Crooked Forest
| Crooked Forest Polish: Krzywy las | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Map | |
  | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Gryfino County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland |
| Coordinates | 53°12′50″N 14°28′30″E / 53.21389°N 14.47500°E |
| Administration | |
| Status | Natural monument of Poland[1] |
| Ecology | |
| Dominant tree species | pine |
The Crooked Forest (Polish: Krzywy Las) is a grove of oddly-shaped pine trees located in the village of Nowe Czarnowo near the town of Gryfino, West Pomerania in north-western Poland. It is a protected natural monument of Poland.[1]
This grove of 400 pines was planted in the village of Nowe Czarnowo around 1930. Each pine tree bends sharply to the north, just above ground level, then curves back upright after a sideways excursion of three to nine feet (1–3 m). The curved pines are enclosed by a surrounding forest of straight pine trees.[2]
It is generally believed that some form of human tool or technique was used to make the trees grow or bend this way, but the method has never been determined, and remains a mystery to this day. It has been speculated that the trees may have been deformed to create naturally curved timber for use in furniture or boat building.[3][4] Others surmise that a snowstorm could have bent the trunks, but there is little evidence of that.[4][5][6][failed verification]
The forest was featured in season 1, episode 4 of The UnXplained on the History channel titled "Unnatural Nature" that first aired on 9 August 2019.[7]
The site is open to the public and serves as a notable tourist attraction in the region.[8]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Krzywy Las koło Gryfina". Nadleśnictwo Gryfino (in Polish). Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ^ "What Could Have Caused Poland's Crooked Forest?". IFLScience. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
- ^ Cieśliński, Piotr (15 January 2014). "Kto odkryje tajemnicę Krzywego Lasu" (in Polish). Wyborcza.pl. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- ^ a b Klein, Joanna (21 March 2017). "In Poland's Crooked Forest, a Mystery With No Straight Answer". The New York Times.
- ^ Quick, Stefania Rousselle, Joanna Klein, Samantha; Jaffe, Logan (31 March 2017). "Puzzle in Poland: Who Bent the Trees?" – via NYTimes.com.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Nature Warning - J shaped Trees". Editor Choice.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "The UnXplained Pictures & Galleries: Unnatural nature". HISTORY. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ Wroniewski, Sebastian (3 August 2020). "Krzywy Las koło Gryfina zostanie poddany rewitalizacji". światrolnika.info (in Polish). Retrieved 20 December 2020.
External links
- Polish tourism page for the Crooked Forest (in Polish)