WolinMiędzyzdroje

Center of Slavs and Vikings • Wolin Island used to be a very important place for the Vikings a thousand years ago.

Today you can still find some of their remains.

• Visiting the reconstructions of the dwelling houses and the craftsmen workshops from the early Middle Ages – from the 9th to the 11th century, you can see how the daily life of our ancestors was like and how they lived and worked.  Inside of some huts one can see the replicas of the furniture, tools and the daily life items used 1000 years ago. Experimental archaeology workshops differ from a typical museum or an open-air ethnographic museum. Not only can one see all the objects and equipment but also touch and independently try various tools or sit on “historical” chairs, lay on bed and feel the times of  Slavs and Vikings.

• You can also see craftsmen works, their historical clothes and try to do their work as well and then learn about the life and work of the people living in Wolin 1000 years ago. 

• Specially prepared „historical” playground gives the air of enjoyment and laughter to the young and old.

• Yearly Viking Festival is held here.

Wolin• The origins of the name “Wolin” are unknown; probably it is

Slavic. In the old Slavic language the word "wolyn" meant a wetland, and in the course of the time, it was germanised.

• Both the city of Wolin and commune offer a lot of sights for their visitors: Wolin National Park and trips by Viking boat. There are numerous holiday camps and agro tourist farms which are situated in charming places away from the city. Wolin Island has a lot of clean beaches, very good catering industry and infrastructure. One can see there many architectural structures (from wood and brick or stone) and wildlife reserves. In forests one can admire old, grand beeches, pines, oak trees and thujas near Warnowo. The forests are inhabited by deer, foxes, martens and weasels.

Wolin National Park• Wolin National Park is located at the mouth of the Oder River, close to the Polish-German

border. It preserves highly valuable north-western part of Wolin Island. The Park was established in 1960 on the area of 4844ha. It was extended in 1996 by incorporating 1 nautical mile broad belt of the Baltic coastal waters in the north and the delta of the Swina River. The inclusion of the part of the Pomeranian Bay and inner salt waters of the Szczecin Bay has made the Wolin National Park the first maritime park in Poland.

• The landscape of the Park varies greatly, including its characteristic element: 15 km long and up to 95 m high cliffs. Storms, wind and sun contribute to the cliffs' erosion. As a result they recede approximately 80 cm per year. The altitude within the Park is from 0 to 115 m.

Waters

• Waters, apart from forests, are predominating ecotypes of the Park. The northernmost part comprises a belt of the Baltic Sea coastal waters and the western part – the delta of the Swina River. The delta is a complex of water-muddy islands, separated by channels with a variable direction of flow and water level. The picturesque panorama of the delta can be admired from the top of Zielonka hill. There are 4 post-glacial lakes in the Park forests: Warnowskie, Rabiąż, Czajcze and Domysłowskie, and artificial lakes: Turkusowe and Stara Kredownia.

Vegetation• Over 1300 vascular plant species have been recorded on the Wolin Island. Many of the species are rare

and protected, such as sand binders: sea-beach sandwort, sea rocket, spiny saltwort, and salt water plants.• The bed of the Baltic Sea is a habitat of macroalgae. • Inland areas of the Park consist mainly of moraine hills covered with beech-pine-oak forests. The most

dominant tree species is pine, which covers 68% of the inland Park area. Beech and oak cover respectively 23% and 7%, and other tree species the remaining part. The beech forests are among especially well preserved forest communities; their structure is close to the structure of original forests.

• The best preserved beech forest communities are under strict protection in two reserves in the southern part of the Park and one in its northern part, where the orchid beech wood appears. It developed on a special aeolian cliff soil, created by wind transporting small mineral particles inside the forest. This extraordinary plant community includes among other things 9 orchid species. Other plant communities also deserve special attention e.g. coastal coniferous forests with crowberry.

Fauna• The fauna of Wolin is varied and richly represented by rare

species. Over 230 bird species have been recorded within the Park: white-tailed sea eagle, aquatic warbler, dunlin and red-breasted flycatcher. The park is particularly important for preserving habitats of waterfowls, for which it provides peace and feeding grounds, especially during spring and autumn migration. One of the recent projects is the reintroduction of eagle owl. The stations of the largest Polish beetle - stag beetle, are examples of the rich insect world. 3 new for science species - beetle Teredus opacus and two species of springtails have been designated within the Park borders. The waters of the Pomeranian Bay are biotopes of many species, particularly fish, and sea mammals becoming more and more rare - grey seal and harbour porpoise.

Bisons• The Wolin National Park is home to animals such as ermine, ducks,

eagles, owls and six species of bats. Its pride and joy is, however, a population of European bison.

Among the highlights of the Wolin National Park is the reserve that is home to animals brought here from the Augustów region in the 1970s. The continent’s biggest mammal, the European bison, was once on the verge of extinction. To repopulate the species, 12 bison from European zoos were selected. All bisons at the Wolin reserve are descendants of this line. They all live in a protected zone hidden in the pine forest and can be observed from platforms protected by a fence.

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Międzyzdroje• Miedzyzdroje is a seaside spa and

resort with a promenade stretching along the beach, a wooden pier going into the sea, a beautiful band shell, a spa park and numerous hotels, boarding houses and holiday homes. It owes its attractiveness to its beautiful location, with sandy beaches and an excellent climate, the gentlest on the whole Baltic coast. It is crowded in the summer, but in other seasons the resort becomes a peaceful town excellent for resting. Miedzyzdroje lies on Wolin Island, next to the Wolin National Park, an oasis of peace and primeval nature even at the height of the summer season. A coastal trade route ran through Miedzyzdroje in the Middle Ages.

The Pier• It was built in 1884. In 1906 there was a ceremonial opening of the pier which is 370 metres long

and named after a German emperor, Frederick III. Unfortunately, a huge storm in 1913 significantly damaged the structure of the pier, and next year, after Word War I broke out, miners from Swinoujscie blew it up for fear of Russian landing. The pier reconstructed after WWI was much shorter and only 200 metres long. Consecutive storms gradually destroyed the structure of the pier and it was finally closed in 1985 for safety reasons. Four years later the pier was completely taken to pieces. An entirely new walking pier was opened to the public in 1994.

We are reminded of the old times by the period turrets as well as a meteorogical glass-case from 1887, which holds meteorogical instruments, a thermometer and a barometer. At the top, on four sides of the glass-case, you can find four symbols of the day: • a cock – the symbol of dawn,• a hive – the symbol of noon,• a bat – the symbol of evening,• an owl – the symbol of dark night.

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Promenade• The pedestrian zone in town includes two streets - Stars and

the Heroes of Warsaw Avenues. About 1 km of the street is  full of souvenir stalls and shops, bars, fried fish bars and restaurants. Just beyond the celebrated Amber hotel you can walk along the pavement with famous Polish actors’ hand prints. This is called the Hollywood Boulevard of Poland.

Kawcza Mountain• The mountain is one of the highest points

along the Amber Coast. At its northern end, the moraine surface ends with a cliff falling into the sea.