Arboretum Bolestraszyce

Bolestraszyce, Poland, Poland

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Arboretum Bolestraszyce is the largest arboretum in south-eastern Poland, located in Bolestraszyce about 7 kilometers northeast of Przemyśl in the Subcarpathian Province, spanning an impressive 308 hectares of diverse landscapes including forests, ponds, and walking paths.

Founded in 1975 on the grounds of the historic estate of the Michałowski family, where the renowned 19th-century artist Piotr Michałowski once lived and created his works, the arboretum serves as both a natural and cultural heritage site with educational, scientific, and recreational functions. 

The collection features several thousand species, varieties, and forms of plants from around the world, including rare dendrological specimens, fruit trees, aquatic and bog plants, endangered Polish flora, heather family plants, greenhouse species, useful plants, and biblical plants, making it a valuable living museum of global flora.

Visitors can stroll along scenic paths around ponds, explore wheelchair-accessible gardens with Braille signs, interact with small animals and horses, view the world's largest insects, and visit the ruins of Fort XIII "San Rideau" from 1892-1896, an important part of the Fortress of Przemyśl located nearby. The arboretum attracts approximately 100,000 visitors annually, mostly schoolchildren, and operates an Educational Center for Cultural-Natural Heritage that offers various educational programs including lessons, lectures, workshops, and seminars.