m (111 feet). The tree’s circumference can widen by 10 cm (not quite 4 inches) a year. Of all the oaks in Białowieża with a circumference greater than 600 cm (19 feet), it is in the best condition.

It is the last holdout of the wisent, the European bison, which is smaller than its American cousin. There are badgers, woodpeckers, deer, owls and perhaps even a magical creature or two. Ironically, the Białowieża Forest exists because it was set aside as a hunting preserve. The forest was declared a hunting reserve in 1541 for the protection of wisent. It passed from Polish kings to Russian Tsars who hunted in the preserve. In Soviet times, members of Politboro had their dachas in the Białowieża Forest. The park is a UNESCO World Hertitage Site. But now Poland and Belarus want to “manage” the forest. Why does that worry me?

You’ll find more of the world’s natural parks in the enviroment and travel sections. One park a week is highlighted.