The history of the railway in the Białowieża Forest
In the years 1915-1918, the Białowieża Forest remained under German military management. In order to process the harvested wood, sawmills, a wood wool factory, a carpentry workshop, and a dry wood distillation factory were built. Horses were no longer sufficient to transport wood from the forest, so in 1916 the construction of a forest railway began. Russian and French prisoners of war and the local population were engaged in the work. In addition to the permanent tracks, a fairly dense network of portable tracks was laid, which were moved to places of intensive timber harvesting as needed.
In the years 1924-1929, forest railways were managed by the English company "The Century European Timber Corporation", which had the right to exploit the Forest. Intensive logging by this company resulted in an increase in timber transport by railway.
In 1929, when the management of the cable cars was taken over by the Directorate of the State Forests in Białowieża, their proper operation began. In 1939, the Białowieża Forest was occupied by the Russians, who also obtained large amounts of raw material. The railways still had a lot of work, because in addition to transporting wood, they were also a means of transport for the local population. In 1941, the area of the Białowieża Forest was occupied by the Germans, who exported the raw material collected by the Russians. In 1944, immediately after the country was liberated, the destruction began to be removed. A train from Hajnówka to Białowieża was launched. Mechanical workshops were developed where rolling stock was repaired, and the loading of wood became mechanized.
The role of forest railways in timber transport decreased in the 1970s, along with the development of road transport. Further sections of tracks were eliminated, leaving only 123 km. Transport of wood by rail was discontinued in 1991.
From that year on, the forest railway serves only as a tourist attraction, on the Hajnówka-Topiło route (11 km). In 2001, an additional route was created: Hajnówka-Dolina Rzeki Leśnej (6 km).
Current opening hours and dates in the season are available at the reception.
