Puszcza Darżlubska
Encyclopedia
Puszcza Darżlubska or Lasy Piaśnickie (Darżlubie
/ Piaśnica
Forest, or Darżlubska Wilderness), located in northernmost part of Poland
, is a Polish forests complex on the Baltic Sea
, within the geographical region of Pobrzeże Kaszubskie; on the south-side bordering the Tricity Landscape Park
(Trójmiejski Park Krajobrazowy) from which, it is separated by the Reda river. Inside Darżlubie Forest there are two nature reserves (Polish protected areas
). The wilderness is also the source of two rivers: Piaśnica
and Gizdepka. The name of Puszcza Darżlubska comes from the nearby village of Darżlubie
in the administrative district of Gmina Puck
, north of Gdańsk
.
Puszcza Darżlubska is a place of Polish and Jewish martyrology
; the second largest site of mass killings of Polish civilians in Pomerania
(after Stutthof
) during World War II
. The waves of Nazi German executions, known as the Mass murders in Piaśnica
, of about 12,000–16,000 hostages (mostly intelligentsia
), were committed between the fall of 1939 and spring of 1940 near the town of Wielka Piaśnica.
With the total area of Puszcza Darżlubska includes two protected landscape areas
called Darżlubskie Buki and Źródliska Czarnej Wody Nature Reserve. The flora
of both is similar to that of the Tricity Landscape Park established in 1979. The dominant tree is European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) forming thicket
s with pine and other coniferous trees.
. Along with the rise of temperature, the flora of the tundra gave way to new forest ecosystem
s in which most prominent were birches (Betula), pines (Pinus) and hazel (Corylus). The ecosystem of the primeval forest changed again with additional, warmer (stenothermic
) varieties entering the landscape, including aspen (Populus tremula
), elm tree (Ulmus), oak (Quercus) and ash tree (Fraxinus).
In spite of scarcity of tourist trails, Puszcza Darżlubska, is also a good recreational area with many natural, historical and cultural artifacts and various points of interest for the visitors.
prepared lists of Poles and Jews who were to be executed, including priests, teachers, doctors, dentists, veterinarians, military officers, prominent businessmen and merchants. After the invasion, as part of their preplanned Intelligenzaktion in Pomerania
, the Nazis executed around 65,000 Polish citizens in the region women and children alike, before the end of spring of 1940. One of the main sites of systematic large scale murders was the Puszcza Darżlubska forest. An organized action to destroy evidence of the massacres was undertaken by Nazi authorities in the second half of 1944.
Darzlubie
Darżlubie is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Puck, within Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately west of Puck and north-west of the regional capital Gdańsk....
/ Piaśnica
Piasnica
Wielka Piaśnica is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Puck, within Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately west of Puck and north-west of the regional capital Gdańsk...
Forest, or Darżlubska Wilderness), located in northernmost part of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, is a Polish forests complex on the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, within the geographical region of Pobrzeże Kaszubskie; on the south-side bordering the Tricity Landscape Park
Tricity Landscape Park
Tricity Landscape Park is a protected area in northern Poland , established in 1979, and covering the area of ....
(Trójmiejski Park Krajobrazowy) from which, it is separated by the Reda river. Inside Darżlubie Forest there are two nature reserves (Polish protected areas
Protected areas of Poland
Protected areas of Poland include the following types, as defined by the Act on Protection of Nature of 16 April 2004:* 23 National Parks...
). The wilderness is also the source of two rivers: Piaśnica
Piasnica
Wielka Piaśnica is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Puck, within Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately west of Puck and north-west of the regional capital Gdańsk...
and Gizdepka. The name of Puszcza Darżlubska comes from the nearby village of Darżlubie
Darzlubie
Darżlubie is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Puck, within Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately west of Puck and north-west of the regional capital Gdańsk....
in the administrative district of Gmina Puck
Gmina Puck
Gmina Puck is a rural gmina in Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Its seat is the town of Puck, although the town is not part of the territory of the gmina....
, north of Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
.
Puszcza Darżlubska is a place of Polish and Jewish martyrology
Martyrology
A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs , arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by names borrowed from neighbouring churches...
; the second largest site of mass killings of Polish civilians in Pomerania
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Pomerania Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in north-central Poland. It comprises most of Pomerelia , as well as an area east of the Vistula River...
(after Stutthof
Stutthof concentration camp
Stutthof was the first Nazi concentration camp built outside of 1937 German borders.Completed on September 2, 1939, it was located in a secluded, wet, and wooded area west of the small town of Sztutowo . The town is located in the former territory of the Free City of Danzig, 34 km east of...
) during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The waves of Nazi German executions, known as the Mass murders in Piaśnica
Mass murders in Piaśnica
The mass murders in Piaśnica were a set of mass executions carried out by Germans, during World War II, between the fall of 1939 and spring of 1940 in Piasnica Wielka in the Darzlubska Wilderness near Wejherowo. Standard estimates put the number of victims at between twelve thousand and fourteen...
, of about 12,000–16,000 hostages (mostly intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
), were committed between the fall of 1939 and spring of 1940 near the town of Wielka Piaśnica.
With the total area of Puszcza Darżlubska includes two protected landscape areas
Protected areas of Poland
Protected areas of Poland include the following types, as defined by the Act on Protection of Nature of 16 April 2004:* 23 National Parks...
called Darżlubskie Buki and Źródliska Czarnej Wody Nature Reserve. The flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
of both is similar to that of the Tricity Landscape Park established in 1979. The dominant tree is European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) forming thicket
Thicket
A thicket is a very dense stand of trees or tall shrubs, often dominated by only one or a few species, to the exclusion of all others. They may be formed by species that shed large amounts of highly viable seeds that are able to germinate in the shelter of the maternal plants.In some conditions the...
s with pine and other coniferous trees.
Geography
The area is covered mainly by coniferous forest in which the dominating tree is beech forming lowland groves. The beech is relatively young in the region. After the retreating glacier and the gradual warming of the climate around c.8,000 BC, the whole area was first covered by tundraTundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
. Along with the rise of temperature, the flora of the tundra gave way to new forest ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s in which most prominent were birches (Betula), pines (Pinus) and hazel (Corylus). The ecosystem of the primeval forest changed again with additional, warmer (stenothermic
Stenothermic
Stenothermic Adj. refers to a type of stenotherm; a species or living organism only capable of living or surviving within a narrow temperature range. See also Ecotope. Cf. Eurytherm....
) varieties entering the landscape, including aspen (Populus tremula
Populus tremula
Populus tremula, commonly called aspen, common aspen, Eurasian aspen, European aspen, trembling poplar, or quaking aspen, is a species of poplar native to cool temperate regions of Europe and Asia, from the British Isles east to Kamchatka, north to inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and...
), elm tree (Ulmus), oak (Quercus) and ash tree (Fraxinus).
In spite of scarcity of tourist trails, Puszcza Darżlubska, is also a good recreational area with many natural, historical and cultural artifacts and various points of interest for the visitors.
The killing ground
Soon before the 1939 Nazi Invasion of Poland, German police and GestapoGestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
prepared lists of Poles and Jews who were to be executed, including priests, teachers, doctors, dentists, veterinarians, military officers, prominent businessmen and merchants. After the invasion, as part of their preplanned Intelligenzaktion in Pomerania
Intelligenzaktion in Pomerania
The "Intelligenzaktion Pommern" was a Nazi action aimed at the elimination of the Polish intelligentsia in Pomeranian Voivodeship and other adjacent areas, at the beginning of World War II...
, the Nazis executed around 65,000 Polish citizens in the region women and children alike, before the end of spring of 1940. One of the main sites of systematic large scale murders was the Puszcza Darżlubska forest. An organized action to destroy evidence of the massacres was undertaken by Nazi authorities in the second half of 1944.