Bielany Forest: A Royal Hunting Wood Inside Warsaw

North Warsaw hides a genuine old forest. The Bielany Forest covers 151.82 hectares between the districts of Bielany and Zoliborz, and most of it - 130.07 hectares - has been protected as the Las Bielanski nature reserve since January 1973, according to Warsaw's municipal forests service.

A forest of kings and monks

The name Bielany comes from the white habits of the Camaldolese monks, who settled here in 1639 and received privileges including rights to cut timber. Before them and long after, the woods were part of the royal estates, and Polish kings came here to hunt; a royal manor stood in the forest for stays during visits. After the partitions of Poland the forest passed to the state treasury and was opened to the people of Warsaw, becoming a fashionable weekend destination in the first half of the 19th century - with a total ban on felling old trees.

Why it is a reserve

The forest grows on a stretch of the Vistula escarpment, with old-growth oak and hornbeam stands, a small peat bog near Podlesna Street and the little regulated Rudawka stream running through it. After the Second World War the forest found itself inside the city limits, and growing visitor pressure threatened its nature - which is why the reserve was created in 1973.

Visiting

Entrances lead in from several streets, including Podlesna near Klaudyny. The reserve is criss-crossed by walking paths popular with runners and families, and the Camaldolese monastery and church on Dewajtis Street stand at its edge. Stay on marked paths - it is an active nature reserve. The forest pairs well with a walk along the Vistula bank below the escarpment.