The Province of Podlaskie is definitely the best‑known region in Poland. This is mostly owing to mocking memes about it the Internet has been bursting with for the last several years, including those about shooting planes with a bow and arrow and taking a driving licence test on horseback. But what if I told you that the north-eastern part of our country is one of the most beautiful and attractive destinations? And easy to fall in love with? Well, in that case, you will have to make do with memes about Sosnowiec and Radom.
Near the Forest
Podlasie is a treasury of Polish nature. In the region, there are four national parks – Białowieża, Biebrza, Narew, and Wigry – three landscape parks, 93 nature reserves, and 2000 natural monuments. The Białowieża National Park boasts one of the last remaining parts of the European Plain old‑growth forest – the Białowieża Forest. It is home to a lot of animals, including the world largest population of bison, which have been living here in the wild for a long time. In 2017, their number was almost 600.
In the vicinity, there is the Narew National Park, also called the Polish Amazon. Remarkable water labyrinths worn by the Narew River created a unique marshy ecosystem, whose wide reeds are home to the western marsh harrier – the symbol of the park and one of the most beautiful birds of prey in Poland. The Narew River, just like the Amazon, is an anastomosing river, which means it consists of multiple interconnected channels, creating small islands in between them.
In the area of 59 223 hectares spread mysterious bogs, marshes, and peat bogs of the Biebrza National Park, which is the largest and longest national park in Poland. It is home to over 250 species of birds, including such rare species as black grouses, greater spotted eagles, aquatic warblers, and ruffs. The Biebrza Marshes are the largest wild nature sanctuary in Europe and are visited by thousands of ornithologists from all over the world every year. During the Second World War, the vast water areas gave shelter to animals and were the only place where Polish elks survived the war.
A Fairytale Land
In Podlasie, there are 3 757 villages, but three of them are special. Soce, Puchły, and Trześcianka are small, colourful villages located in the Narew Valley. They are called the Land of Open Shutters as they are renowned for lovely wood‑carved decorations, such as drips, windowsills, wind beams, quoins, and facades. This rich ornamentation is a remain of Russian settlements and occurs only in this region. In Soce, instead of asphalt and range, you will find friendly, smiling people and storks observing strangers with curiosity from their nests. The village is surrounded by remarkable stone votive crosses. Legend has it they were set in 1895 to chase away an epidemic decimating the village inhabitants. The disease stopped, and the crosses once linked with a thread have remained as initially set, protecting the inhabitants to this day.
The Protection of Virgin Mary Orthodox Church in Puchły appears in a 16th‑century legend about the revelation of the miraculous icon of Protective Virgin Mary. She revealed herself to an ailing old man who was living by a lime tree on the hill. After he saw Virgin Mary, he began to pray fervently, which brought him comfort and healed his swollen legs. The village of Puchły was named after his illness, and the temple erected on the site became an object of pilgrimages and a place of miraculous healings, especially in the times of the bubonic and cholera plagues. The church in Puchły is one of the most beautiful sacral buildings in the Upper Narew Valley. Other remarkable Orthodox churches in the region can be found in Trześcianka, Stary Kornin, Dubicze Cerkiewne, Narew, Rogacze, and Parcewo.
The Forest of Crosses
About 12 kilometres of Siemiatycze, there is a small hill surrounded by a dense forest. On a rainy day, there is not a living soul there, and the monotonous rustle of leaves adds to the mysticism of the Holy Hill of Grabarka. Owing to numerous healings in the times of the plague, the Transfiguration of Jesus Orthodox Church has become an object of pilgrimages from all over the world. Most pilgrims leave intention crosses here. Now, there are more than 10 000 crosses in the forest, which creates an indescribable aura of mystery and magic. At the foot of the hill, there is a miraculous spring, whose water protected the locals from the cholera epidemic spreading in Podlasie in 1710. To this day, pilgrims have been visiting the spring to fill their bottles and wash ailing body parts in it. For that purpose, they use tissues, which they later leave by the water. Nuns from the local convent on the hill collect and burn the tissues, praying for believers.
Are these all attractions you can find in Podlasie? Definitely not! The region also boasts remarkable Branicki Palace in Białystok, the world-famous horse stud in Janów Podlaski, the mysterious Osowiec Fortress, the majestic Tykocin Castle, the unique (green!) Mosque in Kruszyniany, and the Museum of Icons in Supraśl. All these places are surrounded by dense forests, wild nature, and mysteries of time. And as for Podlasie, well, he who laughs last laughs best.
