The Augustow Canal is among the most significant post-industrial monuments in Poland, located in its northeastern part.
More about the region – Podlaskie voivodship
More about the city of Augustow
Construction of the Augustow Canal in the Historical Context
We owe the rich history of the region to the very diverse flavours in the kitchen. You will find here dishes that are associated with the plates of our neighbours.
Beverages – with percentages and without 😊KvassA non-alcoholic beverage produced by fermenting wholemeal bread. Although it is the national drink of Ukrainians and Russians, there is no shortage of it in Podlasie. This is another example of the interpenetration of cultures and traditions in the region. The inhabitants praise, apart from their own, kvass from Lithuania, but Belarusian, however, has no equal. TincturesEvery real housewife could prepare an excellent tincture, which cured all possible diseases. For this reason, the recipes are passed down from generation to generation and are closely guarded secrets. Be sure to look for your favourite flavour. VodkaAlthough Poles do not want to talk about it out loud as we do not want our guests to get drunk, Vodka has been our national drink known for centuries. Throughout history, it has probably caused as many problems as benefits. Be careful! Vodka is addictive, only adults are allowed to drink it! Krynka mineral waterSpring water of exceptional purity, known to the inhabitants of Podlesie for centuries. According to local tradition, it cured Queen Jadwiga of stomach problems.
Traditional dishes – lick your fingers 😊Kartacze – Podlasie potato dumplingsThis unique delicacy with a slightly grey colour consists of raw potatoes and stuffing, usually beef and pork. It came to Poland from Lithuania, where it is known as cepelin. Its shape is a bit like an airship 😊 it’s a large, elongated dumpling with stuffing inside. Why is it so delicious? Because a pinch of love and bacon cracklings are added to each one. It entered the list of traditional products. Potato cakeAnother local delicacy originally came from Belarus. This highly caloric dish consists of potatoes and bacon. The rest of the ingredients are up to the cook. It can be meat, mushrooms or Lithuanian sausage – kindziuk. SolyankaIt owes its name to the base on which it was cooked, i.e. fish stock and acid from pickled cucumbers. Over time, the recipe evolved; today the soup is made with meat. This dense and satisfying soup originating from the Russian countryside is also number one in Ukraine and Poland. SękaczThe finished dough is similar to a cut tree trunk, and there are legends about its origin. It does not change the fact that in Poland the best sękacz is prepared in Podlasie. Poles learned how to prepare a tree cake from the Yotvingians tribe. |
The Augustow Canal is a breathtaking example of the wealth of nature. Surrounded by lush greenery and crystal-clear waters, it is a true wonder to behold. There are four National Parks and the deepest lake in Poland in the area.
Created in 1921, it protects the best-preserved fragment of the Białowieża Forest (1/6 of the Polish part of the Forest) – the last natural forest in Europe’s lowlands, of primaeval nature, which stretched centuries ago in the zone of deciduous and mixed forests. It is characterized by high biodiversity. The park includes 809 species of vascular plants, over 3,000 species of spore plants and fungi with almost 200 species of mosses and 283 species of lichens. Over 8,000 species of invertebrates, about 120 species of breeding birds and 52 species of mammals have been found.
The Białowieża National Park is the first Polish natural site entered by UNESCO on the World Heritage List. It is also the most important – central zone of the Białowieża Biosphere Reserve.
Source: https://bpn.com.pl/
It was created in 1993 and it is the largest national park in Poland and one of the greatest in Europe. The purpose is to protect the vast peat bogs of the Biebrza Basin and a small fragment of the Sokólskie Hills. The most valuable assets are the wide valley of the Biebrza River with the largest complex of peat bogs in Poland called the Biebrza Marshes. The Biebrza National Park is also described by vast landscapes, ecosystems and habitats that have already been irretrievably destroyed elsewhere as a result of drainage swamps and fen.
The Biebrza Marshes are considered key refuges for water and marsh birds in the country and in Central Europe.
Source: https://www.biebrza.org.pl/
It was created in 1996. The Park covers the swampy Valley of the Upper Narew in the section Suraż – Rzędziany. It is called the „Polish Amazonia” and is considered one of the last natural, regularly flooded river valleys in Europe.
The most significant natural value is the unique character of the river. Within its borders, the Narew flows through a number of channels, separating and connecting, forming an irregular, complicated network. Over 200 species of birds have been found here, including 28 endangered on a global or European scale. The park is inhabited by around 40 species of mammals, 13 species of amphibians and numerous species of fish.
Source: https://www.polska.travel/
It was created in 1989. The park is distinguished by an extraordinary wealth of lakes surrounded by vast forests. In addition to the largest lake Wigry, famous for its picturesqueness, there are also 41 natural water reservoirs in the park. A peculiarity is mid-forest, small dystrophic lakes (with acidic water rich in humic substances), surrounded by a floating sheepskin consisting mainly of sphagnum mosses. The Czarna Hańcza, a tributary of the Nemunas, flows through the Park.
Source: https://www.wigry.org.pl/
It is a part of the Suwałki Landscape Park. It is the deepest lake in Poland and in the Central European Plain (108.5 m maximum depth). A typical gutter reservoir with an area of 305 ha, almost 5 km long and a maximal width of 1 km. The shores are covered with numerous boulders and the coastline is varied with picturesque bays and peninsulas. The bottom is carved with ditches, pits and steep ravines – hence it is of great interest to divers.
Hańcza is a lake with very clean, cool, well-oxygenated and highly transparent waters. 24 species of fish have been found here.
Source: https://www.polska.travel/
