Poland (Lubelskie Voivodship)

Nature:

In the Polish part of Polesie there is the Polesie National Park and five landscape parks: Chełm, Nadwieprzański, Łęczna Lakeland, Polesie and Sobibór Landscape Park.

The Polesie National Park constitutes a part of a protected area of the West Polesie Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (ca. 280 thousand ha). It is also included in the European Ecological Network ‘Nature 2000’, which aims to protect natural habitats of endangered species of the flora and fauna.

Numerous marshes, peat bogs, ponds and lakes are a characteristic feature of the Polesie National Park. There are grassland and mountain plants as well as post-glacial and Atlantic relics. Orchids and carnivorous plants (sundews) are particularly interesting. The Polesie National Park is home to one of the most endangered species of reptiles – the pond turtle. It is the habitat of 200 species of birds, which is a great attraction for birdwatchers and ornithologists. (e.g. Perehod birdwatching nature trail)

Information about the park and its nature trails is available at the Educational Centre and Museum of the Polesie National Park in Załucze Stare.

Historic sights:

The most interesting tourist destinations in Polesie for sightseeing include:

  • Chełm – in the 13th c. it was the capital city of the Halich-Volhynia Duchy, unfortunately the castle built by the monarch at that time has not survived to this day. The underground chalk tunnels in Chełm are a must-see for tourists.
  • Biała Podlaska – the city boasts the 17th-century castle complex of the Radziwiłł Family (ruins of the castle are regarded as an important cultural heritage site)
  • Włodawa – the town of three cultures. This small town features religious buildings of three denominations: Catholicism (St Ludwik’s Church and the 18th-century monastery of the Pauline Order), Orthodox Church (the 19th-century Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary) and Judaism (two historic 18th-century synagogues and the Kahal house – former administrative building of the Jewish Commune)

Historic religious buildings:

  • Catholicism:
    • Churches built at the turn of the 17th c. were designed in the characteristic style of the Lublin Renaissance (the basilica in Kodeń, St Mary Magdalene’s Church in Łęczna, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Uchanie)
    • Examples of other architectural styles: baroque (Andrew the Apostle Church and the Reformed Church in Chełm, churches in Włodawa and Orchówek), baroque and early neoclassical architecture (church in Łańcuchów), neo-Gothic (churches in Jabłoń, Konstantynów, Parczew, Łomazy and Świerże)
  • The Orthodox Church and the Uniate Church:
    • Byzantine Orthodox church in Sławatycze and Cyców, Byzantine-classical church in Uhrusk and Kosyń
    • Early neoclassical church in Terespol and Russo-Byzantine churches in Dratów, Sosnowica, Hańsk and Włodawa
    • Wooden Orthodox churches (former Uniate church, presently used as a Catholic church) in Kostomłoty (the only Neo-uniate parish in Poland), Świerszczów, Krzyczew, Horostyta and Ortel Królewski.
    • Monastery of St Onuphrius in Jabłeczna (one of the three male monasteries in Poland).
  • Judaism:
    • The Great Synagogue, Small Synagogue, Beit Midrasz (house of learning in a synagogue) in Włodawa, the Small Synagogue in Chełm and temples in Parczew. Jewish cemeteries are situated, among others, in Chełm, Łęczna, Wohyń and Międzyrzecz Podlaski (in most cases they are just parts of old necropolises).
  • Islam:
    • In Polesie there are traces of Tartar heritage: remains of Tartar cemeteries in Studzianka, Lebiedziew and Zastawek (where the oldest Tartar tombstone in Poland, dated back to 1704, is found)

Historic secular buildings:

  • Palaces and manor houses of Polish nobility: the 18th-century Baroque palace of the Suchodolski Family in Dorohusk, the Potockis’ palace in Międzyrzecz Podlaski, the palace of the Ossoliński Family in Rejowiec built in the neoclassical and eclectic styles, the Zamoyskis’ hunting palace in Adampol, the Zamoyskis’ palace in Jabłoń, the Sonnenbergs’ palace in Kijany, the castle in Zawieprzyce, the Slavic settlement in Wólka Bielecka, remains of the Radziwiłłs’ castle complex in Biała Podlaska, and smaller palaces and manor houses in Kolano, Milanów, Roskosz, Konstantynów, Nosów, Suchowola, Sosnowica, Łańcuchów and Łysołaje.
  • Military buildings and historic sights: the Brest Fortress (partly located near Terespol in Poland); the Museum of the Former Sobibór Nazi Death Camp.

Culture:

Polesie hosts many interesting events:

  • Arabian Horse Days in the stud in Janów Podlaski
  • Festival of Three Cultures in Włodawa
  • Podlaski Folk Fair in Biała Podlaska
  • Hola Fair in the commune of Stary Brus
  • Jagiellonian Fair in Parczew
  • International Folk Sculptors’ Plein-air in Jabłoń
  • National Festival of Street Bands and Ensembles in Parczew
  • Historical May Day Picnic in Zawieprzyce
  • ‘Eko-fest’ Ecological Culture Days in Urszulin
  • International Sculpting Plein-air in Wola Uhruska
  • Podlasie Jazz Festival in Biała Podlaska
  • Jakub Wędrowycz Days in Wojsławice
  • Motorcycle Picnic in Międzyrzecz Podlaski
  • Moto-picnic in Komarówka Podlaska