3. Location
It is a National Park in east-central Poland,
in Masovian Voivodeship, on the north-
west outskirts of Warsaw.
It has a sister park agreement with Indiana
Dunes National Park, Indiana, United
States.
4. Some history facts
The idea of creating a park here appeared
for the first time in the 1920s. In the 1930s
the first forest reserves were opened:
Granica, Sieraków and Zamczysko. Today,
these reserves are much larger and are
strictly protected.
5. The park's area has a rich history, here many
important events connected with Polish
history took place. Reminders of past are
numerous and include tombs of
insurrectionists from 1863 anti-Russian
uprising, war cemeteries from Polish-German
war of 1939 and tombs of members of anti-
German resistance (1944–45). At the Palmiry
cemetery lay many inhabitants of Warsaw,
secretly killed here by the Germans in the
years 1939-1945. At Żelazowa Wola on the
outskirts of the Park, there is a manor house
where famous composer Frédéric Chopin was
born.
7. The park was created in 1959, covering a
total area of 407 square kilometres. It
covers the ancient Kampinos Forest
(Puszcza Kampinoska), and in January
2000 the area was added to UNESCO’s list
of biosphere reserves.
8. The Park is now slightly
smaller than originally,
covering 385.44 square
kilometres, of which
46.38 km² is strictly
protected. The
protective zone around
the Park covers
377.56 km². Forests
account for around 70%
of the park's area, and
the most common tree is
the pine. The Park's
symbol is the moose.
9. Rivers near the park
Kampinoski National Park is located at the
biggest river junction in Poland - here valleys
of Vistula, Bug, Narew, Wkra and Bzura meet
together. There are no lakes, the biggest river
of the Park is the Łasica, a tributary to the
Bzura, which acts as a water canal.
The Bug River
Confluence of the Narew
and Vistula rivers
10. Flora
Park's flora is rich with around 1245 species
of plants, of which 69 are protected. Park's
landscape is a mix of sand dunes and swamp
lands with pine trees growing on sand and
meadows on swamps.
11. Fauna
The Park, together with a nearby valley of the
Vistula, is an important thriving area of many
animals. According to biologists, there are
16,000 species of animals, of which the most
numerous are insects (2 030 species) and
birds (200 species). Park's experts are
experienced in the field of reintroducing
several animals - moose (since 1951), beaver
(since 1980) and lynx (since 1992). 83
species of animals are regarded as endangered.
13. For the tourists…
Tourists are welcome on Park's walking,
cycling and skiing trails. One can also rent
a horse and ride on trails whose total length
is around 360 kilometres. Cycling
enthusiasts may take advantage of the
200 km Kampinos Cycling Trail.