Gołuchów – the pearl of S outhern G reater Poland

1. Woodland Gołuchów– the pearl of SouthernGreater Poland ForestCulture Centre Goluchow’s forest lies along the national road No. 12 from Macew toTursko.Itcoversthearea of 935 hectares. The forest belongs to TaczanówForestInspectorate. The part of forest area is taken by the Forest Culture Center, which is anautonomous object, governedby General Management of Public Forests in Warsaw. Thewoodlandisdominated by mixed and fresh forests, in which prevail oaks and pines.

2. Forest Culture Center Nowadays, itencompassesapproximetely 200 hectares. Itsgeographiclacationis 51o 52’ N and 17o 55’ E. Its role ispreservation of cultureheritage of Polishforestry and popularisation of forestersacquis. It was officialyformedin 1976. Itcomprises 4 ares: The Park In whichlies: TheMuseum of Forestry Exhibitiveanimal pen TheCastle

3. The map of the Park

4. TheMuseum of Forestry ThedecisonaboutuprsingtheMuseum of Forestry was announcedin 1975 by Minister of Forestry and Timber Industry. However, itcameintobeingin 1986 . Itconsist of 4 mainbuildings : Oficyna Dybul Powozownia Owczarnia

5. Oficyna Buildin XIX c. as a destilary. Thantranformedintoapartmentbuilding by Dzialynscy. Today, it as a part of themuseumitexhibitstwoinstalations: • History of forestryin Poland – showsthePolishforestry development fromresurections to communism. Exhibitsmedals, documents and photos and alsomodels of pristineforms of forestsexploition. • Culture-making role of theforest– presentsartinspired by forest.

6. Powozowania (Couchhouse) Constructedinthemiddle of XIX c. primarlyused as a stable and garage. Thesedaysitexhibitstheexpositioncalled „ Meetingwith a Forest”, whereyoucanseetheforestinalmosteveryparticular. One canmarvellat 256 species of plantsfunguses an animalslistedinIUCN Red List of Threatened Species. As a rarity, itshowsthe „ligneousbooks” – woodenboxeswithevery parts of theparticular plant made of the bark of this plant.

7. Owczarnia (Sheepfold) ThisbuldingisconnectedwithCoachhousewithvitroustunnel Theexhibitionfeatureshistoryforestryequipment ( machines and devices) usedincultivation, conservation and exploitation of forest. Italsoshowsmaterilas and substancesmade out of wood.

8. The Park - arboretum Itcoversthearea of 200 hectares and itismadeinEnglish style whichmakesit one of thebiggest and theoldestparks. Thesothern part hasdecorativecharacter and itiscalled arboretum and the northern is a forest. Since 1956 ithasbeen an monument and since 1989 ithasbeen a part of landscapeprotectionarea.

9. The Park history Park was set up by Leszczynskiwho was theowner of theGoluchowin XVI c. Atthat time park hadonly 3 hectares. Therevolution was madein XIX c. by thelaterownercountDzialynski and his wife Isabel fromducalfamily. The park grew to 130 hectares. However, thebiggest part inthistranformationplayedthegardener Adam Kubaszewski who was thebuilder of the park. DuringtheWorld War II ownerslefttheir estate and afterthe war it was inherit by public traesury.

10. The Park flora In the Park thereis 80,000 trees (600 species and strains) inwhich 262 arenature’smunuments. Therearealso 300 species of funguses, 27 species of Bryophytes and 131 taxons of lichens . Many of thetreeswereimportedin XIX c. fromdifferent parts od Europe, North America and Asia. • The most interestingare: • XIX c. alley of limetrees • 250 year old Oak „John” • XIX c. hornbeams • Sorbus intermedia, Sorbustorminalis, Sorbus aria Crantz • Thujaoccidentalis • Populusnigra • Pinusnigra • Arummaculatum

11. The Park fauna Many differentspecies of animalsinhabitthe park area. Thereare 8 species of Amhibias, 3 species of Reptiles, 70 species of birds and 27 species of mammals (eg. Castorfiber, Capreolus, Sciurusvulgaris)

12. The Park fauna In the Park thereisalsoexhibitiveanimalanclosureinwhichlives 11 Europeanwoodbisons (Bisonbonasus) whichwerehunted to extinction in the wild in the early 20th century. Duringthelast 30 years 72 specimenshavebeenbornhere and reintroduced.

13. The Park fauna In the same enclosure 3 otherspeciescan be found: Equiisilvestris, Dama dama, Sus scrofa

14. Theerraticboulder On theterrain of theforesttheis an erraticboulder. Itis the biggest erratic boulder in the Wielkopolska region and the sixth biggest one in the country is situated near Goluchów, which is famous for its Renaissance castle. The huge stone was brought here by a continental glacier from Scandinavia during the last glacial period. It remained to be a peculiar giant despite the fact that it was eroding for thousands of years. The erratic boulder in Goluchów is 3.5 metre high, 8.5 metre long, 6.5 metre wide and 22 metre in perimeter. A two-metre part of this spectacular rock remains under ground.Ithas a status of nature monument.

15. Referneces • Michocka S. , Olejnik B, Suder J. „Przewodnik dendrologiczny po Parku w Gołuchowie” 1999 • Czołnik B. „Ośrodek Kultury Leśnej w Gołuchowie – informator” • Żuralew P. „ Niezwykła przyroda powiatu pleszewskiego” 2014 • Wilżak T, Żuralew P. „Przyroda powiatu pleszewskiego” 2008 • Ratajszczak K. „ Żubry w Ośrodku Kultury Leśnej w Gołuchowie” 2007 – materiały OKL. • Antonowicz A. „ Gołuchowski Park mniej znany” – artykuł • LeafletsfromForestCulture Centre • Interview withthestaffmember

16. Authors Zofia Płócienniczak – 1a Natalia Kieliba – 2b Bartosz Dwojak – 2c Gimnazjum w Gołuchowie.