Narew River - Polish Amazon (EN)

If we are looking for a really wild place, where nature rules and man is only observer of natural phenomena, we should interest in the Podlasie Narew River. The Narew National Park covering the most interesting natural section of the river. Park is on Podlasie region, about 30 km on west from Bialystok City.

The etymology of the name Narew is interesting. It probably comes from the pre-European word "nur", meaning river or water. This word was used by ancient peoples living in area of ​​today's Podlasie region.

Currently, Narew is the longest river in northeastern Poland. It has 484 km, of which 36 km is on the Belarusian side. Its tributaries are other important rivers of Podlasie - including Biebrza and Bug. Narew itself is one of the tributaries of the Vistula, most important river of Poland.

Narew National Park was established in 1996. It covers the most valuable natural section of the river with a length of 45 kilometers. The river has a unique character in the Park. In this region, Narew flows through many riverbeds, forming a mosaic of inaccessible islets and peninsulas, covered with lush vegetation. This type of river is called anastomosing. In Poland only Narew has such a character. It is worth noting that the rivers with a similar river system are the Amazon in South America and Congo in Africa. The Narew's feature is the exceptional strength and stability of its side walls. They form extensive root systems of aquatic plants - mainly reeds. Such a system means that the river is already very close to the shore. Its trough in places is 2 meters wide and the same depth. Every year in the early spring period, as a result of melting snow and ice, the Narew river valley is flooded. This process is often repeated in the early summer months due to heavy rainfall during this period. The river then becomes even more inaccessible and wild.

The best to admire the river is from footbridge connecting villages Śliwno and Waniewo. It's a wooden, 1.5-kilometer-long bridge. One of the attractions of the crossing are floating platforms. To cross them on the other side of the river, you need to manually drag the platform with steel chains. Therefore, when going for a walk on the footbridge, remember to be with us at least one strong man. On footbridge are two observation towers. From them we can admire the beautiful, stretching the Narew River. We can come across wild birds, which in the period from early spring to late autumn, inhabits these areas in large numbers.

History of the footbridge is very interesting. In the 15th century, an important trade route leading to Lithuania ran through Śliwno and Waniewo. Its important part was a wooden bridge, located in the place of the current footbridge. In 1521, a battle took place between the noble families living in the opposite banks of the river. As a result of this conflict, the footbridge burned down. At the end of the 16th century, the area where the crossing was located came into the hands of Mikołaj Radziwiłł. He rebuilt the footbridge and built a wooden fortress in the middle of the river backwaters. He collected tolls from travelers crossing the river. The footbridge has only once again been completely destroyed. It was in 1915, when Russian troops retreating under the pressure of the Prussian army burned the bridge. The bridge was rebuilt in 2008 and has been serving tourists and lovers of wildlife since then.

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