Amazing trees in Bialowieza National Park

"The Tree"
by Robert Johnson

The calm quiet strength of a tree
From the weight of its trunk
To its delicate leaves
The calm quiet strength of a tree
And oh, how it comforts me
How it teaches me
Without a sound
Then I realize at once
That this tree and I are one
In eternity

• It is the last as natural forest in the European lowland, so we can't find anywhere else that kind of natural forest in Poland or in this region of Europe, preserved and in so good condition. You can imagine here that the forest one thousand years ago looked very similar.

On the walk you can see that the forest is being leaved to take care of itself. Fallen branches of the mighty trees becomes fertile ground for new trees.

• Strict Nature Reserve of the Białowieża National Park has the Status of the Biosphere Reserve and the UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage given only to the highest class facilities in the world. The symbol of BPN and the primeral forest is the bison- the largest European mammal.

• Białowieża Forest the most natural and the oldest forest complex in the lowland part of Europe.
  
• The highest spruce trees are over 52 meters high.
  
• The oldest oaks are over 400 years old. Some of them have become legendary, such as Jagiello Oak, which was knocked down by the wind at about 500 years of age!

Royal Oaks and Lithuanian Princes Route

Named oaks

• Great Mamamuszi is the thickest oak in the forest. The trunk circumference at the height of 130 cm from its basis is 690 cm (2005). The tree's name stems from Moliere’sThe Middle-Class Gentleman. The tree has a beautiful column–like trunk and its height is 34 m. From 1989 the tree's circumference grew by 10 cm. Among all the oaks in Białowieża with circumference above 600 cm it is in the best condition.
  
• The King of Nieznanowo (trunk circumference at 130 cm from the trunk's basis – 620 cm, height 38 m), has one of the most steeple-shaped trunks among the oaks in Białowieża. The first branches grow on the height of 18 m. The tree has a column-like trunk, interestingly set in the ground. It has been gradually dying out since 1998. As of 2005, only two small branches still have leaves. Since the mid-1960's its trunk circumference has grown by ca. 45 cm.
  
• Emperor of the South (circumference at 130 cm from trunk's basis – 610 cm, height 40 m). The tree shows no clear signs of dying out.
  
• Emperor of the North has a very regular trunk (circumference at 130 cm from trunk's basis – 605 cm, height 37 m). The tree shows no clear signs of dying out.
  
• Southern Cross (circumference at 130 cm from trunk's basis – 630 cm, height 36 m). At the basis of the trunk it has a considerable lesion in the bark on the Eastern side. From the mid-1960's its circumference grew by 65 cm. The name stems from the shape of its crown, whose main branches evoke a cross.
  
• The Guardian of Zwierzyniec is one of the thickest oaks in the forest. The trunk circumference at the height of 130 cm from the base is 658 cm and the height of the tree is 37 m. The tree is largely bent down westwards, which most probably has contributed to the larger circumference of the trunk at its base. All branches are green, which shows that the tree is in a good condition.
  
• Barrel Oak, so named for its barrel shaped trunk, is the oak which reached the greatest trunk circumference among the Białowieża oaks (at 130 cm from the basis 740 cm, height above 30 m). The dead tree is largely deprived of bark and is estimated to be around 450 years old.

• Tsar Oak (circumference at 130 cm from trunk's basis – 640 cm, height 41 m). The tree's volume was estimated at 75 cubic meters. It dried down in 1984.

• Dominator Oak is one of the thickest oaks of the Puszcza Białowieska, with a circumference of 680 cm (measured at 130 cm from trunk base), and a height of over 36 m. The tree has been dead since 1992, and its trunk is now already largely deprived of bark. For many years it dominated the Puszcza Białowieska as far as size is considered. Its age was estimated at 450 years.

• The Jagiełło Oak is the most famous of the Białowieża Forest oaks. King Władysław II Jagiełło is said to have rested beneath it before the Battle of Grunwald. The tree was no older than 450 years, with a circumference of 550 cm at 130 cm from trunk's basis and a height of 39 m; it had large branches and a fair crown. The tree was knocked down by wind in 1974. The log can still be seen in the Białowieża National Park.