Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park | |
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Национальный парк «Беловежская пуща» (Russian) Natsionalny park "Belovezhskaya pushcha" (Russian) Нацыянальны парк Белавежская пушча (Belarusian) Natsyyanal’ny park Byelavyezhskaya pushcha (Belarusian) | |
Location | Brest Region and Grodno Region in Belarus |
Coordinates | 52°35′7.66″N 23°52′44.86″E / 52.5854611°N 23.8791278°E |
Area | 1,500.69 km2 (579.42 sq mi) (2015) |
Established | 11 August 1932 |
Governing body | Ministry of the Environment |
Part of | Białowieża Forest (since 1992) |
Criteria | Natural: ix, x |
Reference | 33-001 |
Extensions | 2014 |
Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park (Russian:[1][2][3] Национальный парк «Беловежская пуща», Belarusian: Нацыянальны парк Белавежская пушча) is a national park within parts of the Brest Region (Kamyanyets District and Pruzhany District) and Grodno Region (Svislach District) in Belarus adjacent to the Polish border. Since 1992, it has been a preserved part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Białowieża Forest,[4] the last primeval forest fragment of the European woodlands that once stretched across the European Plain. It is home to a large population of European bison, the continent's heaviest land animals. The border between the two countries runs through the forest with the Białowieża National Park on the Polish side of the border. Since May 2015 there has been a visa-free regime within the forest for hikers and cyclists at the Pierarova-Białowieża border crossing.[5]