The Parsęta River basin

The Natura 2000 “Dorzecze Parsęty” area is a special habitat protection zone with the area of 27,710.4 ha. 25 important habitats from Annex I of the 92/43/EWG directive have been identified there. They form an interesting mosaic of very rare places, which are even unique on Polish and European scale. These include the spring area of the Parsęta River, steep gorges and ravines of the Perznica, Trzebiegoszcz, and Łozica Rivers, numerous bends, oxbow lakes, riparian forests, and willow bushes between Krosino and Osówko, or the gorge area of the river near Osówko. There are also many spring areas and various types of marshes and peat bogs.

The basin of the Parsęta River is also a refuge for many animal species. Salmon, bulltrout, brown trout, and grayling have the best conditions for spawning in Poland. The river is inhabited by such species as common minnow, vimba bream, and natural eel. It is also a precious area for otter reproduction. There are habitats of many predatory birds, including lesser spotted eagle, western marsh harrier, red kite, white-tailed sea eagle, eagle owl, and short-eared owl, as well as of birds connected with water and marshy areas, such as white stork, black stork, kingfisher, little ringed plover, Eurasian curlew, or crane.

This very diverse area is worth visiting not only because of natural values. It can be admired from a kayak, but a part of river sections is navigable only for experienced canoeists. One can also mount a bike and go along the “Wzdłuż rzeki Parsęty” trail. On the route, there are castles, Slavonic fortified towns, humpbacked bridges made of brick and stone, old mills, old hydro-technical systems (hydraulic rams), and chapels to be seen.