{{Infobox_Poland| city_name= Białowieża | motto=| voivodship=Podlachia| council=| mayor=Anna_Bajko| area=203 km² (whole commune)| population=ca. 2000 (2000)| agglomeration=none| density=| date_founded=15th_century| city_rights=none| latitude=52°42'| longitude=23°52'| area_code=+48 85| car_plates=| twin_towns=| website=http://www.bialowieza.rejon.pl| location_pic=Podlaskie Bialowieza.png| flag_pic=| coa_pic=| colour_scheme=background:#cccccc;| }} '''Białowieża''' is a village or a small town in Poland, in Podlachian_Voivodeship, in the middle of Biebrza Marshes and Białowieża_Forest, of which it is a namesake. The population of the settlement is 2000 (2002). ==Geographic location== Białowieża is located in north-eastern Poland in the Podlachian_Voivodeship near the border with Belarus. The nearest city is Białystok, which is the capital of the Voivodship. Białowieża is also connected to the town of Hajnówka some 20 km away. Białowieża is the capital of Białowieża commune which encompasses an area of 203 km² and population of 3068 (2000). Other villages in Białowieża area are Budy, Gródek, Pogorzelce, Teremiski and Zastawa. ==History== ::''For a more detailed history of Białowieża and the area see: Białowieża Forest'' Before 1426 a wooden hunting manor for king Władysław_Jagiełło was built in the middle of the Białowieża_Forest on the Lutownia stream. It was most probably one of the first permanent settlements in the area, although the forest was already penetrated by hunters from the nearby areas and by the king himself who used to hunt there. The wooden manor was painted in white and became the namesake both for the future village and the forest (Białowieża means ''White Tower'' in Polish). Image:Bialowiezabuilding.JPG architecture]] From 1538 the forest was protected by the laws of king Sigismund_I_the_Old. However, until the times of John Casimir the forest was mostly unpopulated. Sporadic settlements were established in various places, but the manor in Białowieża was the only one to be permanent. In the late 17th_century, several small villages were started for development of local Iron_ore deposits and Tar production. The villages were populated with settlers from Masovia and Podlachia and many of them still exist. After the Partitions_of_Poland the local population was turned into Serfs and Białowieża quickly depopulated. Tsar Alexander I reintroduced the reserve in 1801 and hired a small amount of peasants for protection of the animals. Most of them were settled in the administrative centre of the area - Białowieża. However, since most of the foresters took part in the November_Uprising (500 out of 502 in total), their posts were abolished and protection was again harmed. Yet again the village of Białowieża ceased to exist. Protection was reintroduced in 1860 and the village was repopulated with Russians. During World_War_I most of the local Russian population fled before the advancing German army which seized the area in August 1915. The Germans built a lumber mill in Białowieża and connected it with railway to the nearby town of Hajnówka. However, the village did not recover until 1921 when the Białowieża National Park was established. The village became the administrative centre of the Park and one of the most popular tourist attractions of the area. During the World_War II after the German occupation of Poland the area got under Soviet occupation. In 1939 most of the local inhabitants were arrested and sent to Gulag. They were replaced with Russian forest workers, but in 1941 the forest got under German occupation and the Russian inhabitants were also deported. Hermann_Göring planned to create the biggest hunting reserve in the world there, but those plans were never made true. After July 1941 the forest became a refuge for both Polish and Soviet_partisans. German authorities organized mass executions of people suspected of aiding the resistance. In July 1944 the area was captured by the Red Army. The withdrawing Wehrmacht blew up the historic Białowieża hunting manor. After the war Białowieża yet again recovered and became the centre of the re-established National_Park in 1947. Nowadays it is one of the least populated areas in Poland, while at the same time it is one of the most important tourist attractions in Eastern part of the country with almost 100 000 visitors every year. The Reserve was inscribed on the World_Heritage_List in 1992 and internationally recognised as a Biosphere_Reserve under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1993. ==Sites of interest== * Białowieża_National_Park * Palace park (''Park Palacowy'') - covering the area of 470,000 m², built in 1890. It is a park in English style with a large view to Białowieża National Park. Upon the ponds there is an obelisk for the memory of hunting in 1752 when king Augustus_III hunted in Białowieża forests. There are also several tsarist red brick buildings from the 19th_century, and a gate which is the only remnant of the wooden manor. * Ecological Museum (''Muzeum Przyrodniczo-Leśne im. prof. Jana Miklaszewskiego'') - museum of natural history * St. Nicholas the Miraculous' Orthodox Church - with a unique Iconostasis from Chinese Porcelain. * Open-air folk museum (''Skansen'') - with original huts, windmills and wells * PTTK Tourist House * Graveyard Chapel of St. Cyril (''Kaplica św. Cyryla'') - from 1873 with an 18th_century Icon. == See also == {{commons|Białowieża}} * Białowieża_Forest * Podlachian_Voivodeship == External links == * Forresters school in Białowieża (Polish) Category:Towns_in_Poland Category:Podlasie_Voivodeship Cs:Bělověž Nl:Białowieża Pl:Białowieża