Tuchola Forest
Encyclopedia
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
near the town of Tuchola
Tuchola
Tuchola is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. The Pomeranian town, which had a population of 13,976 as of 2004, is located close to the Tuchola Forests about 7t0 km north of Bydgoszcz, and is the seat of Tuchola County...
(Tucheln) in northern 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...
, and lies between the Brda
Brda River
The Brda is a river in northwestern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula. It is the country's 15th longest river, with a total length of 238 km and a catchment area of 4,627 km².-Navigation:...
and Wda
Wda
The Wda is a river in northern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula river , with a length of 198 kilometres and a basin area of 2,325 km²...
Rivers. It contains the Tuchola Forest National Park, which is at the core of the Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...
, designated by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in 2010.
Landscape
The area was formed during the last glacial age and is covered with low hills and more than 900 post-glacial lakes. With 1,200 km² of dense spruceSpruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
and pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
forest, the area is one of the biggest forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s in 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...
and Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
. Since 1996 part of the area has been designated as the Tuchola Forest National Park, covering 46.13 square kilometres (17.8 sq mi). Approximately 30% of the area is inhabited by the Kociewiacy
Kociewiacy
The Kociewiacy are a small Polish ethnic group. They live in Pomerania south of Gdansk. The region they inhabit is called Kociewie and has well-developed industry and agriculture. The capital city of Kociewie is Starogard Gdański, while their biggest city is Tczew...
people.
The largest towns in the area are Czersk
Czersk
Czersk is a town in northern Poland in Chojnice County, Pomeranian Voivodeship.On July 1, 2006 this municipality celebrated 80 years of granting this community the status of city....
and Tuchola
Tuchola
Tuchola is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. The Pomeranian town, which had a population of 13,976 as of 2004, is located close to the Tuchola Forests about 7t0 km north of Bydgoszcz, and is the seat of Tuchola County...
.
History
During the German EmpireGerman Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
era, Truppenübungsplatz Gruppe (now :pl:Grupa) was a military exercise area in which medical research was conducted, leading to publication of the name in scientific reports of the early 20th century. During World War I, pacifist doctor Georg Friedrich Nicolai
Georg Friedrich Nicolai
Georg Friedrich Nicolai was a German physiologist who studied at the University of Berlin, and later practiced medicine at the Charité in Berlin...
was banned from Berlin to the remote area which had to be ceded in 1919 to Poland as a result of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
.
In 1939, during the Invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
at the very beginning of 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 major Battle of Tuchola Forest was fought in the area. Soon, the former military test area was occupied again by German troops
, and called Truppenübungsplatz Westpreußen, or by its code name, „Heidekraut“.
Between August 1944 and January 1945, SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
troops under Hans Kammler
Hans Kammler
General Dr Ing. Hans Friedrich Karl Franz Kammler was a civil engineer and high-ranking officer of the SS. He oversaw SS construction projects, and towards the end of World War II was put in charge of the V-2 missile programme.He is most commonly referred to as Heinz Kammler or Hans...
and Walter Dornberger
Walter Dornberger
Major-General Dr Walter Robert Dornberger was a German Army artillery officer whose career spanned World Wars I and II. He was a leader of Germany's V-2 rocket program and other projects at the Peenemünde Army Research Center....
carried out extensive tests of the A-4
Aggregate series
The Aggregate series was a set of rocket designs developed in 1933–1945 by a research program of Nazi Germany's army. Its greatest success was the A4, more commonly known as the V-2. The German word refers to a group of machines working together.-A1:...
missiles (V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
s), after the test site near Blizna
Blizna
Blizna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Ostrów, within Ropczyce-Sędziszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately north of Ostrów, north of Ropczyce, and north-west of the regional capital Rzeszów...
was discovered by the Home Army and then bombed by the Allies. Approximately 107 missiles were fired, in southbound direction, for tests and training purposes. In January 1945 the site had to be evacuated before the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
offensive overran the area.
After World War II the forest was a safe haven for many anti-communist partisans
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
, among them Zygmunt Szendzielarz
Zygmunt Szendzielarz
Zygmunt Szendzielarz was commander of the Polish 5th Wilno Home Army Brigade.-Early life:...
.
Biosphere Reserve
In June 2010 the Tuchola Forest area was designated by UNESCOUNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
as a Biosphere Reserve
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...
. The core area of the Biosphere Reserve consists of Tuchola Forest National Park and of the 25 nature reserves lying within the buffer zone. The buffer zone consists of Tuchola
Tuchola Landscape Park
Tuchola Landscape Park is a protected area in north-central Poland, established in 1985, covering an area of in the Tuchola Forests close to the town of Tuchola....
, Wda
Wda Landscape Park
Wda Landscape Park is a protected area in north-central Poland, established in 1993, covering an area of . It takes its name from the Wda river....
, Wdzydze and Zaborski
Zaborski Landscape Park
Zaborski Landscape Park is a protected area in northern Poland, established in 1990, covering an area of north of the town of Chojnice. It surrounds Tuchola Forest National Park....
Landscape Parks. There is also a transit zone which includes the town of Tuchola
Tuchola
Tuchola is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. The Pomeranian town, which had a population of 13,976 as of 2004, is located close to the Tuchola Forests about 7t0 km north of Bydgoszcz, and is the seat of Tuchola County...
and surrounding districts. The core area of the Reserve covers 78.81 square kilometres (30.4 sq mi), and the three zones together cover 3195 square kilometres (1,233.6 sq mi).