# National Parks of Poland

There are 23 national parks in Poland. These were formerly run by the Polish Board of National Parks (Polish: Krajowy Zarząd Parków Narodowych), but in 2004 responsibility for their management was transferred to what is now the Ministry of Climate and the Environment. Most national parks are divided into strictly and partially protected zones. They currently encompass around 186000 hectares of forest, or around 2% of all the country's woodlands.
Polish national parks have carried out numerous research programs and they play an important role in the ecological education. The national parks can be visited as they provide a well-developed tourism infrastructure, though visitors typically need to keep to designated areas such as trails. Many parks furthermore offer thematic trails, educational centres and natural history museums.

## Legal basis and governance of Poland's national parks

In order to become a national park, an area needs to be at least 1000 hectares in size and have outstanding environmental and cultural value. The ecosystems in the park need to be in their natural state—or close to it. National parks usually play host to several "valuable" species; usually rare or protected ones.
The area of a national park is divided into different zones using separate methods of conservation. There are strict protection zones, as well as active and landscape-related ones. Additionally, they are usually surrounded by a protective buffer zone called otulina. Human activity is also heavily restricted within the park itself, with strict conservation rules in place. There are also significant restrictions on what can be done within the buffer zones.
Poland's national parks are governed by the Nature Conservation Act, last amended in 2004, and they are funded from the central state budget. Each park is managed by a director, who works closely with an oversight board. They are further supervised by the Ministry of Climate and Environment.

## List of Poland's national parks

Landscape belts :
| Baltic Sea coast | Lowland belt | Sudete Mountains |
| Lake belt | Upland belt | Carpathian Mountains |
| Name (Polish) | Name origin | Seat | Location | Area (km²) | Year | Symbol | UNESCO status | Neighboring national parks |
| Babia Góra National Park (Babiogórski Park Narodowy) | Babia Góra Massif | Zawoja | 49°35′N 19°32′E﻿ / ﻿49.583°N 19.533°E﻿ / 49.583; 19.533 | 33.92 | 1954 | Laserpitium archangelica Laserpitium archangelica | Biosphere reserve | Horná Orava Protected Landscape Area, Slovakia |
| Białowieża National Park (Białowieski Park Narodowy) | Białowieża (village) and Białowieża Forest | Białowieża | 52°40′N 23°50′E﻿ / ﻿52.667°N 23.833°E﻿ / 52.667; 23.833 | 105.02 | 1932 | Wisent European bison | World Heritage Site, biosphere reserve | Belavezhskaya Pushcha National Park, Belarus |
| Biebrza National Park (Biebrzański Park Narodowy) | Biebrza River | Osowiec-Twierdza | 53°35′N 22°46′E﻿ / ﻿53.583°N 22.767°E﻿ / 53.583; 22.767 | 592.23 | 1993 | Ruff Ruff | Biosphere reserve | |
| Bieszczady National Park (Bieszczadzki Park Narodowy) | Bieszczady Mountains | Ustrzyki Górne | 49°06′N 22°40′E﻿ / ﻿49.100°N 22.667°E﻿ / 49.100; 22.667 | 292.01 | 1973 | Lynx Lynx | Biosphere reserve | Poloniny National Park, Slovakia |
| Tuchola Forest National Park (Park Narodowy „Bory Tucholskie”) | Tuchola Forest | Charzykowy | 53°36′N 18°00′E﻿ / ﻿53.600°N 18.000°E﻿ / 53.600; 18.000 | 47.98 | 1996 | Capercaillie Western capercaillie | | |
| Drawno National Park (Drawieński Park Narodowy) | Drawa River | Drawno | 53°07′N 16°15′E﻿ / ﻿53.117°N 16.250°E﻿ / 53.117; 16.250 | 114.41 | 1990 | Otter Otter | | |
| Gorce National Park (Gorczański Park Narodowy) | Gorce Mountains | Poręba Wielka | 49°34′N 20°10′E﻿ / ﻿49.567°N 20.167°E﻿ / 49.567; 20.167 | 70.29 | 1981 | Fire salamander Fire salamander | |
| Kampinos National Park (Kampinoski Park Narodowy) | Kampinos (village) and Kampinos Forest | Izabelin C | 52°19′N 20°28′E﻿ / ﻿52.317°N 20.467°E﻿ / 52.317; 20.467 | 385.44 | 1959 | Moose European elk | Biosphere reserve | |
| Karkonosze National Park (Karkonoski Park Narodowy) | Karkonosze (Giant Mountains) | Jelenia Góra | 50°46′N 15°37′E﻿ / ﻿50.767°N 15.617°E﻿ / 50.767; 15.617 | 55.76 | 1959 | Mountain Campanula bohemica and Gentiana asclepiadea | Biosphere reserve | Krkonošský NP, Czech Republic |
| Magura National Park (Magurski Park Narodowy) | Magura Wątkowska massif | Krempna | 49°31′N 21°31′E﻿ / ﻿49.517°N 21.517°E﻿ / 49.517; 21.517 | 194.39 | 1995 | Buzzard Lesser spotted eagle | | |
| Narew National Park (Narwiański Park Narodowy) | Narew River | Kurowo | 53°04′N 22°53′E﻿ / ﻿53.067°N 22.883°E﻿ / 53.067; 22.883 | 68.1 | 1996 | Marsh harrier Western marsh harrier | | |
| Ojców National Park (Ojcowski Park Narodowy) | Ojców (village) | Ojców | 50°13′N 19°50′E﻿ / ﻿50.217°N 19.833°E﻿ / 50.217; 19.833 | 21.46 | 1956 | Bat Bat | | |
| Pieniny National Park (Pieniński Park Narodowy) | Pieniny Mountains | Krościenko nad Dunajcem | 49°25′N 20°22′E﻿ / ﻿49.417°N 20.367°E﻿ / 49.417; 20.367 | 23.46 | 1932 | Trzy Korony Trzy Korony Mountain and the Dunajec River | | Pieninský NP, Slovakia |
| Polesie National Park (Poleski Park Narodowy) | Polesie region | Urszulin | 51°27′N 23°09′E﻿ / ﻿51.450°N 23.150°E﻿ / 51.450; 23.150 | 97.62 | 1990 | Crane Common crane | Biosphere reserve | Shatskyy NP, Ukraine |
| Roztocze National Park (Roztoczański Park Narodowy) | Roztocze (range of hills) | Zwierzyniec | 50°36′N 23°01′E﻿ / ﻿50.600°N 23.017°E﻿ / 50.600; 23.017 | 84.83 | 1974 | Konik Konik | | |
| Slovincian National Park (Słowiński Park Narodowy) | Slovincian tribe | Smołdzino | 54°40′N 17°13′E﻿ / ﻿54.667°N 17.217°E﻿ / 54.667; 17.217 | 186.18 | 1967 | Seagull Seagull | Biosphere reserve | |
| Stołowe Mountains National Park (Park Narodowy Gór Stołowych) | Stołowe Mountains | Kudowa-Zdrój | 50°28′N 16°20′E﻿ / ﻿50.467°N 16.333°E﻿ / 50.467; 16.333 | 63.40 | 1993 | Sandstone Szczeliniec Wielki | | |
| Świętokrzyski National Park (Świętokrzyski Park Narodowy) | Świętokrzyskie Mountains | Bodzentyn | 50°52′N 20°58′E﻿ / ﻿50.867°N 20.967°E﻿ / 50.867; 20.967 | 76.26 | 1950 | Deer Deer | | |
| Tatra National Park (Tatrzański Park Narodowy) | Tatra Mountains | Zakopane | 49°15′N 19°56′E﻿ / ﻿49.250°N 19.933°E﻿ / 49.250; 19.933 | 211.64 | 1954 | Tatra chamois Tatra chamois | Biosphere reserve | Tatra National Park, Slovakia |
| Warta Mouth National Park (Park Narodowy „Ujście Warty”) | Warta mouth | Chyrzyno | 52°35′N 14°42′E﻿ / ﻿52.583°N 14.700°E﻿ / 52.583; 14.700 | 80.38 | 2001 | Tundra bean goose | |
| Wielkopolska National Park (Wielkopolski Park Narodowy) | Greater Poland region | Jeziory | 52°17′N 16°51′E﻿ / ﻿52.283°N 16.850°E﻿ / 52.283; 16.850 | 75.84 | 1957 | Owl Tawny owl | | |
| Wigry National Park (Wigierski Park Narodowy) | Wigry Lake | Krzywe | 54°02′N 23°06′E﻿ / ﻿54.033°N 23.100°E﻿ / 54.033; 23.100 | 150.86 | 1989 | Beaver Beaver and Wigry Lake | | |
| Wolin National Park (Woliński Park Narodowy) | Wolin Island | Misdroy | 53°55′N 14°30′E﻿ / ﻿53.917°N 14.500°E﻿ / 53.917; 14.500 | 109.37 | 1960 | White-tailed eagle White-tailed eagle | | |

## Museums in national parks

* Museum of Nature and Forest Białowieża National Park, Palace Park, Białowieża
* Educational Centre of Babia Góra National Park, Zawoja
* Museum of Natural History Bieszczady National Park, Ustrzyki Dolne
* Museum of Natural History Kampinos National Park, Kampinos
* Science Museum at Karkonosze National Park, Jelenia Góra
* Museum im. prof. Władysława Szafera, Ojców
* Centre for Education and Museum at Polesie National Park, Załucze Stare
* Centre for Education and Museum at Roztocze National Park, Zwierzyniec
* Museum of Nature and Forest at Słowiński National Park, Smołdzino
* Museum of Natural History at Świętokrzyski National Park, Święty Krzyż
* Natural History Museum of Tatra National Park, Zakopane
* Natural History Museum of Wielkopolska National Park, Jeziory
* Wigler Museum (Museum at Wigry National Park), Stary Folwark
* Natural History Museum of Wolin National Park, Misdroy
* Field Station DNP "Bogdanka", Drawno
* Karkonosze Environmental Education Center, Szklarska Poręba