Poleski Landscape Park (Poleski Park Krajobrazowy) protects the landscapes of Lublin Polissia around the Poleski National Park. It lies within the gminas of Urszulin and Stary Brus in Włodawa County and the gmina of Sosnowica in Parczew County. It is not a reserve but a natural region where people live and work: meadows, peatlands, forests, fields, and lakes. Therefore, the rules here are more lenient than in the national park.
The park from which the national park grew
The landscape park was established in 1983 to preserve part of the Łęczna-Włodawa Plain. In 1990, Poleski National Park was created in its central part, and since then the landscape park consists of four enclaves around the national park with a total area of 5,113 hectares. Its buffer zone covers about 17,000 hectares, and part of the park also serves as the national park’s buffer zone. The park is managed by the Lublin Landscape Parks Complex.
Water, swamps, and cranes
The area is dominated by swampy plains, meadows, and peatlands, with water bodies covering about 15% of the area. The largest is Lake Wytyckie (Jezioro Wytyckie), which is now a retention reservoir of the Weprz–Krzna canal system. Near Stary Brus is a complex of fish ponds, a habitat for many bird species. Cranes are often seen here.
The flat landscape is diversified by Guz Wola Wierzczyńska — a hill in the southern part of the park. Forests grow and fields lie on the higher grounds. Botanists are attracted by an unusual concentration of Atlantic zone plants for eastern Poland.
What to see
In Łowiszów there is a cemetery and a monument to the soldiers of the Border Protection Corps who fought the Red Army near Wytyczne on 1 October 1939. In Zawadówka stands a 19th-century post mill. It is also worth seeing the churches: the Church of Saint Andrew Bobola in Wytyczne, the Church of Saint Stanislaus in Wierzczyńska, and the church in Stary Brus.
Lake Wytyckie is especially popular among anglers. Fishing is only allowed in the national park at the Deep Pond near Pieszowola, so the landscape park is more convenient for fishing. Polish fishing regulations apply: a fishing card and a water user permit are required.
How to get there
The park is best explored together with the Poleski National Park: a network of hiking and cycling routes connects both areas. Convenient starting points are Urszulin, Wytyczne, and Sosnowica, about 50–60 km from Lublin via Łęczna. It is worth taking the blue trail Wytyczne – Urszulin. More about the region can be found in the articles “Polissian Villages around Urszulin” and “Polish Polissia”. For Ukrainian citizens, this is Poland: a foreign passport is required.
