The flora of Polesie National Park is one of its main attractions. The most characteristic and valuable elements are the vast turf lands, which distinguish this area from all other national parks in Poland.
The beauty and value of Polesie nature were appreciated already at the beginning of the 20th century, the idea of creating a national park was born in the interwar period. The concept of creating a national park in Polesie was first proposed in 1933 by Professor Władysław Szafer. The plans concerned the part of Polesie that is today in Belarus. Another proposal was made by Professor Tadeusz Wilgat in 1954. However, a special mention should be given to Prof. Dominik Fijałkowski, who proposed the creation of a national park right here, where it currently functions. At that time, it was the first project in the country of a national park of a water and peat bog, with an area of about 3000 ha.
The Park has an area of 9759,9027 ha and a protection zone of 13702,77 ha. The purpose of a protection zone is to protect the Park area from the negative influence of human activity.
So far 48 species of mammals have been found in Polesie National Park. The most numerous group are rodents, of which there are 18 species. The biggest one of them is the beaver, which was introduced in 1992.
There were also recorded approximately 200 bird species, out of which about 150 were considered breeding birds.
Additional information:
– hiking trails (total 275 km),
– “Center for the Protection of the European Pond Turtle” in Urszulin,
– Didactic and Museum Center in Załucze Stare,
– Didactic Garden in Ursuline.