Muzeum Regionalne / Regional Museum

Closed Mon.

Muzeum Wyzwolenia Miasta

Closed Mon.

Contemporary Art Gallery

Muzeum Historii Miasta Szczecina / City Museum

Tues+Thurs 10-17 h,
Wed+Fri 9-15.30 h,
Sat+Sun 10-16 h.

Typical Town museum.
 

Zamek Ksiazat Pomorskich / Castle of the Pommerian Dukes

Tues-Sun 10-16 h

Works of art, paintings.
 

National Maritime Museum

Tues-Wed 10-17 h,
Fri 9-15.30 h,
Sat+Sun 10-16 h

Muzeum Narodowe / National Museum

Tues+Thurs 10-17 h,
Wed+Fri 9-15.30 h,
Sat+Sun 10-16.

Archeology, Lapidarium, works of art, paintings, sculpture, graphics, folk art, Polish naval history and a natural history Dept.

 

Gallery of Modern Art

Muzeum Pomorza Srodkowego

Wed-Sun 10-16 h,
during the summer holidays daily!

Paintings, works of Art, coins, arms and armour.
 

Slowinski National Park (Skanzen)

Fax.: (+48 59) 811 72 04, 811 73 39

Info Telefon: (+48 59) 811 73 68, 811 75 09
Besucher-Email: spn_park@sl.onet.pl
http://www.mos.gov.pl/kzpn/ind_gb.htm...

Slowinski National Park was established on January 1 1967. Originally, a plan to create a national park by the sea-side was considered just after the Second World War in 1945. The total area of the Park is 18,618 ha. Of this area, water covers 53.9 %, forests 24.5 %, beaches and dunes - 5.1 %, swamps and moors 7.7 %, meadows and pastures - 8.1 %. The name of the Park originates from an old ethnic group - Slowincy - Slav progeny, who have lived in this area for ages. A skansen in Kluki, which presents their culture, is one of the Park's attractions. The number of visitors reaches up to 800 000 annually.
The park preserves the most beautiful part of the Baltic southern coast, with the biggest sandy dunes in Europe, which move under the influence of strong, stormy winds. To preserve the plant cover, forests, peat, diversity of fauna, and beautiful landscape, some 15 strict reserves, with the combined area of over 6,650 ha, were established in the Park. The Park was recognized as an outstanding natural value and registered on the World List of Biosphere Reserves in 1967. The inclusion of this Park on the list demonstrates its particular importance for the world's nature conservation at a supraregional scale.

Vegetation

The vascular flora in the Park is very diverse, and for that reason, the Slowinski National Park is among those with the most interesting vegetation. It consists of about 830 species, representative of different habitats and geographical elements. There are some atlantic and subatlantic species like swamp heath (Erica tetralix), sedge (Carex arenaria), and European wax-myrtle (Myrica gale). There are also some northern species such as cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), cyperaceous herb (Trichophorum caespitosum), and northern twin-flower (Linmaea borealis). The species of three habitat groups
• dune,
• pine forest and
• plants in high and transition moors
are found in the Park area. About 30 % of the species are rare, nearly 50 species are preserved, including the rarest, orchidaceous plants (Orchidaceae). Synanthrophic flora consists of nearly 70 species, and a majority of them grow in separate localities.
More than 50 plant associations, including about 10 forest and scrub associations, and more than 40 non-forest ones, have been distinguished in the Park. Approximately 10 associations cannot be found anywhere else in Poland. Some of them are of pioneer character and they are important in anchoring and stabilizing the moving sands. They are associated mainly with plants inhabiting the white and grey dunes, and on each of them, two associations have been distinguished. The most important among them are lyme- and beach-grass (Elmo-Ammophiletum) associations. They are the wind resistant grasses which consolidate the accumulated sands. The flora of dunes is unique in Europe.
Among the forest communities, the most developed is the sea-side pine forest (Empetro nigri-Pinetum) with subassociations of cladonietosum, piroletosum, typicum and ericetosum tetralicis. Swamp forest (Vaccinio uliginosi-Pinetum) and swampy alder wood (Carici elongatae-Alnetum) are also important. In addition, 13 water, 22 peat and swamp, and 6 meadow-pasture plant associations have been distinguished in the Park.

Fauna

The fauna of the Slowinski National Park has not been well researched yet, with the exception of the local birds. About 255 species of birds, that is ca. 70% of those found in Poland, have been recorded here. Such a great number and variety results from the fact, that many environments have preserved their natural features within the Park. The Park, sitting by the sea-side, is located on the most important way of annual bird migrations.
The avifauna of water communities is most diverse and both lake Lebsko and Gardno are very rich in this respect. Both migratory and breeding birds are numerous. For example, there are more than 20,000 pairs of black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus), which live in colonies in the Park. They are accompanied by mallards (Anas platyrhynchos, Anas strepera, Aythya ferina, and Aythya fuligula). The crested grebes (Pediceps cristatus) and mute swans (Cygnus olor) live on the edges of islands. Both lakes are the regular breeding places of common tern (Chlidonias niger and Sterna hirundo). In both spring and autumn, one can observe thousands of mallards, mergansers (Mergus merganser), and swans (Cygnus olor, Cygnus cygnus and Cygnus bewickii). During the migration time one can see almost all of the Polish species of anserines and even such rare species like Anser erythropus, Bernicla leucopsis, and Bernicla bernicla.