January 21, 2020

Poland Travel: Pszczyna Bison Reserve

The day before yesterday, we once again visited my aunt who lives nearby. This time, my cousin also came to see us. After returning home and having lunch, our son went to sleep. We thought he was just tired, but he woke up with a fever. We bought some medicine from the drugstore, which helped a little. We hope he will get well soon.
Later in the evening, my uncle (whom we saw just yesterday) came because he found out that he will be going to work in Germany this Sunday.

Yesterday morning, our son still had a fever, but we still wanted to visit another family that lives 300 km away. It was a little over a 4.5-hour drive, and nearly half of the way we could see road construction on both sides. There was only one accessible lane, and part of the highway was blocked due to six bridges being destroyed. Luckily, it was Friday morning, otherwise, there could have been heavy traffic on the weekend. Adrian slept most of the time, and his fever decreased. The weather wasn't good anymore, so we gave up on visiting any other places and instead stayed at the family's home. I wanted to visit Auschwitz, but it seemed more difficult. I checked the tickets a day earlier, and there was already nothing available in English. Additionally, it seems that visiting this place takes around six hours, which is too long with a kid and in this weather.

The whole afternoon, we only stayed at the family's home. The weather on Saturday was no better. Bored of staying home, we decided to go out and visited the Bison Reserve in Pszczyna.
The history of bisons in Pszczyna goes back to 1865. At that time, four bisons were transported to Silesia with a freight train from Bialowieza Forest as a gift from the Russian tsar to the prince of Pszczyna, John Henry IX Hochberg. Both of them were avid hunters, and for this purpose, they brought the bisons to Pszczyna. In return, the prince gifted a herd of 20 deer. By the beginning of the 20th century, the bison herd had grown to 74 individuals, and before World War II, the bisons from Pszczyna contributed to the restoration of the Bialowieza herd, which was almost extinct at that time. When the restoration efforts began in 1929, the herd in Pszczyna had only seven individuals left as the rest did not survive World War I and the Silesian Uprisings. In 1948, the Directorate of State Forests decided to establish a nature reserve of 700 hectares, where the bisons have been staying to the present day. Currently, there are 31 animals living in the reserve.

See also: Będzin Castle

Pszczyna Bison Reserve, Poland

Pszczyna Bison Reserve, Poland

Pszczyna Bison Reserve, Poland

Pszczyna Bison Reserve, Poland

Pszczyna Bison Reserve, Poland

Pszczyna Bison Reserve, Poland

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