IU242. SZCZECIN LANDSCAPE PARK BEECH FOREST

LOCATION

The Beech Forests is located in the north-western of Poland partly within the city of Szczecin and the neighboring Gryfino municipality. It is conveniently connected and accessible from the city via all means of transport. It is protected area established in 1981 and covering an area of 91 square kilometers.

Beech Forest, the view on city of Szczecin from the cliff,
Szczecin Landscape Park”Beech Forest”near Szczecin, photo source: wikimedia commons.

SCENIC CHARACTER

Its full name refers to the dense forest known as Puszcza Bukowa(“beech forest”), which covers most of the area of this landscape park. The Bukowa Forest is a unique natural place, above all due to the huge area of very varied beech forests covered a high moraine embankment with the highest point, Bukowiec mountain with 149 m above sea level. Terrain differences are up to 100 m and with numerous ravines, streams and valleys of streams. A belt of post-glacial moraine hills is clearly cut off from the surrounding lowlands. The geological structure makes a very interesting hydrographic system. There are 13 lakes in the Park, the largest of which is Binowskie Lake (52.4 ha). A particularly attractive tourist attraction is an extremely picturesque, artificial Szmaragdowe lake created on the site of ancient limestone minerals, characterized by a specific color of water. The total length of tourist routes is about 200 kilometers.

ATTRACTIONS

Apart from its natural values Slavic burgwall in the beech forest we can find a place where in the Middle Ages there was a medieval slavic burgwall, innumerable erratic blocks, remains of an existing sanatorium from almost 100 years, a place where once there was a water mill and interesting stones with engraved year 1773 and the Lorraine cross so-called “morowce” what could translated as the plague stones. There are also many designated places for recreation with the possibility of burning a bonfire, beautiful glades and breathtaking viewing points.