Bukowe Zdroje nature reserve named after Professor Tadeusz Dominik

The Bukowe Zdroje nature reserve named after Professor Tadeusz Dominik is the largest reserve in the Beech Forest (Puszcza Bukowa). It covers 221.28 ha and lies in the north-western part of the Szczecin Landscape Park “Puszcza Bukowa”. On the west it borders Podjuchy across the A6 motorway, and on the north the Bukowe estate. Most of the area belongs to Stare Czarnowo municipality, and only 2.63 ha lies within the boundaries of Szczecin.

History of protection and the name

The reserve was established on 30 May 1956 with an area of 216.28 ha under the name Bukowe Zdroje. In 1964 it was reduced to 207.9 ha, and in 2005 it was enlarged. In 1982 it was given its present name in honour of the Szczecin mycologist Tadeusz Dominik.

What it protects

The aim of protection is a complex of beech forests, riverside forests and alder carrs with a highly varied terrain. From north to south it is cut by the deep valley of the Chojnówka with an ash riparian forest, and where water seeps out at the foot of the slopes there is spring beech forest. The reserve contains 31 natural monuments: 27 oaks with girths of 170 to 390 cm, three beeches and an erratic boulder, the Swedish Stone (Szwedzki Kamień). Protected plants grow here, including the whitebeam Sorbus torminalis, helleborines, common hepatica and toothwort.

Trails and places in the area

The entry on the reserve lists the marked hiking trails of the Beech Forest: the trail through the Słupi Głaz named after Wojciech Lipniacki, the Stanisław Groński trail, the Wełtyń Plain Trail, the Warrior Żelisław Trail, the trail to the Swedish Stone and the Mountain Trail to Bukowiec. Among places of note it names the Chojnówka valley from Marzanna's Pond (Oczko Marzanny), the early medieval stronghold of Chojna, the Swedish Mill (Szwedzki Młyn) site with the ruins of a 13th-century timber mill, and the Swedish Stone, a boulder with a circumference of 9.7 m and a height of 1.8 m.

Practical information

• Location: the area around Karczma, Stare Czarnowo municipality, just beyond the northern edge of Szczecin.
• The reserve lies in a landscape park, so nature protection rules apply. Check the current route and marking of the trails with the Gryfino Forest Inspectorate or the landscape park.
• Nearby are Emerald Lake (Jezioro Szmaragdowe), about 1.7 km in a straight line, and Czajcza Góra at a distance of about 2 km.