Białowieża [bʲawɔˈvʲɛʐa] is a village in Poland 's Podlaskie Voivodeship , in the middle of the Białowieża Forest , to which it gave its name. The village is some 21 kilometres (13 mi) east of Hajnówka and 66 km (41 mi) southeast of the province capital, Białystok .
124-531: Białowieża is in eastern Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship , near Poland's border with Belarus . The nearest city is Białystok , the province capital. Białowieża is also connected to the town of Hajnówka , some 20 km (12.43 mi) away. The Narewka River flows through Białowieża. Białowieża is the seat of the administrative district of Gmina Białowieża . Other villages in the district are Budy, Gródek, Pogorzelce , and Teremiski . Before 1426,
248-511: A Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand , heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible, and declared war on 28 July. After Russia mobilised in Serbia's defence, Germany declared war on Russia and France , who had an alliance . The United Kingdom entered after Germany invaded Belgium , whose neutrality it guaranteed, and
372-541: A World Heritage Site ) is in Podlaskie. There are four National Parks ( Białowieża , Biebrza , Narew and Wigry ), three Landscape Parks ( Knyszyń Forest , Łomża and Suwałki ), 88 nature reserves, and 15 protected landscape areas . The voivodeship constitutes a part of the ecologically clean area known as "the Green Lungs of Poland". Podlaskie has a Warm Summer Continental or Hemiboreal climate (Dfb) according to
496-630: A blue-water navy was vital for global power projection; Tirpitz had his books translated into German, while Wilhelm made them required reading for his advisors and senior military personnel. However, it was also an emotional decision, driven by Wilhelm's simultaneous admiration for the Royal Navy and desire to surpass it. Bismarck thought that the British would not interfere in Europe, as long as its maritime supremacy remained secure, but his dismissal in 1890 led to
620-583: A grenade at the Archduke's car and injured two of his aides. The other assassins were also unsuccessful. An hour later, as Ferdinand was returning from visiting the injured officers in hospital, his car took a wrong turn into a street where Gavrilo Princip was standing. He fired two pistol shots, fatally wounding Ferdinand and his wife Sophie . According to historian Zbyněk Zeman , in Vienna "the event almost failed to make any impression whatsoever. On 28 and 29 June,
744-536: A guerrilla warfare campaign and only surrendered two weeks after the armistice took effect in Europe. Before the war, Germany had attempted to use Indian nationalism and pan-Islamism to its advantage, a policy continued post-1914 by instigating uprisings in India , while the Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition urged Afghanistan to join the war on the side of Central Powers. However, contrary to British fears of
868-408: A change in policy and an Anglo-German naval arms race began. Despite the vast sums spent by Tirpitz, the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 gave the British a technological advantage. Ultimately, the race diverted huge resources into creating a German navy large enough to antagonise Britain, but not defeat it; in 1911, Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg acknowledged defeat, leading to
992-592: A direct threat. The 1908–1909 Bosnian Crisis began when Austria annexed the former Ottoman territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina , which it had occupied since 1878. Timed to coincide with the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, this unilateral action was denounced by the European powers, but accepted as there was no consensus on how to resolve the situation. Some historians see this as
1116-510: A farm was 10.35 ha. Agriculture in Podlaskie Voivodeship is characterized by a high share of agricultural land in good agricultural condition (99.3%) - these include arable land, permanent crops, home gardens, permanent meadows and permanent pastures. 98.9 percent from all land in agricultural holdings, i.e. 1,254.3 thous. ha, belongs to individual farms. Podlaskie Voivodeship has the highest percentage of grassland among all voivodships of
1240-467: A gap between the German armies as they closed on Paris. The French army, reinforced by the British expeditionary corps, seized this opportunity to counter-attack and pushed the German army 40 to 80 km back. Both armies were then so exhausted that no decisive move could be implemented, so they settled in trenches, with the vain hope of breaking through as soon as they could build local superiority. In 1911,
1364-579: A great hunt in the Białowieża Forest. To commemorate this event, a sandstone obelisk was erected near the palace, in which the names of the hunting entourage and the number of slaughtered animals were engraved in Polish and German. In 1765-1780 Białowieża was ruled by the Lithuanian court Treasurer Antoni Tyzenhauz. In 1784 King Stanisław August Poniatowski came to Białowieża. There were the last royal hunts in
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#17330849059461488-542: A military field hospital located in one of the wings of the palace. Then Białowieża was taken over by the German 3rd Armored Division. On September 16, Podlaska Cavalry Brigade entered Białowieża. On September 20, general Zygmunt Podhorski pseud. "Zaza" appointed from the gathered units of the Suwalska Cavalry Brigade and the Podlaska Cavalry Brigade the improvised Cavalry Division "Zaza" consisting of
1612-540: A possibility. This was accentuated by British and Russian support for France against Germany during the 1911 Agadir Crisis . German economic and industrial strength continued to expand rapidly post-1871. Backed by Wilhelm II, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz sought to use this growth to build an Imperial German Navy , that could compete with the British Royal Navy . This policy was based on the work of US naval author Alfred Thayer Mahan , who argued that possession of
1736-799: A revolt in India, the outbreak of the war saw a reduction in nationalist activity. Leaders from the Indian National Congress and other groups believed support for the British war effort would hasten Indian Home Rule , a promise allegedly made explicit in 1917 by Edwin Montagu , the Secretary of State for India . In 1914, the British Indian Army was larger than the British Army itself, and between 1914 and 1918 an estimated 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and
1860-504: A significant escalation, ending any chance of Austria cooperating with Russia in the Balkans, while also damaging diplomatic relations between Serbia and Italy. Tensions increased after the 1911–1912 Italo-Turkish War demonstrated Ottoman weakness and led to the formation of the Balkan League , an alliance of Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro , and Greece . The League quickly overran most of
1984-619: A varied landscape, shaped in the north by Baltic glaciation, the rest by Middle Poland glaciation. The highest peaks are in the north (Rowelska Top - 298 m), where the landscape is dominated by a hilly lake district. Lakeland: Zachodniosuwalskie, Wschodniosuwalskie, Ełckie) and Sandrowy lake district (Augustów Plain) in the central and southern pre-glacial plains prevail (plateaus: Kolneńska, Białystok, Wysokomazowiecka, Drohiczynska, Sokólskie Hills, Międzyrzecko łomżyński, Plain Bielsko), varied in topography with small basins and river valleys. Kurpie lies on
2108-471: A war on two fronts; the Schlieffen Plan envisaged using 80% of the army to defeat France, then switching to Russia. Since this required them to move quickly, mobilisation orders were issued that afternoon. Once the German ultimatum to Russia expired on the morning of 1 August, the two countries were at war. At a meeting on 29 July, the British cabinet had narrowly decided its obligations to Belgium under
2232-402: A weak Ottoman government, rather than an ambitious Slav power like Bulgaria . Russia had ambitions in northeastern Anatolia while its clients had overlapping claims in the Balkans. These competing interests divided Russian policy-makers and added to regional instability. Austrian statesmen viewed the Balkans as essential for the continued existence of their Empire and saw Serbian expansion as
2356-451: A whole, the Somme offensive led to an estimated 420,000 British casualties, along with 200,000 French and 500,000 Germans. The diseases that emerged in the trenches were a major killer on both sides. The living conditions led to disease and infection, such as trench foot , lice , typhus , trench fever , and the ' Spanish flu '. At the start of the war, German cruisers were scattered across
2480-514: A wooden hunting lodge was built for King Władysław Jagiełło on the Łutownia River , in the middle of the Białowieża Forest . The lodge was probably one of the area's first permanent settlements, though the forest had already been penetrated by hunters from nearby areas and by the King himself, who hunted there. The wooden lodge was painted white and became the namesake for both the future village and
2604-550: Is a voivodeship ( province ) in northeastern Poland . The name of the province refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, Podlasie ), and part of its territory corresponds to that region. The capital and largest city is Białystok . It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusian oblasts of Grodno and Brest to
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#17330849059462728-461: Is affected by the cold fronts which come from Scandinavia and Siberia . The average temperature in the winter ranges from -15 °C (5 °F) to -4 °C (24.8 °F). One of the cities located in Podlaskie - Suwalki - is called as The Polish North Pole, due to it is coldest temperature average around Poland. Podlaskie Voivodeship is divided into 17 counties ( powiats ): 3 city counties, those being Białystok , Suwałki , and Łomża . It
2852-760: Is also divided into 14 land counties, which these 14 counties are further divided into 118 gminas . Metropolitan Białystok was designated by the Voivodeship in the Regulation No. 52/05 of 16 May 2005 in order to help economically develop the region. In 2006, the metropolitan area's population was 450,254 inhabitants. It covers an area of 1.521 km ². For one km , there are about 265 people. Among urban residents there are more women - 192 thousand. For every 100 men, there are 108 women on average. The municipalities adjacent to Białystok are slowly losing their agricultural character, becoming residential suburban neighborhoods. Religion in Podlaskie Voivodeship (2021) Podlaskie
2976-527: Is described by linguists as being of Ruthenian origin, predominantly a mixture of Belarusian , Ukrainian with significant elements of Polish and a certain influence of the Russian language . However, this dialect is gradually disappearing and an increasing part of the population of Białowieża uses standard Polish or Podlasie-Polesian dialects of the Polish language. Jewish community in Białowieża established in
3100-503: Is known, however, that from 1908 to 1913, military spending by the six major European powers increased by over 50% in real terms. The years before 1914 were marked by a series of crises in the Balkans, as other powers sought to benefit from the Ottoman decline. While Pan-Slavic and Orthodox Russia considered itself the protector of Serbia and other Slav states, they preferred the strategically vital Bosporus straits to be controlled by
3224-492: Is reminiscent of a wooden Orthodox cross set up by the Browska Road, which according to one version means the place where the wooden Orthodox church was located, according to the other - the place where the village once ended. In the mid-eighteenth century, August III built a new hunting palace in the area of today's Palace Park, whose first description comes from an inventory from 1773. On September 27, 1752, August III organized
3348-995: Is rich in Baroque churches and monasteries, most notably in Różanystok , Wigry , Sejny , Tykocin , Drohiczyn , Bielsk Podlaski, Siemiatycze , Choroszcz , although there are also churches in other styles, including the Gothic St. Michael and John the Baptist Cathedral in Łomża and Saint John the Baptist church in Wizna , the Renaissance Old Parish Church in Białystok and the adjacent Białystok Cathedral , and Neoclassical Co-cathedral of St. Alexander in Suwałki . The Catholic Sanctuary of
3472-399: Is the land of the confluence of cultures – Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Jewish and Tatar – and is indicative of the ethnic territories limits. Eastward of Podlaskie lie historic Polish lands, which are now part of Ukraine and Belarus and Lithuania . Today, mainly Polish and Ruthenian ( Ukrainian and Belarusian ) are spoken in Podlaskie, while Lithuanian is preserved by
3596-558: The Schutzkorps was established, and carried out the persecution of Serbs. The assassination initiated the July Crisis, a month of diplomatic manoeuvring between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain. Believing that Serbian intelligence helped organise Franz Ferdinand's murder, Austrian officials wanted to use the opportunity to end their interference in Bosnia and saw war as
3720-626: The World War . In August 1914, the magazine The Independent wrote "This is the Great War. It names itself". In October 1914, the Canadian magazine Maclean's similarly wrote, "Some wars name themselves. This is the Great War". Contemporary Europeans also referred to it as " the war to end war " and it was also described as "the war to end all wars" due to their perception of its unparalleled scale, devastation, and loss of life. The first recorded use of
3844-616: The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force landed on the island of New Britain , then part of German New Guinea . On 28 October, the German cruiser SMS Emden sank the Russian cruiser Zhemchug in the Battle of Penang . Japan declared war on Germany before seizing territories in the Pacific, which later became the South Seas Mandate , as well as German Treaty ports on
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3968-788: The Central Powers . Fighting took place mainly in Europe and the Middle East , as well as in parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific , and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare ; the widespread use of artillery , machine guns, and chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of tanks and aircraft . World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in history , resulting in an estimated 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded , plus some 10 million civilian dead from causes including genocide . The movement of large numbers of people
4092-606: The Köppen climate classification system, which is characterized by warm temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. It is substantially different from most of the other Polish lowlands. The region is one of the coldest in Poland, with the average temperature in January being −5 °C (23 °F). The average temperature in a year is 7 °C (45 °F). The number of frost days ranges from 50 to 60, with frost from 110 to 138 days and
4216-564: The Osowiec and Łomża fortresses. There are numerous World War II memorials scattered across the voivodeship, including memorials at the sites of German and Soviet massacres of Poles, and Holocaust memorials. The ruins of the bunker of Captain Władysław Raginis in Góra Strękowa are preserved as a memorial to the heroic Polish defense in the Battle of Wizna . The chief universities of
4340-706: The Rüstungswende or 'armaments turning point', when he switched expenditure from the navy to the army. This decision was not driven by a reduction in political tensions but by German concern over Russia's quick recovery from its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and subsequent 1905 Russian Revolution . Economic reforms led to a significant post-1908 expansion of railways and transportation infrastructure, particularly in its western border regions. Since Germany and Austria-Hungary relied on faster mobilisation to compensate for their numerical inferiority compared to Russia,
4464-784: The United States entered the war on the Allied side following Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare against Atlantic shipping. Later that year, the Bolsheviks seized power in the Russian October Revolution , and Soviet Russia signed an armistice with the Central Powers in December, followed by a separate peace in March 1918. That month, Germany launched an offensive in
4588-551: The historic region of Poland called Podlasie , or in Latin known as Podlachia . There are two opinions regarding the origin of the region's name . People often derive it from the Proto-Slavic les or las , meaning "forest", i.e., it is an area "by the wood(s)" or an "area of forests", which would bring Podlasie close in meaning to adjacent Polesia . This theory has been questioned, as it does not properly take into consideration
4712-480: The hydrophone and depth charges were introduced, destroyers could potentially successfully attack a submerged submarine. Convoys slowed the flow of supplies since ships had to wait as convoys were assembled; the solution was an extensive program of building new freighters. Troopships were too fast for the submarines and did not travel the North Atlantic in convoys. The U-boats sunk more than 5,000 Allied ships, at
4836-789: The tank . After the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, Allied and German forces unsuccessfully tried to outflank each other, a series of manoeuvres later known as the " Race to the Sea ". By the end of 1914, the opposing forces confronted each other along an uninterrupted line of entrenched positions from the Channel to the Swiss border. Since the Germans were normally able to choose where to stand, they generally held
4960-588: The 1839 Treaty of London did not require it to oppose a German invasion with military force; however, Prime Minister Asquith and his senior Cabinet ministers were already committed to supporting France, the Royal Navy had been mobilised, and public opinion was strongly in favour of intervention. On 31 July, Britain sent notes to Germany and France, asking them to respect Belgian neutrality; France pledged to do so, but Germany did not reply. Aware of German plans to attack through Belgium, French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre asked his government for permission to cross
5084-548: The 1879 Dual Alliance , which became the Triple Alliance when Italy joined in 1882. For Bismarck, the purpose of these agreements was to isolate France by ensuring the three Empires resolve any disputes between themselves. In 1887, Bismarck set up the Reinsurance Treaty , a secret agreement between Germany and Russia to remain neutral if either were attacked by France or Austria-Hungary. For Bismarck, peace with Russia
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5208-441: The 1913 Treaty of London , which had created an independent Albania while enlarging the territories of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. However, disputes between the victors sparked the 33-day Second Balkan War , when Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913; it was defeated, losing most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Southern Dobruja to Romania. The result was that even countries which benefited from
5332-589: The 20th century and dismantled in the 1960s. It stood behind the "Sarenka" restaurant. During the German occupation it was used as a feed warehouse . Traces of the foundations was still visible in the 90s. The brick house of prayer was set up in a private house in the 1920s by a Jew who came from the Caucasus , located at 61 Stoczek Street. Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( Polish : Województwo podlaskie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ pɔˈdlaskʲɛ] )
5456-556: The Austrians and Serbs clashed at the battles of the Cer and Kolubara ; over the next two weeks, Austrian attacks were repulsed with heavy losses. As a result, Austria had to keep sizeable forces on the Serbian front, weakening their efforts against Russia. Serbia's victory against Austria-Hungary in the 1914 invasion has been called one of the major upset victories of the twentieth century. In 1915,
5580-642: The Austrians briefly occupied the Serbian capital, Belgrade . A Serbian counter-attack in the Battle of Kolubara succeeded in driving them from the country by the end of 1914. For the first 10 months of 1915, Austria-Hungary used most of its military reserves to fight Italy. German and Austro-Hungarian diplomats scored a coup by persuading Bulgaria to join the attack on Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian provinces of Slovenia , Croatia and Bosnia provided troops for Austria-Hungary. Montenegro allied itself with Serbia. Bulgaria declared war on Serbia on 14 October 1915 and joined in
5704-545: The Balkan Wars, such as Serbia and Greece, felt cheated of their "rightful gains", while for Austria it demonstrated the apparent indifference with which other powers viewed their concerns, including Germany. This complex mix of resentment, nationalism and insecurity helps explain why the pre-1914 Balkans became known as the " powder keg of Europe ". On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria , heir presumptive to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria , visited Sarajevo ,
5828-564: The Białowieża Forest. As a result of the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, Białowieża found itself within the borders of the Russian Empire (Russian partition of Poland). After the Partitions of Poland the local population was turned into serfs and Białowieża quickly depopulated. Tsar Alexander I reintroduced the reserve in 1801 and hired a small amount of peasants for protection of
5952-402: The Cavalry Brigade "Pleats" and the Cavalry Brigade "Edward". In accordance with Ribentrop-Molotov Pact, the area came under Soviet occupation and was declared part of the Belastok Region of the Belarusian SSR . In 1939 and 1940 many local inhabitants were arrested and deported to Siberia. Many were arrested and sent to the Gulag . They were replaced with Russian forest workers, but in 1941
6076-404: The Central Powers. However, the pro-German King Constantine I dismissed the pro-Allied government of Eleftherios Venizelos before the Allied expeditionary force arrived. The Macedonian front was at first mostly static. French and Serbian forces retook limited areas of Macedonia by recapturing Bitola on 19 November 1916 following the costly Monastir offensive , which brought stabilisation of
6200-410: The Chinese Shandong peninsula at Tsingtao . After Vienna refused to withdraw its cruiser SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth from Tsingtao, Japan declared war on Austria-Hungary, and the ship was sunk in November 1914. Within a few months, Allied forces had seized all German territories in the Pacific, leaving only isolated commerce raiders and a few holdouts in New Guinea. Some of the first clashes of
6324-548: The German High Seas Fleet was confined to port. German U-boats attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain. The nature of submarine warfare meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant ships little hope of survival. The United States launched a protest, and Germany changed its rules of engagement. After the sinking of the passenger ship RMS Lusitania in 1915, Germany promised not to target passenger liners, while Britain armed its merchant ships, placing them beyond
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#17330849059466448-465: The German Army increased in size from 1908 to 1914, he changed the allocation of forces between the two wings to 70:30. He also considered Dutch neutrality essential for German trade and cancelled the incursion into the Netherlands, which meant any delays in Belgium threatened the viability of the plan. Historian Richard Holmes argues that these changes meant the right wing was not strong enough to achieve decisive success. The initial German advance in
6572-462: The German right wing would sweep through the Netherlands and Belgium , then swing south, encircling Paris and trapping the French army against the Swiss border. The plan's creator, Alfred von Schlieffen , head of the German General Staff from 1891 to 1906, estimated that this would take six weeks, after which the German army would transfer to the East and defeat the Russians. The plan was substantially modified by his successor, Helmuth von Moltke
6696-426: The Germans bled heavily as well, with anywhere from 700,000 to 975,000 casualties between the two combatants. Verdun became a symbol of French determination and self-sacrifice. The Battle of the Somme was an Anglo-French offensive from July to November 1916. The opening day on 1 July 1916 was the bloodiest single day in the history of the British Army , which suffered 57,500 casualties, including 19,200 dead. As
6820-408: The Jagiellons . Hence pod Lachem would mean "near the Poles", "along the border with Poland". The Lithuanian name of the region, Palenkė , has exactly this meaning. The voivodeship was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Białystok and Łomża Voivodeships and the eastern half of the former Suwałki Voivodeship , pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. It has
6944-565: The Middle East. In all, 140,000 soldiers served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East, with 47,746 killed and 65,126 wounded. The suffering engendered by the war, as well as the failure of the British government to grant self-government to India afterward, bred disillusionment, resulting in the campaign for full independence led by Mahatma Gandhi . Pre-war military tactics that had emphasised open warfare and individual riflemen proved obsolete when confronted with conditions prevailing in 1914. Technological advances allowed
7068-545: The Ottomans joined the Central Powers in November. Germany's strategy in 1914 was to quickly defeat France, then to transfer its forces to the east, but its advance was halted in September , and by the end of the year the Western Front consisted of a continuous line of trenches stretching from the English Channel to Switzerland. The Eastern Front was more dynamic, but neither side gained a decisive advantage, despite costly offensives. Italy , Bulgaria , Romania , Greece and others joined in from 1915 onward. In April 1917,
7192-449: The Ottomans' territory in the Balkans during the 1912–1913 First Balkan War , much to the surprise of outside observers. The Serbian capture of ports on the Adriatic resulted in partial Austrian mobilisation, starting on 21 November 1912, including units along the Russian border in Galicia . The Russian government decided not to mobilise in response, unprepared to precipitate a war. The Great Powers sought to re-assert control through
7316-426: The Presentation of Virgin Mary in Różanystok , Sanctuary of Our Lady of Studzieniczna in Augustów and Christ's Transfiguration Orthodox church on the Grabarka Holy Mount are important pilgrimage destinations. The Mannerist-Baroque Tykocin Synagogue in Tykocin, one of the best preserved historic synagogues in Poland, and one of the few not destroyed by Nazi Germany, houses a museum. The largest museum dedicated to
7440-506: The REGON register in the year 2002 there were around 95 thousand companies registered in the Podlaskie region (97% of them in the private sector), dealing with; Arable land constitutes around 60% of the total area of the region – most of which is ploughland (around 40%), forests, meadows and pastures. Over 120 000 farms are registered, roughly half of which are small farms of 1–5 ha and medium-sized farms of 5–10 ha. The smaller farms prefer intensive production (gardening, orcharding), whereas
7564-549: The Russian Stavka agreed with the French to attack Germany within fifteen days of mobilisation, ten days before the Germans had anticipated, although it meant the two Russian armies that entered East Prussia on 17 August did so without many of their support elements. By the end of 1914, German troops held strong defensive positions inside France, controlled the bulk of France's domestic coalfields, and inflicted 230,000 more casualties than it lost itself. However, communications problems and questionable command decisions cost Germany
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#17330849059467688-429: The Serbian retreat toward the Adriatic coast in the Battle of Mojkovac on 6–7 January 1916, but ultimately the Austrians also conquered Montenegro. The surviving Serbian soldiers were evacuated to Greece. After the conquest, Serbia was divided between Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria. In late 1915, a Franco-British force landed at Salonica in Greece to offer assistance and to pressure its government to declare war against
7812-455: The West was very successful. By the end of August, the Allied left, which included the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), was in full retreat , and the French offensive in Alsace-Lorraine was a disastrous failure, with casualties exceeding 260,000. German planning provided broad strategic instructions while allowing army commanders considerable freedom in carrying them out at the front, but von Kluck used this freedom to disobey orders, opening
7936-430: The Younger . Under Schlieffen, 85% of German forces in the west were assigned to the right wing, with the remainder holding along the frontier. By keeping his left-wing deliberately weak, he hoped to lure the French into an offensive into the "lost provinces" of Alsace-Lorraine , which was the strategy envisaged by their Plan XVII . However, Moltke grew concerned that the French might push too hard on his left flank and as
8060-446: The aggressor, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg delayed the commencement of war preparations until 31 July. That afternoon, the Russian government were handed a note requiring them to "cease all war measures against Germany and Austria-Hungary" within 12 hours. A further German demand for neutrality was refused by the French who ordered general mobilisation but delayed declaring war. The German General Staff had long assumed they faced
8184-458: The animals. Most of them were settled in the administrative centre of the area - Białowieża. However, since most of the foresters took part in the November Uprising (500 out of 502 in total), their posts were abolished and protection was again harmed. Yet again the village of Białowieża ceased to exist. Protection was reintroduced in 1860 and the village was repopulated with Russians . The rapid development of Białowieża took place after 1888, when
8308-414: The area belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1569, and the southern part of it—until 1795. A better variant of the latter theory holds that the name originates from the period when the territory was within the Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , along the border with Mazovia Province, primarily a fief of the Poland of the Piasts , and later part of the Kingdom of Poland of
8432-434: The area was captured by the Red Army . The withdrawing Wehrmacht blew up the historic Białowieża hunting manor. After the war Białowieża was transferred back to the communist Polish People's Republic , yet again recovered and in 1947 became the center of the re-established National Park . Nowadays it is one of the least populated areas in Poland, while at the same time it is one of the most important tourist attractions in
8556-407: The attack by the Austro-Hungarian army under Mackensen's army of 250,000 that was already underway. Serbia was conquered in a little more than a month, as the Central Powers, now including Bulgaria, sent in 600,000 troops in total. The Serbian army, fighting on two fronts and facing certain defeat, retreated into northern Albania . The Serbs suffered defeat in the Battle of Kosovo . Montenegro covered
8680-477: The best way of achieving this. However, the Foreign Ministry had no solid proof of Serbian involvement. On 23 July, Austria delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, listing ten demands made intentionally unacceptable to provide an excuse for starting hostilities. Serbia ordered general mobilisation on 25 July, but accepted all the terms, except for those empowering Austrian representatives to suppress "subversive elements" inside Serbia, and take part in
8804-483: The border and pre-empt such a move. To avoid violating Belgian neutrality, he was told any advance could come only after a German invasion. Instead, the French cabinet ordered its Army to withdraw 10 km behind the German frontier, to avoid provoking war. On 2 August, Germany occupied Luxembourg and exchanged fire with French units when German patrols entered French territory; on 3 August, they declared war on France and demanded free passage across Belgium, which
8928-583: The campaign saw the first use of anti-aircraft warfare after an Austrian plane was shot down with ground-to-air fire, as well as the first medical evacuation by the Serbian army. Upon mobilisation, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan , 80% of the German Army was located on the Western Front, with the remainder acting as a screening force in the East. Rather than a direct attack across their shared frontier,
9052-636: The capital of the recently annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina . Cvjetko Popović , Gavrilo Princip , Nedeljko Čabrinović , Trifko Grabež , Vaso Čubrilović ( Bosnian Serbs ) and Muhamed Mehmedbašić (from the Bosniaks community), from the movement known as Young Bosnia , took up positions along the Archduke's motorcade route, to assassinate him. Supplied with arms by extremists within the Serbian Black Hand intelligence organisation, they hoped his death would free Bosnia from Austrian rule. Čabrinović threw
9176-466: The chance of a decisive outcome, while it had failed to achieve the primary objective of avoiding a long, two-front war. As was apparent to several German leaders, this amounted to a strategic defeat; shortly after the First Battle of the Marne , Crown Prince Wilhelm told an American reporter "We have lost the war. It will go on for a long time but lost it is already". On 30 August 1914, New Zealand occupied German Samoa (now Samoa ). On 11 September,
9300-511: The cost of 199 submarines. World War I also saw the first use of aircraft carriers in combat, with HMS Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a successful raid against the Zeppelin hangars at Tondern in July 1918, as well as blimps for antisubmarine patrol. Faced with Russia in the east, Austria-Hungary could spare only one-third of its army to attack Serbia. After suffering heavy losses,
9424-486: The country (almost 20% of the area). This is used to develop dairy and beef cattle farming. Podlaskie has the largest cattle stock in Poland (the average herd size in 2016 is 37.9). In terms of milk producing, the voivodeship, together with the Masovian Voivodeship, ranks first in the country. Podlaskie Voivodeship receive about 20% of the total production in the country. Cereals is an important crops grown in
9548-513: The creation of new independent states, including Poland , Finland , the Baltic states , Czechoslovakia , and Yugoslavia . The League of Nations was established to maintain world peace, but its failure to manage instability during the interwar period contributed to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Before World War II , the events of 1914–1918 were generally known as the Great War or simply
9672-449: The creation of strong defensive systems largely impervious to massed infantry advances, such as barbed wire , machine guns and above all far more powerful artillery , which dominated the battlefield and made crossing open ground extremely difficult. Both sides struggled to develop tactics for breaching entrenched positions without heavy casualties. In time, technology enabled the production of new offensive weapons, such as gas warfare and
9796-948: The crowds listened to music and drank wine, as if nothing had happened". Nevertheless, the impact of the murder of the heir to the throne was significant, and has been described by historian Christopher Clark as a " 9/11 effect, a terrorist event charged with historic meaning, transforming the political chemistry in Vienna". Austro-Hungarian authorities encouraged subsequent anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo . Violent actions against ethnic Serbs were also organised outside Sarajevo, in other cities in Austro-Hungarian-controlled Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina imprisoned approximately 5,500 prominent Serbs, 700 to 2,200 of whom died in prison. A further 460 Serbs were sentenced to death. A predominantly Bosniak special militia known as
9920-628: The design of Kronenberg, surrounding the seat of the Board of the Appanaged Forest. Originally called a regiment, in the interwar period it received the name of the Directorate Park, which is preserved until today. 7 clerical houses were built in this area. In 1895, construction was completed and a new stone church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, located near the palace. During World War I most of
10044-697: The dominant religions in Podlaskie Voivodeship are Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. The voivodeship's seat is the city of Białystok . Like all voivodeships, it has a government-appointed Provincial Governor ( Polish : wojewoda ), as well as an elected Regional Assembly ( sejmik ) and of the executive elected by that assembly, headed by the voivodeship marshal ( marszałek województwa ). Administrative powers and competences are statutorily divided between these authorities. The voivodeship contains 3 cities and 37 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019) Towns: The Gross domestic product (GDP) of
10168-450: The duration of snow cover from 90 to 110 days. Mean annual rainfall values oscillate around 550 millimetres (21.7 in), and the vegetation period lasts 200 to 210 days. Podlaskie is the coldest region of Poland, located in the very northeast of the country near the border with Belarus and Lithuania . The region has a continental climate which is characterized by high temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. The climate
10292-571: The east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and Marijampolė to the northeast, and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia to the north. The province was created on 1 January 1999, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998, from the former Białystok and Łomża Voivodeships and the eastern half of the former Suwałki Voivodeship . The voivodeship takes its name from
10416-521: The eastern part of the country with almost 100,000 visitors every year. The Reserve was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1992 and internationally recognized as a Biosphere Reserve under UNESCO 's Man and the Biosphere Program in 1993. British historian Simon Schama devotes several chapters of his 1995 book Landscape and Memory to a consideration of the historical vicissitudes of
10540-415: The end of the 16th century, probably around 1594, the royal court was moved to the area of today's Białowieża Glade. According to the inventory from 1696, Białowieża was a 25-morgic farm in the period in question. In 1710 Białowieża was affected by a plague epidemic. The settlement and the royal hunting court were burnt down, and the residents who avoided infection moved to a new place. About the burned village
10664-671: The expansion of the French colonial empire . In 1873, Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors , which included Austria-Hungary , Russia and Germany. After the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War , the League was dissolved due to Austrian concerns over the expansion of Russian influence in the Balkans , an area they considered to be of vital strategic interest. Germany and Austria-Hungary then formed
10788-449: The first time on the Western Front. Several types of gas soon became widely used by both sides and though it never proved a decisive, battle-winning weapon, it became one of the most feared and best-remembered horrors of the war. In February 1916, the Germans attacked French defensive positions at the Battle of Verdun , lasting until December 1916. Casualties were greater for the French, but
10912-617: The forest (Białowieża means White Tower in Polish ). From 1538 the forest was protected by the laws of King Sigismund I the Old . However, until the times of John Casimir the forest was mostly unpopulated. Sporadic settlements were established in various places, but the manor in Białowieża was the only one to be permanent. In the late 17th century, several small villages were started for development of local iron ore deposits and tar production. The villages were populated with settlers from Mazovia and Podlachia and many of them still exist. At
11036-453: The forest came under German occupation and the Russian inhabitants were also deported. Hermann Göring planned to create the biggest hunting reserve in the world there, but those plans were never realized. After July 1941, the forest became a refuge for both Polish and Soviet partisans . The German authorities organized mass executions of people suspected of aiding the resistance . In July 1944
11160-422: The forests around Białowieża in an effort to explore the ways in which cultural imagination shapes humans' vision of the land. Today, the majority of the population of Białowieża is Eastern Orthodox mostly identifying themselves as Poles, with a small part identifying as members of the Belarusian ethnic minority . There is also a significant percentage of Catholics living in Białowieża. The local native dialect
11284-586: The front. Serbian and French troops finally made a breakthrough in September 1918 in the Vardar offensive , after most German and Austro-Hungarian troops had been withdrawn. The Bulgarians were defeated at the Battle of Dobro Pole , and by 25 September British and French troops had crossed the border into Bulgaria proper as the Bulgarian army collapsed. Bulgaria capitulated four days later, on 29 September 1918. The German high command responded by despatching troops to hold
11408-526: The globe, some of which were subsequently used to attack Allied merchant shipping . These were systematically hunted down by the Royal Navy, though not before causing considerable damage. One of the most successful was the SMS ; Emden , part of the German East Asia Squadron stationed at Qingdao , which seized or sank 15 merchantmen, a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. Most of the squadron
11532-534: The high ground, while their trenches tended to be better built; those constructed by the French and English were initially considered "temporary", only needed until an offensive would destroy the German defences. Both sides tried to break the stalemate using scientific and technological advances. On 22 April 1915, at the Second Battle of Ypres , the Germans (violating the Hague Convention ) used chlorine gas for
11656-583: The history of the region is the Podlaskie Museum in Białystok with branches in Białystok, Bielsk Podlaski, Choroszcz, Supraśl, Tykocin and Turośń Kościelna . Białystok is home to the Sybir Memorial Museum, the main Polish museum devoted to history of Russian deportations of Poles to Siberia . There is a museum dedicated to Polish poet Maria Konopnicka at her birthplace in Suwałki . There are also
11780-467: The investigation and trial of Serbians linked to the assassination. Claiming this amounted to rejection, Austria broke off diplomatic relations and ordered partial mobilisation the next day; on 28 July, they declared war on Serbia and began shelling Belgrade . Russia ordered general mobilization in support of Serbia on 30 July. Anxious to ensure backing from the SPD political opposition by presenting Russia as
11904-434: The larger ones engage in cattle and crop production. The cattle-raising farms are mainly oriented towards milk production. In June 2015, the total area of land in agricultural holdings in the Podlaskie Voivodeship amounted to 1,243.3 thousand hectares. ha. Agricultural land occupied 1058.3 thousand. ha, forests and forest land - 134.7 thous. ha, while the remaining land - 50.4 thous. ha. The average area of agricultural land in
12028-410: The late 19th century and shortly before World War I . M. Orlowicz reported that the synagogue was already in operation before 1914. Jews came to Białowieża at a time when the foundations of the timber industry were being laid in the settlement. In 1917, there were about 80 Jews living here, in 1921 217 Jews, and in 1937 4,000 Jews. The largest concentration of Jewish houses and squares was located along
12152-528: The local Eastern Orthodox (different nationalities) population fled before the advancing German army which seized the area in August 1915. Catholics remained in the village (being ethnic Poles, but also partly Orthodox Poles) The Germans built a lumber mill in Białowieża, connected to the nearby town of Hajnówka by a railway. However, the village did not recover until 1921 when the Białowieża National Park
12276-498: The main, Stoczek street. The main wooden synagogue and a private house of prayer were located on Stoczek Street. There was no Jewish cemetery in the town. Jews from Białowieża were buried in the Jewish cemetery in Narewka . There was also no rabbi. For special prayers, a rabbi would come from the surrounding settlements, most often from Narewka. The main synagogue was built at the beginning of
12400-460: The ocean, even to neutral ships. Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar response to its unrestricted submarine warfare. The Battle of Jutland in May/June 1916 was the only full-scale clash of battleships during the war, and one of the largest in history. The clash was indecisive, though the Germans inflicted more damage than they received; thereafter the bulk of
12524-418: The palace supervisor, house of shooters (built in 1904), woodcutter, cold store, bakery, house for preparation of forest animals, etc. As a result, a large housing estate was created. In 1895, an English-style palace park was created with an area of approximately 50 ha, designed by Walerian Kronenberg. At that time, another park with an area of 20 ha was established in another part of Białowieża, also according to
12648-435: The percentage of females in the total population amounted to 51.3 percent. A statistical inhabitant of Podlaskie was 37.7 years old, whereas in 2008 – 37.5 years old. The latest population projection predicts a consistent decrease in the population in Podlaskie Voivodeship. In the next 26 years, it will decrease by 117 thousand persons due to the ageing population. Population according to 2002 census: According to 2021 census
12772-789: The protection of the " cruiser rules ", which demanded warning and movement of crews to "a place of safety" (a standard that lifeboats did not meet). Finally, in early 1917, Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare , realising the Americans would eventually enter the war. Germany sought to strangle Allied sea lanes before the United States could transport a large army overseas, but, after initial successes, eventually failed to do so. The U-boat threat lessened in 1917, when merchant ships began travelling in convoys , escorted by destroyers . This tactic made it difficult for U-boats to find targets, which significantly lessened losses; after
12896-467: The province was around 11 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 2.2% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €15,200 or 50% of the EU average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 57% of the EU average. Podlaskie Voivodeship is the province with the 5th lowest GDP per capita in Poland. The following are general economic indicators for Podlaskie Voivodeship: According to
13020-438: The region and themainly: wheat , rye , barley , oat , triticale , cereal mixtures, grain maize, millet , buckwheat . Other crops grown by farmers include, among others, potatoes , oil seeds , forage plants (green fodder , carrots , beets , turnips or alfalfa ). The natural conditions of the region are conducive to the development of organic growing, which at present is practised by around 100 farms. Over 600 farms in
13144-711: The region offer agritourist services. The Białowieża Forest is a UNESCO World Heritage Site . There are five Historic Monuments of Poland in the voivodeship: There are several castles and palaces in the region, including the Branicki Palace and Lubomirski Palace in Białystok, Royal Castle in Tykocin , Branicki Summer Palace in Choroszcz , Ossoliński Palace in Rudka , and Buchholtz Palace in Supraśl . There are two spa towns in
13268-422: The richness of the animal world. Visitors can also see moose, wolves, lynx and bison living in the Białowieża Forest and Knyszyń Forest . Podlaskie has the lowest population density of the sixteen Polish voivodeships, and its largely unspoiled nature is one of its chief assets. Around 30% of the area of the voivodeship is under legal protection. The Polish part of the Białowieża Forest biosphere reserve (also
13392-623: The settlement was incorporated into tsarist estates. In 1889-1894 a large hunting palace was built, designed by Nicholas de Rochefort. A number of buildings were built in the vicinity of the palace: The Świcki (Hunting House) with comfortable, separate rooms, a common billiard room, baths for the tsar's dawn (burned down in 1962), the Hofmarszałkowski House for court marshals (built in 1904), kitchen buildings, palace stable for 40 horses, laundry, telephone station, power plant (demolished in 1978), electric mill, house for servicing horses, house of
13516-464: The small but compact Lithuanian minority concentrated in the Sejny County. At the end of 2009 in Podlaskie Voivodeship there were 1,189,700 inhabitants, 3.1 percent of the total population of Poland. The average density of the population, the number of the population per 1 km2, was 59. The urban population in the same period was 60.2 percent of the total number of inhabitants of the voivodeship, where
13640-464: The term First World War was in September 1914 by German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel who stated, "There is no doubt that the course and character of the feared 'European War' ... will become the first world war in the full sense of the word". For much of the 19th century, the major European powers maintained a tenuous balance of power , known as the Concert of Europe . After 1848, this
13764-682: The threat posed by the closing of this gap was more important than competing with the Royal Navy. After Germany expanded its standing army by 170,000 troops in 1913, France extended compulsory military service from two to three years; similar measures were taken by the Balkan powers and Italy, which led to increased expenditure by the Ottomans and Austria-Hungary. Absolute figures are difficult to calculate due to differences in categorising expenditure since they often omit civilian infrastructure projects like railways which had logistical importance and military use. It
13888-633: The voivodeship are the University of Białystok , Medical University of Białystok and Bialystok University of Technology . Additionally, Podlasie Białystok is one of the top athletics clubs in the country. World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War , was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and
14012-481: The voivodeship: Augustów and Supraśl . Augustów and Rajgród are popular summer destinations owing to their lakes. Białystok is known for its public parks and gardens, including the Branicki Garden and Planty Park . Tykocin and Supraśl are primary examples of preserved historic small towns in the voivodeship. The Baroque town halls in Białystok and Bielsk Podlaski are home to local museums. The voivodeship
14136-516: The vowel shifts "a" > "e" > "i" in various Slavic languages (in fact, it mixes vowels from different languages). Heavily wooded Podlaskie is home to the primeval Białowieża Forest and National Park, the habitat of the European wisent bison and tarpan . A second view holds that the term comes from the expression pod Lachem , i.e., "under the Poles" (see: Lechia ). Some claim it to mean "under Polish rule", which does not seem historically sound, as
14260-577: The war ended with the Armistice of 11 November 1918 . The Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920 imposed settlements on the defeated powers, most notably the Treaty of Versailles , by which Germany lost significant territories, was disarmed, and was required to pay large war reparations to the Allies. The dissolution of the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires redrew national boundaries and resulted in
14384-581: The war involved British, French, and German colonial forces in Africa. On 6–7 August, French and British troops invaded the German protectorates of Togoland and Kamerun . On 10 August, German forces in South-West Africa attacked South Africa; sporadic and fierce fighting continued for the rest of the war. The German colonial forces in German East Africa , led by Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck , fought
14508-418: The west , which despite initial successes left the German Army exhausted and demoralised. A successful Allied counter-offensive from August 1918 caused a collapse of the German front line. By early November, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary had each signed armistices with the Allies, leaving Germany isolated. Facing a revolution at home , Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated on 9 November, and
14632-436: The west edge of the outwash plains. Sand, gravel, clay, moraine, and in the valleys and basins of the rivers silt, sand and river peat predominate on the surface. The vast forests ( Białowieża , Augustów , Knyszyń , Kurpiowska ), some of which are the only ones in Europe to have retained their original character, contain a unique wealth of flora and fauna. The vegetation of the region is extremely diverse, which contributes to
14756-432: Was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic. The causes of World War I included the rise of Germany and decline of the Ottoman Empire , which disturbed the long-standing balance of power in Europe, as well as economic competition between nations triggered by industrialisation and imperialism . Growing tensions between the great powers and in the Balkans reached a breaking point on 28 June 1914, when
14880-403: Was challenged by Britain's withdrawal into so-called splendid isolation , the decline of the Ottoman Empire , New Imperialism , and the rise of Prussia under Otto von Bismarck . Victory in the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War allowed Bismarck to consolidate a German Empire . Post-1871, the primary aim of French policy was to avenge this defeat, but by the early 1890s, this had switched to
15004-507: Was established. The village became the administrative center of the Park and one of the most popular tourist attractions of the area. Following the Polish-Soviet War , Białowieża was returned to Poland. On 1 September 1939, with the onset of World War II and joint German and Soviet attack on Poland , Luftwaffe bombed Bialowieza. The bombs seriously damaged the church and, to a lesser extent,
15128-654: Was refused. Early on the morning of 4 August, the Germans invaded, and Albert I of Belgium called for assistance under the Treaty of London . Britain sent Germany an ultimatum demanding they withdraw from Belgium; when this expired at midnight, without a response, the two empires were at war. Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, but interpretations of what this meant differed. Previously tested deployment plans had been replaced early in 1914, but those had never been tested in exercises. Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover its northern flank against Russia. Beginning on 12 August,
15252-710: Was returning to Germany when it sank two British armoured cruisers at the Battle of Coronel in November 1914, before being virtually destroyed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December. The SMS Dresden escaped with a few auxiliaries, but after the Battle of Más a Tierra , these too were either destroyed or interned. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Britain began a naval blockade of Germany . This proved effective in cutting off vital supplies, though it violated accepted international law. Britain also mined international waters which closed off entire sections of
15376-759: Was the foundation of German foreign policy but in 1890, he was forced to retire by Wilhelm II . The latter was persuaded not to renew the Reinsurance Treaty by his new Chancellor , Leo von Caprivi . This gave France an opening to agree the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894, which was then followed by the 1904 Entente Cordiale with Britain. The Triple Entente was completed by the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention . While not formal alliances, by settling long-standing colonial disputes in Asia and Africa, British support for France or Russia in any future conflict became
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